Summertime New Zealand Reds and Whites

Our theme this month is “summer whites and reds”, with the focus being the refreshing wines of New Zealand. I’ve long been a fan of this country’s racy Sauvignon Blancs, but excellent Chardonnays, Pinot Gris, Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Pinot Noirs, and Syrahs are regularly being produced here as well—as you will see, if you sample some of the wines below.

And New Zealand wines are on a tear
in the USA lately, with sales up (in volume) more than 50% in 2005 alone, in part because of the introduction of moderately priced version like The Jibe and Monkey Bay. The greater presence of these larger brands has helped build awareness of New Zealand among wine drinkers, while providing them reasonably priced wines to introduce them to the category.

Please note that every wine below has a screw cap closure except one. In my opinion, screw caps are great closures. They remove the possibility of “cork taint” (primarily TCA) from wines using them, and are much easier to open—and to reseal, if desired–than wines with corks. Although some people (both consumer and in the wine/hospitality trade) are concerned about screw caps being used on red wines, my experience with them so far suggests that there is little cause for concern—provided the wine has been prepared for life under a screw cap, as opposed to a cork (i.e., handling potential reductive character, determining the proper level of sulphur dioxide).

Vino