Wine without BS

Lindauer Brut Cuvée NV and the chance to win a trip to New York!

When you think sparkling white wines I realise that many fans of the popular drop probably don't think of New Zealand. Even a New Zealand wine expert once told me to not get too excited about NZ sparkling wines just yet and that only a few producers were starting to show some promise. However, Lindauer have been making affordable sparkling wines since 1981 and the New Zealand climate is more than capable of producing some great results. To put my views into perspective though, if I was told to list all the wine styles I like in order, a sparkling brut is going to be a clear contender for my final placing... it is just not a style of wine I would ever choose to drink but this is not at all to say that I haven't enjoyed some great sparkling whites and Champagnes over the years and indeed there have been some standouts, some of which where made in the brut style.

With that in mind, coupled with the comments I had been given on New Zealand sparklings by an expert, I can't say I had high hopes when this wine arrived at my door. However, when I finally got around to trying it I gave credit where credit was due as it wasn't bad at all... in fact it was good. Take the $15 price tag into account and the fact that larger retailers sell it for a few bucks less than that and it's going to be great if you're a fan of sparkling bruts. Lindauer can also claim that at the recent 2011 International Sparkling Wine Symposium, the range of wines submitted by Lindauer all achieved over 90 points, outscoring many well known Champagne houses! 

Should you need any further incentive to get out and try it, as a 30^th Anniversary special, during March and April anyone who buys a bottle of Lindauer Brut can enter into a competition to win a week in New York!

 

Lindauer Brut Cuvée NV
Price - $14.95 at a variety of retailers
Region - Gisborne, New Zealand
Final Sip -  If you're going out to buy a sparkling white wine under $20 you have plenty of choices so why not buy the one that punches above it's weight for the cost AND is giving you a chance to win a holiday! You'd be as silly as the Beached Az whale if you brought anything else!

New York City, Aussie Wine and comments by Henry Roth!

 

I recently had the pleasure of being contacted by well known Australian Fashion and Wedding Gown designer Henry Roth via the social media site Twitter by Henry admitting he wished he knew more about wine.  After communicating for a while backwards and forwards Henry was generous enough to do me a favour I boldly asked of him and to his absolute credit he fulfilled my request as if we were old friends and I felt incredibly humbled and indebted by his gesture.

 

In order to thank him I wanted to send him some of my favourite Australian wines to enjoy in his new home town, New York City. As I very quickly discovered simply buying a few bottles of wine and sending them to the United States in the post is no easy task and while some speciality bottle shops here specialise in sending wine overseas many people confided in me that no one can guarantee my wine would make it to its intended destination!

 

I found this rather surprising and disappointing as I really wanted to send wines that I truly enjoy. In the end I figured out that the best way to send Australian wine to a contact in New Yorkwas to find an on-line US retailer who sold Australian wines. As it turned out this was not difficult and prices were surprisingly good even though listed prices were in US dollars.

 

I went through a number of sites to ensure I could find a good selection of quality Australian Wines and insisted that I only send wines that I have personally enjoyed and, where possible I was hoping to avoid the obvious export brands like Penfolds, Henschke etc Nothing against these brands at all, they make some of the country ‘s best wines, but I deliberately wanted to stay away from the iconic brands to an extent. 

 

 

So I ended up using www.wine.comand ordered four great wines of different varieties. The wines I selected where the Petaluma 2007 Hanlin Hill Riesling, Cape Mentelle 2006 Chardonnay, Two Hands 2007 Gnarly Dudes Shiraz and the Two Hands 2006 Brilliant Disguise Moscato. All wines arrived in Manhattan within a few days of my order and emails kept me up-to-date as to my orders status, so full points awarded to www.wine.com for an easy-to-use and professional service.

 

Henry got in touch to thank me for the wines and said that in light of the collection I had sent him that he would run a small wine tasting night in Manhattan for a few close friends. I was really excited about this news and hoped my personal wine selections met with approval on the night! Henry agreed to send back the groups collective thoughts on each wine and so without further ado their remarks on each wine are below.

 

Petaluma 2007 Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling

(most enjoyable with a zesty twist on the dry side - lovely white wine - thumbs up)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cape Mentelle 2006 Chardonnay

(very light - soft body- gentle appeal - relaxed drop, Sunday afternoon !)

 

 

 

Two Hands 2007 Gnarly Dudes Shiraz

(Deep, ripe, aromatic, powerful yet curiously soft - wonderful wine - two thumbs up)

 (Two Hands Cellar Door, Barossa Valley)

Two Hands 2006 Brilliant Disguise Moscato

(Light, delicate sweetness, fruity, tropical, great light wine with a fizz of flavour! thumbs up)

 

I confirmed with Henry that his two thumbs up for the Two Hands, 07 Gnarly Dudes Shiraz was his way of confirming it was the groups favourite wine of the night, but as I had hoped all wines were thoroughly enjoyed!

While the Cape Mentelle and Petaluma Riesling are readily available from most leading wine retailers the Two Hands wines are a little but harder to find so I recommend ordering directly from there website.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Henry for his generosity, friendliness and his time in reporting back to me both he and his friends views on some great Australian wines!