Happy New Year!

What a year! I feel we all must be exhausted hearing about what hard year its been, therefore I want to take this time to reflect on some good things, specifically wine...

I understand the struggles thousands have gone through this year in the Wine World, whether it was redundancies, unable to find labour or have the capabilities to help with harvest or even just feeling the heavy burden surrounding COVID. It has been a difficult year and I don't want to take away from that. However, I wish to enter 2021 on a positive note and with that I wish to discuss the topic which seems to be taking the Wine World by storm... the 2020 Cloudy Bay release.

Cloudy Bay is a staple, it is what brought the light to New Zealand wine and leads the way of the iconic NZ Sauvignon style. The style is loved by many and used as a benchmark for comparison. Therefore, I want to discuss with you what my thoughts are. Is this 'buzz' a clever marketing ploy from the Queen of marketing herself, LVMH? Has it been used to bring positivity to this bleak year by highlighting the camaraderie that helped produce it? Or is it really just one of the winery best, as is being stated...

Cloudy bay was founded in 1985 and was one of the first 5 producers in Marlborough. In 2003 it was acquired by Veuve Clicquot. Presently it is owned by parent company and luxury conglomerate LVMH, owner of many well known wine houses. New Zealand is still pretty new to the Wine World and producers such as Cloudy Bay have helped put it on the map. As previously stated, Cloudy Bay is located in Marlborough, this area now accounts for 80% of the countries production and has the most expensive vineyard sites. The areas vineyard space is 85% Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

The area has since seen great investment due to the easy production process, no ageing, no oak, no expensive intervention techniques which allow NZ Sauvignon to be produced, bottled and released within the year. Marlborough benefits from long days and sunshine which help ripen the grapes beautifully, cool nights helping to retain acidity and relatively dry autumns, reducing disease risk. These autumns allow the grapes to ripen for longer, concentrating flavours and building sugar yet still retaining the high acidity needed to effectively balance the wine.

The 2020 harvest in Marlborough is being deemed 'extraordinary.' This isn't just due to wine business being deemed 'essential' by the New Zealand government, allowing the harvest to be collected and wine production to still operate, albeit under extremely strict conditions which could be pulled at any minute.

Marlborough also saw a long dry season which brought with it colder conditions towards the end of the Summer season, which allowed for a longer 'hang' time resulting in the flavour concentration as discussed above. Ultimately, this meant that the grapes of the 2020 harvest were bursting full of flavour. The lucky thing about the 2020 harvest time was the rainfall.

Water is important for growing grapes but timing is crucial. Too close to harvest and grapes will balloon and flavours diluted. Too close to bud-burst and yields can be affected. If too little water throughout, vines can be water stressed and this can greatly impact grape growing. The balance is extremely difficult. What made 2020 so successful was the large quantities of rain in the second week of December 2019, this water will have been retained by the soils, strengthened vines, filled water stores and helped vines get ready for the summer. In 2019 however, this water did not come until January and February where it was very sparse. Water stress, drought and low irrigation supplies saw some vineyards seeing the crippling effect, water restrictions were implemented in February and lasted until March. From research, it seems the weather for the 2020 harvest could not have been more prefect.

To efficiently draw my own conclusions to this ongoing discussions I bought the last of the 2019 vintage I had in work and a bottle of the newly in 2020. I decided when better to enjoy these than New Years Eve! As most of the world was having a cosy night in, I thought a comparison tasting might be a fun way to wait for the Bells! On the eye, both were a very similar colour, pale lemon... exactly as expected. On the nose however, is where it got exciting. The 2019 was a classic Sauvignon Blanc, gooseberry, honeydew, grapefruit, peach and stone fruit yet with a slight herbashiousness. If I had been given this wine on its own, I would have happily accepted and enjoyed a classic NZ Sauvignon. In comparison the 2020 was far more pronounced, I could smell it when I was pouring! Bursting full of juicy ripe tropical fruit, passionfruit, mango, ripe stone fruit such as apricot and nectarine and the classic gooseberry and honeydew undertone, I would happily wear this scent as a perfume!

Structurally, on the pallet the wines were similar, high acid, medium body, yet the dryness was slightly different. By no means sweet, the 2020 has so much more ripe fruit that it is edging towards off-dry. I tasted these wines with my brother, who said if he hadn't been with me he wouldn't have seen much of a difference. I wonder if that would be the same for other non wine lovers or if my nose just has had more practice than his!

Let’s conclude, both wines are beautiful. Classic NZ Sauvignon Blanc staples. The 2019 is a great wine and if drank on its own I would greatly enjoy, however now I've had the 2020, I would reach for this instead. The concentration of fruit is divine yet still delicate that it doesn't feel like sickly juice. The beautiful balance between this almost off-dry intensity and acidity is perfect. As well as this, the positivity surrounding the weather, camaraderie of winemakers and labourers and the excitement of a good product coming out of 2020, beating all the odds, makes it a winner for me.

The buzz was justified, I feel everyone can feed off this beautifully cultivated golden nectar and take something good away with them as 2020 drew to a close. I was more than happy sitting next to a cosy fire, with the people I love most waving goodbye to what was a very strange yet eye opening year, ready for the challenge, excitement and freshness of the year ahead...

I hope you and your families have a happy and safe New Year, Cheers!

- Antonia

Autumn is among us...

I love this time of year, when the subtle change of season is upon us. Slowly we can see the leaves changing, temperature dropping and nights getting darker. With each flickering of burning candles and crunch of newly fallen leaves it is officially the start of cosy season...

I feel Autumn is the best time of the year. Tans from summer are still present, gardens still have sprinklings of colour from the more determined plants and the joys of the months just been with the clean slate of a new academic year allow for happiness and peace to settle in with the fall.

The playful summer dresses are swapped for chunky knits, the golden tones appearing on the trees and the warm summer sun is dimming to a beautiful glow. In my garden the brambles and apples have come out which has made me very busy in the kitchen. Last week, I decided to spend the day enjoying my home, making Apple Pie and Beef Stroganoff and accompanying this with a beautiful Côte du Rhone Village.

Beef Stroganoff is a heavy dish full of flavours. The mustard, tomatoes, pepper and beef stock are all rich and need a weighted wine to strike the perfect balance. This wine did exactly that. The spice, vanilla, leather and black fruit characteristics with the full bodied nature of this wine made the perfect partner for this dish.

This wine is produced by Michel Chapoutier, a excellent Maison from the Côte Rôtie area of the Northern Rhone region. This translates to 'the roasted slopes' which gives a picture of the terroir of the area. Côte Rôtie produces wines which are spicy, very full bodied with a beautifully deep colour. The best wine here benefit from a wonderful aromatic freshness.

The Côte Rôtie hug the hillsides around the valley and is slowly taking over Hermitage in the amount of wine being produced. Michel Chapoutier Maison has a long standing history and reputation dating back to 1808. The Maison has deep rooted values including printing brail on every bottle of wine and using biodynamic wine making techniques since 1991. This stemmed from Michel Chapoutier's love for the terroir.

The soil in which this wine was produced has been treated with biodynamic farming techniques. The vines sit on south facing slopes providing the perfect opportunity for the Syrah grape to benefit from the sun and ripen to produce floral yet powerful characteristics.

The grapes, due to local landscape, are all hand harvested and are fermented for 3-4 weeks then aged for 16-18 months. 80% of this is aged in new oak barrels and 20% are aged in stainless steel to preserve fruitiness. This is then blended to create the perfect balance and achieve the desired style.

This wine was beautiful. Achieving 4.1 stars on Vivino I would recommend this and buy it again. At £9 from tesco this wine was a steal, Vintage years cost closer to £80. The pairing of the rich Beef Stroganoff and this beautifully balanced wine was the perfect ending to a cosy day.

Followed with a warm slice of Apple Crumble and custard, it is safe to say Autumn is definitely creeping in... and I can't wait.

Life Hiatus...

After the calmness lockdown provided, I have found it difficult to get back up to speed of real life. Over the last few weeks of rushing, I realised I needed the chance to catch my breath, so I whisked myself away to a remote island...

My new London adventure. Starting my WSET Diploma fills me with so much excitement, but also fear. The wine world  is so complex, every time I feel I have grasped a concept, I realise I have barely scratched the surface. Recently, I have been studying hard for the course while puppy-sitting my new niece (a perfect fluff ball called Penny), applying for jobs (thank you Covid) and doing a whole load of life admin that was forgotten about during the months of lockdown.

A few weeks ago, after coming to the realisation that we won't be hopping on a plane and jetting off to a sun soaked location, my friend and I decided we would see what Scotland has to offer. I have been fortunate enough to spend my Summers in Spain since I was born and therefore have never really appreciated the beauty of Scottish Summer. We loaded up the car, put on our cosy jumpers and headed to Gigha, a small remote island on the West-coast of Scotland about a three hour car journey from Glasgow.

Gigha is tiny, we were able to drive from one end of the island (on one of the two roads on the island) in 10 minutes. At the North of the island, there is a geographical wonder called 'Twin Beaches', major Chitty Chitty Bang Bang vibes.

The crystal clear water, white sand beaches and glorious golden sun could have been any island in the Caribbean not Scotland!

We set up out tent and spent the afternoon paddling in rock pools, playing scrabble and of course, having a glass of wine. Truly wonderful...

The wine of choice was an inexpensive Tesco Pinot Grigio Blush. It was nothing outstanding but did the trick as we sipped the pale pink wine and played in the sun. This wine is from Trentino- Alto Adige, situated at the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy. The regions moderate climate, short summers and low rainfall enable light bodied red wines and aromatic whites to grow in the terraced vineyards. 

Pinot Grigio is the most popular grape variety in this region, the dry, light bodied and high acid style with green fruit and citrus characteristics are expected for this area.

The Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) grape can make a variety of styles, from full bodied aromatic to light bodied and simple. With a berry colour, which is much darker than other white varieties, a pinky tinge can be visible in some bottles dependent on winemaker style (hence why this bottle is delicately pink!). The grape is early budding and ripening, meaning it will grow and ripen earlier in the summer months compared to other varieties. The grape berries themselves can be very small with potential to produce high sugar content and low/moderate acidity.



Pinot Grigio originated in France but saw remarkable success in Northern Italy with planting of this variety doubling between 1900's-2000's due to customer demand in the USA and United Kingdom.

This bottle from Tesco cost £7. With floral notes of elderflower and orange blossom followed by delicate stone fruit flavours such as nectarine and peach rounded off with subtle strawberry, this wine was perfect for a evening in the sun.

I wouldn't rush back to get this wine and I believe the 4 star rating on Vivimo is generous. However, this wine was ideal when watching the sunset, lighting a fire and listing to the distant call of seagulls while looking over the Atlantic Ocean towards Ireland and relishing in the calmness of a Scottish Summer..