A wine less ordinary - Churton, New Zealand

There are some wines that are like catnip for wine writers – we just can’t get enough of sherry or Riesling – but which never seem to float the boats of consumers. Conversely, there are wines which have enduring commercial success, but which we in the trade find it hard to get excited about. And perhaps the prime example of this is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

I suppose we have just tasted too many – and too many poorly made, unexciting and “attack of the clones” Kiwi Sauvignons – to get excited. Which is a shame, are there are plenty of good ones – just too much poor stuff as well.

So it was good for me to be made to taste the wines of Churton (I know, poor me, who’d have the job of a wine writer?) recently.

From the outset there are signs that Churton is not just A N Other Sauvignon Blanc. Viz, an ex-pat English owner/winemaker with a background in selling fine wine here before he crossed the world to New Zealand; ageing of the wines before release rather than bottling almost before the fermentation has finished; and use of biodynamic methods. The vines are grown on slopes above the valley floor, where the majority of vines grow on flat land that is easy to work and harvest by machine.

I think you can tell from my preamble that these wines are not going to be cheap – but I would argue that, given their quality and the care and attention that goes into them, they actually represent good value for money.

Churton Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – Hennings have the 2012 on offer for £11.85, Berry Bros for £15.95; Tanners have the 2013 for £13.60

2013 is the current vintage for Churton - and 2013 was a great vintage here. The ageing on lees gives the wine a lovely richness and texture, but it retains its acid structure and the finish goes on and on. The fruit is citrussy, with notes of elderflower and a hint of flintiness.

Also look out for Churton Best End 2013 (yes, as in best end of lamb), a single parcel Sauvignon Blanc made in this exceptional year, which has been given the barrel fermentation and ageing treatment. Churton’s Viognier is a revelation and their Pinot Noir is, as you might imagine, not too shabby either.

You say tomato, I say Te Mata

You don’t know how many years I’ve waited to make that feeble pun in print. The Te Mata in question is New Zealand’s oldest family-owned winery, where vines were first planted at their Havelock Hills vineyard in Hawkes Bay back in 1892.

In recent years, the New Zealand wine regions making waves in the export market have been elsewhere: Marlborough, home to the oceans of Sauvignon Blanc that we do our best to drink dry every year; and  Central Otago and Martinborough for their Pinot Noir. Hawkes Bay has taken something of a back seat, despite having a long history of winemaking dating back to the mid-19^th century.

While we tend to think of New Zealand as pretty much a white wine producer (all that Sauvignon Blanc), Hawkes Bay has major plantings of Syrah, Merlot and other red varieties. Sauvignon Blanc is still the single most planted variety, followed by Chardonnay, but as a region it stands out as one of the few parts of the country able to successfully ripen the warmer climate Bordeaux varieties and Syrah.

The climate of Hawkes Bay is broadly similar to Bordeaux, ie warm summers and a strong maritime influence. Hawkes Bay just edges it on annual average hours of sunshine (2188 vs 2052) and has slightly less rainfall (803mm average vs 900mm in Bordeaux). Compare this to the averages on the south coast of England, usually the sunniest part of the UK, of around 1750 hours of sunshine a year and 900-950mm of annual rainfall. I can certainly see the attraction of Hawkes Bay from a sun-lover’s point of view.

A key part of Hawke’s Bay’s renown is down to producers like Te Mata, with their long time reputation for fine reds and compelling white wines.

Te Mata wines in the UK

Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc – Majestic list the 2012 vintage for £23, The Wine Society for £17.50; thedrinkshop.com has the 2010 for £18.21, but you must buy 6 bottles

A style first made by Te Mata in the 1980s, this confounds the typical Kiwi Sauvignon model, which is fermented in stainless steel and designed for early drinking. Looking to Bordeaux (again) for inspiration, they barrel ferment in 25-30% new oak and add Semillon and Sauvignon Gris to the blend. Ignore the usual advice for New World Sauvignon Blanc, which is DYA (drink youngest available) – this is a wine that really gets into its stride after a few years in bottle.

The mix of varieties and the barrel fermentation give a more interesting texture and range of flavours than you would usually find in a Kiwi Sauvignon. The 2012 is a youthful, linear wine with fennel and angelica aromas and a powerful, mineral finish. The 2010 has gunflint aromas overlaying tropical fruit. The palate has some viscosity and a touch of grapefruit bitterness – this would be my choice for drinking now.

Elston Chardonnay – Berry Bros have the 2012 for £28.95, New Zealand House of Wine for £21.99 and various independent merchants at prices in between

We’re more used to Chardonnay being given the barrel fermentation and ageing treatment, in classic white Burgundy mode. While New World makers of this style of Chardonnay are probably heartily sick of having their wines compared to Burgundy, it’s hard to look beyond it when looking for a benchmark for oaked Chardonnay.

I especially love the 2013 vintage, which doesn’t appear to have hit the shelves here yet. It combines Chablis-style minerality and lively acidity with a floral note and manages to combine delicacy with bags of flavour. While you’re waiting for this to arrive, you’ll just have to try a bottle of the linear and intense 2012.

Coleraine 2010 - £49.95 from Berry Bros, £39.64 from thedrinkshop.com, £46.29 from Flagship Wines. Older vintages available from various independents

In New Zealand terms, Coleraine is a positively antediluvian wine, dating back to 1982. It’s the jewel in the crown of Te Mata’s wines and arguably one of New Zealand’s finest. If you have expensive tastes in claret, this could be a relatively cheap option.

It’s a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and it has classic Bordeaux proportions too: medium, not full, bodied and with a sense of power reined in; dark cassis fruit with cassia and clove spice along with juicy acidity are there now. You could certainly enjoy it now, but wouldn’t necessarily see the point of it for a few years yet.

If you’d like that Bordeaux blend in something to enjoy rather sooner (and more cheaply!), then search out a bottle of Te Mata’s Awatea. There’s some lovely summer pudding style fruit (and acidity) here and prices for the 2009 vintage start at around £21 from various independent merchants.

Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir 2013 – £12.95 from The Wine Society; older vintages £13-15 from independent merchants

At the positively bargain end of things, I hugely enjoyed this Gamay (the Beaujolais grape) with its crunchy plum and raspberry fruit. It had the acidity and fruit intensity to stand up to a tomato and red pepper risotto and, like Beaujolais, is extra refreshing served lightly chilled.

Christmas top wine tips and picks

If you’re still casting around for ideas to inspire your wine choices for Christmas, read on. Also read on if you’re one of those people, like me, who has already laid in the necessary, but can’t resist a quick scan of others’ recommendations, to see if they have the good sense to choose the same wines as you would. In which case, we should both probably get out more, but hey, don’t let me stop you reading.

Aperitif

La Noë Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie 2012 - £11.75 from Lea and Sandeman; Château du Cléray Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur lie (Sauvion) - £9.99, or £8.99 if you buy two at Majestic

If you spend a bit more than the minimum on Muscadet, you’ll be reminded why it was such a popular style in the first place. The Sauvion has more classic citrus freshness, whereas La Noë’s structure comes not from acidity but with a certain mineral weight, possibly influenced by the granitic soils of the vineyard. Either would make a classy aperitif or fine accompaniment to seafood. 

Christmas Day

Domaine Champalou, Le Portail 2010 - £22.90 from Caves de Pyrène, near Guildford

Feel free to drink white wine if that’s what you fancy with Christmas dinner – and I don’t think it matters a great deal what the meat is (if any). All the flavours we pile up onto one plate mean a couple of things: avoid anything too subtle, which will be overwhelmed (eg Chablis); or too flamboyantly flavoured, which might clash (eg Gewurztraminer). Christmas dinner is often a multi-generational affair too and you don’t want to intimidate those who maybe don’t enjoy wine that much or even drink it for most of the year.

But if you do want to splash out a bit, this is the kind of thing I’d plump for. It is a 100% Chenin Blanc from Vouvray in the Loire which has been given the white Burgundy treatment, with fermentation and ageing in oak barrel for 18 months before bottling. This is not a typical Vouvray, but the Champalou family like this style of wine, so they make it. It fulfills much the same function as would a white Burgundy, or any high quality white with barrel fermentation and ageing characters, but the Chenin grape imparts its own personality, giving hints of fresh ginger and honey in harmony with the spice of the oak.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2011 - £22.50 down to £17.99 if you buy two at Majestic

I am a big fan of Pinot Noir for Christmas dinner: the vibrant red fruit rubs along with rather than fights with the multiple flavours on the plate and there is just a hint of tannin, but good acidity to refresh the palate and cut through the richness. 

This one is from Martinborough, New Zealand, which produces the kind of exuberant fruit we associate with the New World, but with a powerful underlying structure and food-friendly savouriness.

Château Musar 2005 - £19.99 at Majestic, (and £20 at The Wine Society, though their Christmas ordering deadline has now passed)

This is for those who like to live by the mantra: claret for Christmas – but with a twist. Young red Bordeaux is I feel too tannic and structured to meld with the wide variety of flavours (including sweet) that are involved in Christmas dinner. However, mature ones are more mellow and harmonious and this is an example of that mature style, but not from Bordeaux. A really good Rioja Reserva or Gran Reserva with some maturity would also do a grand job.

The Musar is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan grown in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Unusually it is not released until a full seven years after harvest, having been fermented and matured in cement tank and then French oak barrels, before spending more time back in tank before a final rest of four years in bottle. It has a combination of high-toned pungency and mellow spiced fruit with hints of leaves and leather that will appeal to fans of mature wine.

Stanton & Killeen Classic 12 year old Muscat - £15.60 (for a half bottle) from Caves de Pyrène

What, I hear you cry, are we to drink with Christmas pudding (or Christmas cake, or mince pies)? I have tried many different accompaniments over the years and there are in fact a good many vinous matches for these dried fruit and spice-heavy concoctions. A rich, sweet, old Oloroso would be wonderful; ditto a 20-year old tawny Port, Malmsey (or Malvasia) Madeira, a solera-aged Maury or Banyuls. A less obvious, but successful, choice is Moscatel de Valencia, whose distinct orange peel flavour marries with the dried fruit and candied peel of the pudding or cake.

However, Rutherglen muscat from Australia is the closest you can get to Christmas pudding in liquid form, with its intensely sweet yet tangy flavours of dates, treacle, caramel, nuts – it’s one of those wines in which you find something new with every sip.

Boxing Day

Les Hauts de Bergelle 2011, Saint Mont - £7.99 at Majestic, down to £6.99 if you buy two

You may never have heard of the region of Saint Mont, which is an area between Bordeaux and the Pyrenees, tucked in next to Gascony. You are unlikely to have heard of the grape varieties involved here either (Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac), let alone tasted them before. These disadvantages are more than made up for by the fact that this is made by one of France’s very best co-operatives and that the grape varieties, while rare, make wonderfully characterful wines. An intense grapefruity tang, allied to hints of apple and quince and a subtle whisp of honey make for a punchy wine that would pep up Boxing Day cold meat and pickles.

Bellingham The Bernard Series Roussanne 2013 - £10.99, down to £7.99 at Sainsbury’s

Roussanne hails originally from the Rhône valley, but it has been on its travels and appears here in a South African incarnation. This is another weighty, characterful wine with a rich mixture of stone fruit, pear, citrus and herbs and a hint of damp wool. Quite a full-on style, but refreshing. 

Next time – the party’s over: hangover advice for the compulsively convivial.

A passion for Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir can turn you mad.  Like the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey, whose irresistible song lured sailors to their death, it sings to you with its alluring perfume and beguiling fruit.  But if you do succumb, if you allow yourself to be seduced by this most seductive of wine grapes, then you are surely lost, and will be crushed upon the rocks of your obsession.  Condemned to a life dominated by the pursuit of the perfect Pinot, you will be haunted by memories of Pinots past, frittering away your money on fine Burgundy, only to be, mostly, sorely disappointed – and considerably poorer.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  If you have not yet given in to the temptations of Pinot Noir flesh, then the safest option is to follow the example of Odysseus and to strap yourself, metaphorically, to the mast of your ship, allowing you to pass by and to continue your life’s voyage untouched.

It’s too late for me now, but you may be able to save yourselves.  If you haven’t yet been bewitched by the siren song of Pinot Noir, stop reading now.  If, however, you are one of the fallen, then wallow in what follows; sustenance to your obsession.

My personal quest for the perfect Pinot has led me on a vinous pilgrimage around the world.  Of course the very finest examples can be found rather closer to home, in Burgundy.  But, frankly, I’m too poor to be able to buy the best – and what on earth would be the point in not buying what you know to be the best?

Chile is starting to come up with some pretty good versions, especially from the Leyda Valley.  Argentina’s far south is capable of producing some fine, juicy Pinot.  California’s versions are opulent, sweet and alcoholic, often overplaying their hand and the best can rival Burgundy for price.  Oregon is renowned as the home of seriously fine, nuanced and delicate Pinot Noir, but there’s little of it about here and what there is, is mighty pricey.  Australia is beginning to win out in its struggle to produce sufficiently elegant Pinot in its generally warm, if not hot, climate.

New Zealand, however, will get many a Pinot-phile’s pulse racing.  The region making most noise for its Pinots has been Otago, way down in the South Island.  Most definitely cool (frosts are a regular feature) the grapes are able to ripen fully, while preserving wonderfully fresh, bright fruit.  We also see plenty of Pinot from Marlborough, at the northern tip of the South Island and a region more often associated with Sauvignon Blanc.  Their Pinots are mostly just fine and are getting better with each passing year, but for class and complexity, you need to make the short hop across the Cook Straits to Martinborough, in the very south of the North Island.

Crraggy Range's Te Muna Road vineyard

And what makes this region so special?  As always, it’s impossible to point to a single factor, but the combination of cool, positively windy sites, low-ish annual rainfall (very similar to Southeast England) and relatively older vines all play their part.  Soil-wise the key element is the Martinborough Terrace, whose 30,000 year old soils are made up of decomposed volcanic ash.  Most of the best vineyards snake along this terrace, which is now pretty much completely planted.  Old vines are often pointed to as a key to really fine wine and New Zealand is a land of young vines – but the leaps in quality with each vintage show the growing contribution of vine age, combined with the skill of the winemakers.

Martinborough Terrace

In terms of total New Zealand wine production, Martinborough is small, representing just 1.6% of the total.  Pinot Noir is the 60-odd producers’ speciality, representing 55% of plantings.  The ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc is the next biggest, then come Chardonnay and a range of other white varieties.

Wines to feed your Pinot passion

Ata Rangi Pinot Noir - £34-40 from The Vineyard Dorking, The Guildford Wine Company, The Wine Reserve Cobham and slurp.co.uk

Ata Rangi is where it all began in Martinborough:  vines were planted here in 1980, at the dawn of the modern era of wine-making in New Zealand.  Their estate wine is the definition of Martinborough Pinot Noir.

One look at the price of this will tell you that a serious Pinot habit is an expensive one – don’t say you weren’t warned. 

If you can get hold of an older vintage, it’s definitely worth it.  The 2008 is smooth and harmonious and still full of lively, youthful cranberry and raspberry fruit, with hints of pencil shavings.  The 2006, at six years old is just beginning to show some of the maturing aromas that are like catnip for fans of Pinot Noir:  deep rose, clove and cinnamon spice in a fine, lively wine.

If the best part of 40 quid is too much (and it is for me), then Ata Rangi’s Crimson Pinot Noir, available for £16-20, gives you some of the class and excitement of its big brother, without the same staying power and ageing ability.

Escarpment Pinot Noir 2009 - £17.95 from slurp.co.uk

Look for the interplay of juicy fruit and spice, with tannins providing a sandy feel.  Over time this will develop a lovely silky-smooth texture.  Escarpment’s Kupe single vineyard Pinot Noir 2008, £19.99 from The Vineyard, Dorking, gives you a sense of the evolution of a wine that still has plenty of life in it.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2010 - £20-22.50 from Taurus Wines Bramley and slurp.co.uk

Steve Smith MW of Craggy Range makes wines from the entire length of New Zealand’s wine growing areas, from Hawke’s Bay in the North Island, down to Central Otago, deep in the South Island.  All are top quality, but there’s something special about this Martinborough Pinot.  The fruit has a lovely ripeness and there is great density of flavour, but also fine tannins, elegance and, ultimately, refreshment.  Again, older vintages will show more – the 2008 is still a baby.

Tolkein about New Zealand wines

“It's not my hobbit to be star struck but I was thrilled to meet Gandalf recently, (Ian Mckellan, the actor, that is) though sadly he was minus his flowing white locks. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, since being introduced to Tolkein's masterpiece in my youth and becoming totally bewitched by his allegorical legends.” enthused Heather A.  Like many afficionados she was sceptical about how these fantastical tales could be translated to celluloid, as nothing can ever hope to compete with our imagination, but she applauds director Peter Jackson for his masterly and magnificent effort.  The Lord of the Rings trilogy was famously filmed in New Zealand’s South Island, the stunning scenery providing the perfect backdrop for the trials and perilous journey of the Ring Bearer, Frodo Baggins.

In recent months there has been a public outcry in this far flung outpost of “British-ness”, as it has been mooted that another Tolkein tale, The Hobbit, is to be filmed  - but not in New Zealand.  This news has prompted a national outcry as a whole tourist industry has grown up in the wake of this land being designated Hobbit Holme.  We await the outcome.

In the meantime life goes on apace (or actually quite slowly in NZ it must be said), with the other relatively new “industry” that has captured the world’s imagination – New Zealand wine.  Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc is cited by many as the first Kiwi wine to make its mark on the world's wine fashion stage.  It is still popular and has become the model for the multitude of follow-on-ers who have since appeared. 

Sauvignon blanc must be a contender for the world's most easily recognizable grape variety:  that pungent, nettley, gooseberry fruit that jumps up out of the glass to meet you could not be mistaken for anything else.  New Zealand made its mark with what you might call “fruit salad” style sauvignons, which packed a punch, but perhaps lacked subtlety.  More recently, though, a greater deal of diversity in taste and a far more sensitive touch from the winemaker has allowed more subtle nuances of flavour to emerge.  A sauvignon much-rated by those in the know is Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc, from Marlborough of course.  Here  lively, herbaceous and lightly floral fruit dances across the palate.  More of an elegant pas de deux than a Highland fling.  Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is available from the Vineking (Reigate and Horley) for £15.99, or £14 as part of a case.  The Vineyard in Dorking has the 2008 for just £9.99 – a steal, but as this is generally not a wine style that suits ageing, try a bottle before you grab a case of it.

Success breeds confidence and where once apple orchards exported fruit to the northern hemisphere, the new crop is the grape.  Many a brave decision has been made by colonial farmers to turn their lands and their hands to viticulture, and the result has been an upsurge of individual and family owned vineyards enthusiastically producing uniquely styled wines.  However, success can also breed over-production, as New Zealanders have found as they now wrestle with a glut of sauvignon blanc and vineyard sell-offs.  

Rieslings are being talked up as the vine variety à la mode by those of us who write about wine and those who try to sell it.  A variety that originally found fame as a light, floral wine  from Germany, and something more muscular and mineral in Austria and Alsace is now being championed by the newcomers from “the land of the long white cloud.”  Try Wild Earth Riesling 2008, £13.50 at Godalming-based Imbibros.   It has lively acidity and a combination of flowers and peachy fruit on the palate.  The flavours are delicate but have enough presence and the hint of sweetness (don't panic!) makes it a great choice with Thai dishes and Malaysian lightly-spiced curries.

Many people equate New Zealand with white wines, but for some years now really exciting reds have been emerging as a new world force and we urge you to try these hot contenders whilst they are still relatively inexpensive for their quality.  The wines from Te Mata Estate are a superb example and mentioned in the esteemed Robert Parker’s Buyers Guide as one of the top five outstanding wine producers.  Te Mata is in the Hawke’s Bay area of North Island and is well established as New Zealand’s oldest winery going back to the 1890’s.  Their 2005 Awatea Cabernet/Merlot blend with 92 Parker points is stunning – if you can find it, as it's not commercially available here.  However, the 2007 can be yours for £19.15 from online merchant, New Zealand House of Wines. 

Heather A was lucky enough to visit the Te Mata vineyard and to sample these wines recently and thought it would enhance your enjoyment of the wines to hear the love story legend of Te Mata:

Long, long ago when the world was young and warring tribes fought for land and sustenance, a plot was hatched by the Heretaunga tribes to conquer their main adversaries by using the womanly wiles and beauty of the chief’s daughter, Hinerakau.  She was sent to win the heart of the opposing giant chieftain Te Mata and, having accomplished this task, was to set him impossible feats to benefit her own tribe. In the meantime Hinerakau fell in love with this mountain of a man but that fact didn’t change the pact, and poor lovesick Te Mata died in his labours of love.  Today his prostrate form is known as Te Mata peak, and at sunset, when the mists form, a beautiful blue cloak (or purple-tinged mist) is seen to cover the body, put there by the grieving Hinerakua, who then leaps to her death.....  Sob.

On that sobering note (please excuse the pun), a Maori fare-thee-well, until we meet again.

Haere ra, Ka hoki mai ano

Do you come from a land downunder?

No, not that one, the other one. New Zealand, whose Maori name, Aotearoa, translates to “land of the long white cloud” is famous for a few things: having more sheep than people, having one of the most feared rubgy union sides in the world and being home to more flightless birds than any other country. OK, we may have made one of those up, but they do have quite a few flightless birds, including their national symbol, the kiwi, and the endangered kakapo, the world's largest parrot.

The All Blacks have long made a big impression on the rugby pitch with their haka, the ritual Maori dance that involves rhythmical chanting along with thigh slapping, eye-rolling and tongue-poking – and we only have God Save the Queen. No wonder they run our guys ragged.

Nowadays New Zealand is spreading its wings (excuse the pun) beyond the world of flightless birds and rugby and adding wine to its list of famous exports. Sauvignon blanc has been the Kiwi calling card of the past decade and it has truly struck a chord with the UK's wine gluggers.

However, no-one wants to be a one-trick pony and New Zealand's wine producers know that today's Top of the Pops white can rapidly go the way of Liebfraumilch and Lutomer Laski Riesling, which today you would only encounter in a strictly ironic way at a Seventies party, along with the prawn cocktail and steak Diane, washed down with a Demis Roussos LP. The Kiwis do not intend to be consigned to merely providing the alcoholic accompaniment to Noughties parties, along with a Jamie Oliver pukka pasta dish and Lady Gaga or JLS on the ipod.

So while we've been busy slugging back the sauvignon, they have been beavering away, planting new varieties, experimenting with growing techniques and exploring which of their variations of climate and soils best suits each one.

Pinot noir has triumphantly emerged as THE red grape best suited to this cool climate land – which is great news for any wine producing country, as pinot noir is notoriously picky about where it will grow. Too hot and it turns fat and blowsy, with nothing to recommend it. Too cool, though, and it will fail to ripen, succumb to rot and generally be economically non-viable. New Zealand, though, is clearly the Goldilocks country – it's just right.

And why all the fuss about a grape variety? Well, once you've been bitten by the pinot bug, you appreciate that no other grape is the same. It's light in colour, with soft tannins and fresh, crisp acidity. The fragrant cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit, often combined with a subtle lick of spicy oak is charming, beguiling and the opposite to a blow-your-socks-off blockbuster red. It combines elegance with understated power – a ballerina rather than a prop forward.

Decades ago, there was no choice but to head to Burgundy to indulge your pinot habit – and at Burgundy prices it can be an expensive one. Now, you can look to places like Leyda Valley in Chile, Walker Bay in the Indian Ocean-cooled far south of South Africa, isolated cool pockets like the Mornington Peninsula in Australia – and to New Zealand.

Because New Zealand is two long islands, with climates ranging from warm enough to ripen syrah in the north of the North Island, to cold enough for penguins and icebergs in the far south of the South Island, there are many places in between that provide happy sites for the pinot grape, producing different styles of wine.

Some notable New Zealand pinots from north to south:

The Society's Exhibition Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008, £12.95, The Wine Society

Martinborough lies at the bottom end of the North Island, just across the narrow straits that separate it from the cooler South Island. Pinots here are typically more masculine, deeper in colour, with more tannin and spice than Marlborough – but it's all relative and you could never mistake this for a shiraz, with its red fruit and silky feeling in the mouth.

Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir 2008, £15.99 The Vineyard, Dorking

Ata Rangi were pioneers of pinot and their years of experience show in this fragrant delight, which somehow has depth without weight.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2008, £19.99, Taurus Wines, Bramley

Another Martinborough pinot! This wine is so silkily and spicily seductive that it was one of our favourites at last year's Taurus wine festival.

The Crossings Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009, £9.75, The Wine Society

Finally we cross to the South Island. This is so light in colour, you could mistake it for a deep rosé, but it has bags of bright cherry fruit and soft tannins which are typical of Marlborough pinots. It would be a treat chilled down once the weather warms up.

Wild Earth Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008, £22.99, down to £20 as part of a case, The Vineking (Church Street Reigate branch), £119.94 for a case of 6 from M&S, £234 for a case of 12 from Tesco Wine by the Case

Central Otago is the world's most southerly wine region – any further south and you swap vines for glaciers and fjords – and makes some of the most delicate, perfumed pinot around. There is plenty of charming cherry and raspberry fruit in Wild Earth, with a pleasing, meaty note on the finish.

Felton Road Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008, £24.99 from The Vineyard, Dorking, £32.49 from Les Caves de Pyrene, Guildford

Biodynamic winery Felton Road has something of a cult following – let its haunting, ethereal charms win you over.

Next time we'll unveil the white wines that New Zealand is counting on to score a hit with UK wine drinkers – until then pop-pickers, we suggest you seek out one of those pinot noirs to keep your spirits up.