I’m tired. I’m sore. I’m in awe.
Queenstown, in the bottom centre of the south island of NZ, is known to us Aussies as the party town. It’s where we love to go to ski, if we can afford it, but you never just ski in Party Town. For the wine lover it is also Pinot Town, being the largest centre near the Central Otago wine region. Party Town / Pinot Town… what lay ahead of me?
Being summer the season seems all wrong to be in Queenstown but I was soon to discover that summer is actually just as popular as winter if not more so. It’s the adventure sports time of year and this place pumps out adventure.
I wasn’t in town for the adventure, I was there over the weekend for the Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration, a three-day event where the region gets to showcase their wonderful Pinot Noir to the world. I was a guest of Mud House Wine and I was soon to realize that I really hadn’t grasped the extent of what was ahead of me. It may not have been bungee jumping (it doesn’t pair well with wine) but it was nothing other than adventure and excitement.
After flying down through the valleys between the mountains and into the airport I arrived at the hotel to discover a welcome bag from Mud House and inside was a bottle of their lovely Claim 431 Vineyard Pinot accompanied by some Berocca and a box of Panadol. I LOL’d, then got nervous. The message was clear.
My room in the hotel was great! It wasn’t some top floor abode with boring views of the lake and mountains it was on the ground floor right up against the road and footpath. It meant I could hear everyone’s joyous captivating conversations and I’d often just arrive back to the room, switch on the light, forget to pull the curtains and strip off without a care. Hello Queenstown!
Central Otago is quite a new wine region and only arrived on the commercial stage in the 80s and 90s. It may be young but as each vintage goes by the wine from the region increases in intensity and excitement. It’s the Pinot that they are most known for, a style displaying subtle but complex fruit characters that run over a savoury mineral backbone to a lovely silky finish.
Mud House are a relatively large producer from Marlborough, which, in short, is not Central Otago. They are also owned by a corporate wine company Accolade. In saying that they actually have their own vineyards in Central Otago so they “technically” qualify to be at the event. The question in my mind on this was “but is their heart in it with the locals?”
I was one of four lucky guests of Mud House and it was straight into it for us soon after we arrived late in the afternoon. Along with another four from the Mud House team we all headed out for a drink and then off to the welcome event where all sorts of bottles of wine from the region were laid out on a table or in buckets for you to pour your own. I discovered here that there are some damn good Riesling coming through, something to potentially keep an eye on.
We stayed at the welcome event for a while then headed out to a wonderful steakhouse called Jervois where we gobbled down sensational food accompanied by some good wine by both Mud House and from Ben the chief winemaker’s own stash out of his cellar. After taking a pee at the urinals that will either fill a man full of confidence or fear we spent some time on the town. I got a few hours sleep in there I’m sure and I needed it for the big “serious” day ahead. I thought one night out would do me.
By 8am in the morning all 200 or so delegates of the event were on buses heading out to “The Shed” in the vineyards of Northburn Station. Tasting began at 9am and the region’s producers had to display their latest vintage of premium Pinot (2013) plus a bottle of any other Pinot of choice. This went for three hours and involved wandering around the shed tasting and talking with the producers. I quickly learned that spitting is a survival technique.
There was so much good wine that I couldn’t taste it from every producer and I’d hate to leave anyone out but some of my key favourites were Valli, Prophet’s Rock, Peregrine, Gibbston Valley, Quartz Reef, Mt Difficulty, Akarua, Rippon, Misha’s Vineyard and Chard Farm. On top of the wine there were some special moments like interacting with the famous Aussie, whoops, Kiwi (or is that Northern Irish) actor Sam Neill (who owns Two Paddocks) as if I didn’t know who he was (it’s un-Australian to make a big deal out of it). Then there was the fun act of taking a photo of the T-shirt being worn by the lovely lass at Mount Edward. I honoured my agreement with her to not show her face, which was a pity, believe me, but a deal is a deal.
Although the Mud House premium Claim 431 Vineyard Pinot is a good expression of the refined fruit balanced across a backbone of mineral texture that the top wines of the region are displaying, I was impressed with their entry-level local Pinot that winemaker Ben described as a “Monday to Thursday” wine. It’s far more fruit and spice driven and would probably appeal to the average wine drinker more especially when it sits around the $20 mark. One thing about good Central Otago Pinot is that it often sits in the price range that the sort of people who travel to Queenstown can only afford.
For lunch we headed to the spectacularly scenic Carrick Wines where the theme was local including all the decorative arrangements from out of the garden that adorned our tables. It hardly ever rains here so we were seated outside… but it rained! So much hard work had gone into the tables so it was sad that we had to pull them all off and move the tables inside. All part of the adventure and the food was just magical with great wine to match!
The evening involved a wonderful informal cocktail event at a local golf club where we got to drink, you guessed it, more local wine! I wasn’t complaining. And, of course, we ended up at some bar back in Party Town where I switched to Champagne followed by a “cleansing” ale and then discovered the joys of the local “Dark n Stormy”. Asking for trouble! Like the previous night I still managed to get in a few hours sleep.
We had a formal tasting event on the last day where we spent a few hours tasting Pinot from two other regions in the world that have schist soils almost identical to Central Otago’s, these being one wine from Chile and five from Germany. They were all quite special wines with a few of them being knock-outs! We were trying to determine whether or not the similar soils produced similar wines and although there were things in common with those of Central Otago, primarily the minerality, there were so many differences. We were left wondering whether climate plays the real part in shaping the wine.
We had another spectacular lunch this time at Botswana Butchery. There were four courses and the first course was pretty-well 3 entrées on one plate and the second was two. Another feast! Here I discovered that the restaurants participating in the event had all been asked to develop special menus using local produce to showcase the matching local wines. They were in on it and they exuded the same passion of expression as the local wine peeps.
The evening event was the close of the whole celebration and it was, of course, spectacular. We took the gondola up to Skyline restaurant where the theme was formal and the wine was mostly “bring your own”. Those who had “got the memo” like myself brought at least one bottle of wine to the event from out of their cellar. I took it literally and had one bottle stuffed in my bag but some people brought loads. There was so much good wine that I got lost in it all. I brought along a 1972 Seppelt Show Sparkling Burgundy (Shiraz) that turned out to be spot on beautiful, intense on the nose while still having lovely fruit and aged complexity along with a bit of sweet kick at the end, but polarizing as some people couldn’t quite deal with how different it was.
And when the formal event finished what was there left to do? Well hit Party Town again of course. Another few hours of sleep in there too, I think.
One thing I noticed at the official events and the “after parties” was just how much the Mud House team interacted with the locals, helped out, and had a great laugh with them. And after checking with some key locals it was clear that Mud House had very much been both accepted by and accepting of the Central Otago wine community. My question had a clear answer.
I met so many good people, wine lovers from around the world, and I know I was lucky to have been invited. It was a privilege I’d like to think I made the most of. I got involved and immersed myself so that I could discover the true essence of people and place. What I found was a dedicated bunch of local wine producers who are very serious about building up both their wine and their brand but at the same time they are all having lots of fun working as a cohesive team to make sure this happens.
Wine regions of the world take note! This was a spot-on event that totally showcased people and place in relation to the wine. I will definitely be on the lookout for more Central Otago Pinot.
Those Berocca and Panadol came in handy! And it’s salads and water only for the rest of the week…
Author: Conrad Grah
Disclosure: If it’s not already obvious I was a guest of Mud House Wine meaning they housed me and made sure I was well fed and lubricated but I was not paid to be at the event and opinions are totally mine although the enjoyment of the occasion always enhances the wine. I had to take a couple of days annual leave from my day job to go, but it was worth it!
Important: Always drink responsibly. Yes it was a celebration but a lot of time was sadly spent spitting while the rest of the time I spent pacing myself and balancing it all with drinking water. Yes, a boring message but necessary! 😉
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Thanks man!
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Love your travels, but even more love the one t-shirt about which wine Jesus drank. I need that shirt, though I think he must have drank old vine Zinfandel
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It’s a great shirt and looks like you can get it here –> http://www.mountedward.co.nz/wines/merchandise.html
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You are great, thank you
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What fun! Do you mind if I envy you?
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It was huge fun! Would you really envy a face like this? 😉
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Sharing this on my FB page and specifically drawing it to the attention of my South African mates who live in the Antipodes….
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Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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I love Queenstown and Central Pinot! Had dinner at the Botswana Butchery while there on honeymoon and they made it a special occasion 👍
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Sounds like the perfect honeymoon Frank!
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Amen, bro
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Cheers!
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Thinking of heading to New Zealand for our belated honeymoon, Felton Road and Two Paddocks are on the list, think I’ll be adding all these too!
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The region is definitely worth the belated trip Mike. I probably should have mentioned Felton Road too. So many great producers.
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I know, saving the pennies as we speak!
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I’m so glad someone else rates their wines by days of the week! Makes perfect sense to me. V jealous of the 3 day wine tasting event. Sounds like liquid heaven.
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Good rating system. Sort of like laying out your undies for the week!
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As always, great post, Conrad.
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Thanks so much Jackie! I love it when the story is handed to me on a plate, and in this case, quite literally… 🙂
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What a nice trip, great food and really good wine, nothing gets better than this 😊😊😊
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And really good people to top it all off. A special time indeed. Salud!
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What an awesome experience! Thank you for sharing your fun and making us all jealous! Cheers!!
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Thanks Michelle. I was extremely privileged to have been invited, it was a special event. After reading about an adventure or two of your own we may cross paths one day on the road. Clink clink to that! Cheers.
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Conrad that would be awesome! Cheers to that my friend!
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I am thinking a little wine will take away your soreness…. Just saying, a toast to health and travel mercies, too!
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You’re right but the detox is doing me the world of wonders, well I’m telling myself that anyway…
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Fabulous! I’d certainly take a couple days off my job for this!
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Yep, well worth it! Cheers Resa.
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Cheers!
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Great review! It was a fun event and great to hear how you enjoyed it! With the different venues for lunches on both days, everyone will have had a slightly different but special experience. I like how the Pinot Celebrations breaks things down in to smaller more intimate groups for some activities then brings everyone back together again for others. It really helps people get to know one another! Misha (Misha’s Vineyard)
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You’re totally right and it was a pleasure to meet you Misha. I saw a tweet of yours after the dinner was over; did you get to try the sparkling shiraz in the end?
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I can`t deny there`s a spirit in the bottle … I did last night ..lol 🙂
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Right on! Thanks for reading.
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Great review, thanks for sharing! I want to get there next year, as absolutely love Pinot Noir, and NZ make the best I reckon (have to be careful, my husband is a kiwi so we have lots of debates on this topic). I love that t-shirt too… definitely getting some for a couple of my work mate whom are avid riesling drinkers.
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Sounds like this would be the perfectly place for you, just don’t admit it to your husband… 😉
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Conrad, have you seen this article? http://www.futurity.org/red-wine-resveratrol-memory-850232/?utm_source=Futurity+Today&utm_campaign=7b99fdab5c-February_5_20152_5_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e34e8ee443-7b99fdab5c-203917525
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Thanks so much for that Beth, I hadn’t seen that particular article and it will be a great one to share!
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Gorgeous table views. What a trip…Thanks for sharing with those of us viewing only our computer….and it doesn’t even drink wine!
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One thing the region isn’t lacking in is views.
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Hard work but as they say in the classics… someone’s got to do it!! 😉 Truth be told, I envy you!! 😀
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Totally hard work! 😉
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Love your posts! 😀
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Thanks for dropping in Allyson! 🙂
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This trip sounds fabulous. NZ pinots make it to the US, but not sure how many of the better ones do.
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If you come across one from Central Otago grab it!
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A huge retailer in the area shows their stock online, and I see Loveblock (2011) and Wild Block Cupids Arrow (2007) … $1 difference in price … your recommended choice?
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Interestingly, neither of those producers were at the celebration and that’s probably because they come from out of town but bring fruit in from Central Otago. Anyway, looking at those wines I get a feeling that they will be more of the everyday fruit driven style (like the Mud House I mentioned) rather than the savoury mineral driven style of the more expensive wines. I’m sure they would still be lovely and the 2007 would have a bit of aged complexity to it so I’d probably go with that (plus Craggy Range are a top NZ producer).
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Many thanks!
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I have to tell you, this is the coolest blog I’ve ever seen.
I surely would like to break away from politics … but I can’t, it’s what I do.
Keep this up and I just want to thank you for visiting Cry and Howl.
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Cheers!
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Reblogged this on IdealisticRebel's Daily View of Favorites.
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Thanks so much for the reblog! 🙂
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My pleasure always. Keep writing. Hugs, Barbara
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I so need to get that reisling t-shirt!
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😛
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Hey Conrad. Now that trip sounds awesome. Thank s for sharing though maybe a little envious. Thank you so much for liking my poem ‘Silo!’ Be Safe and Well. The Foureyed Poet.
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No worries, thank you!
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Thank you for stopping by my blog, Conrad. And after visiting yours, I’m even more grateful. I look forward to following your wine adventures!
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No worries, cheers!
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hummmmmmmmmmm I do not think MUMM champagne is a pure Pinot Noir – But some of champagne are 100% pinot noir (blanc de noirs) It’s quite a hard champagne champagne to drink as an apetizer but very nice as a meal champagne – Pol Roger champagne (De Billy familly) regular bottle is quite similar to a 100% pinot noir
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Shhh, don’t tell anyone we weren’t sticking to the brief… 😉
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Love Rippon, great wine.
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Yep, it sure is.
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Great read! Love Central Otago Pinot! After a visit a couple of years ago I’ve been buying from Chard Farm who now deliver freight free into Oz! Yippee!
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Perfect!
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Being a wino myself I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Being over 70 I must admit that I am praying for the Pinot aimed at old people who enjoy the Pinot in the evenings to come on the market – Pinot More and we can be sure of uninterrupted sleep.
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LOL
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Reblogged this on The Wine Wankers and commented:
As part of our holiday re-run series, here’s our post on the extremely fun Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration!
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I got drunk on your post! And I loved that image —’Jesus drank Riesling’.
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Haha! Glad you enjoyed it.
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[…] Conrad (Winewankers.com) ; uk.pinterest.com […]
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