Category Archives: New World wine

Pirramimma 2004 Old Bush Vine Grenache – takes no prisoners!

Posted on September 23, 2010 by tigchandler

In honour of International Grenache Day (September 24) I cracked my cherished bottle of Pirramimma 2004 Old Bush Vine Grenache. This is a special wine with an interesting history – the vines were planted in 1944 by prisoners of war … Continue reading →

Posted in Grenache, McLaren Vale wine, New World wine, South Australian wine, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Better or wurzer?

Posted on September 8, 2010 by tigchandler

  On my trip to NZ earlier this year I came across a wurzer, a wine I had never heard of – so I had to have it, especially as it had a name similar to one of my favourite … Continue reading →

Posted in Gewurztraminer, New World wine, NZ wine, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Montana? No – Brancott Estate

Posted on August 30, 2010 by tigchandler

Montana, one of the best known and largest wine brands in NZ, is changing its name to Brancott Estate. It is already known by the new name in the US. Pernod Ricard NZ, the owners of the Montana brand, say … Continue reading →

Posted in New World wine, NZ wine, Wine news | Tagged | 1 Comment

When the Kiwi and Aussie stars align…

Posted on August 22, 2010 by tigchandler

I met up with some wine-loving friends for dinner and my contribution to the wine supply was Villa Maria’s 2008 Cellar Selection syrah from Hawke’s Bay, another acquisition from my recent trip to NZ. Everyone contributed their views as I … Continue reading →

Posted in New World wine, NZ wine, Syrah/Shiraz, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Chile avoiding wine discounting

Posted on August 17, 2010 by tigchandler

Chile is not prepared to follow the Australian and NZ examples of heavily discounting its wine exports. In this article in the drinks business Chilean producers are said to be shunning cut-price deals with the UK off-trade. Instead they are … Continue reading →

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Dry, spicy – ask Bananas

Posted on August 2, 2010 by tigchandler

Bananas – my beanie bag spider monkey from Cairns – not a shy retiring character as you can see – is so bananas about my latest NZ gewürz he had to pose with it before he let me taste. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Gewurztraminer, New World wine, NZ wine, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Matua Valley – still SB pacesetters

Posted on July 28, 2010 by tigchandler

Here I am again, unashamedly ranting on about wines that have tickled my fancy. I’m on the NZ theme since I just got back from there, and between work commitments visited some iconic wineries including Matua Valley in West Auckland.   Matua … Continue reading →

Posted in New World wine, NZ wine, Sauvignon blanc, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Get into it! Oh boy…

Posted on July 13, 2010 by tigchandler

OK so my veneer is very thin – my main reason for this blog – to share my passion for wine. I know there are lots of us out there – now there’s one more! I am just polishing off … Continue reading →

Posted in Gewurztraminer, New World wine, NZ wine, Wine varietals and blends | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

New Zealand Wine Centre – what a find!

Posted on July 13, 2010 by tigchandler

I was lucky enough to take a trip to the land of the long white cloud and while in Napier, Hawke’s Bay, I saw an advert for the New Zealand Wine Centre. On arrival I was delighted to find a … Continue reading →

Posted in New World wine, NZ wine | Tagged , , | 1 Comment