Just been in the Gimblett Gravels today. I'm working for Te Mata. BTW Really like your videos and your way of explaining things and the level of information you give.
Hey Konstantin, can you do a video on Canadian wine, specifically the Okanagon Valley? I think there are some really great wines coming out of this region and curious to get your opinion.
Great video. I only really have experience with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines. As your B roll video footage typically showcases great wine selections, now I've got to rewind and pause the video and see if I can find those Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines you highlighted 😁 Always thirsty.
It is very nice to hear my home region of Nelson mentioned. Neudorf Chardonnay is a favorite. Did you work there? Siefried’s Rieslings also from Nelson plus I would echo the Gimblett Gravels Syrah as a unique expression and some of the Martinborough pinots such as Ata Rangi.
Te Mata, Ata Rangi and Felton Road are my favourite NZ boutique wineries but there are many others that produce wonderful wine. Some wineries are very small and are almost impossible to lay your hands on their wine (Stoneyridge and Dry River are good examples). Villa Maria is my favourite large scale NZ winery. NZ is famous for Sauvignon Blanc, well known for Pinot noir, often overlooked for Bordeaux blend styles of red, Syrah, Chardonnay and sparkling wines but most underrated and overlooked NZ wine is Riesling.
Cloudy Bay and Spy Valey for Sauv Blanc. I love the tropical fruit notes and bright accidity. These wines are perfect companions to our sweltering summer here in Florida. Never had a Chardonnay from NZ but will look for them, following your comments. Thanks!
Oh and PS I'll say that sauvignon blanc from Marlborough (shoutout to Whitehaven) was the first time I took a sip of wine and double checked that I indeed poured wine. It did not taste like any flavour a GRAPE could produce (in a great way).
It looks like my favorite New Zealand wine is The Infamous Goose Sauvignon Blanc My tasting notes say: This straw colored wine has a light body and a medium body. In the nose I get apple, pear, and a floral note. In the mouth I get citrus and honey. This pairs nicely with candied almonds, dolmas, kalamata olives, and Bree.
Hi Konstantin! My favourite PN at the last tasting in London were Seresin Noa PN wine. Also, Bel Canto Riesling from Pegasus. And of course Kumeu River top end Chardonnays. What would you suggest?
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine I did a blind tasting with two of my colleagues from the wine industry and they mistook Kumeu River ‘Hunting Hill’ Chardonnay 2018 for a Meursault/Puligny Montrachet. Thank you for your recommendations, I will definitely try next time the wines you mentioned.
Hi! Thanks for your videos! Bell Hill's pinot is my favourite one from NZ. I remembered that I enjoyed Takapoto as well, but cannot locate it outside of NZ. For whites, Pyramid Valley's chardonnay was memorable for me.
Ciao, very interested area, but as you said in your video, very far and difficult to go and visit (expecially these days). I would like to try more wines from there.Thanks for the video
Lots of big players in Kiwi wine, they really do specialise in colder climate wines. Moet + Hennesy own Cloudy Bay which is renowned for it's Sauvignon Blanc, they make two styles of it, the standard and the Te Koko. Would definitely reccommend Te Koko if you get the chance - beautiful wine filled with passionfruit and other tropical flavours, probably the most readily avaliable wine as the owners are keen to showcase to a more international market than others. Two of the most popular pinot noir wineries are Ata Rangi and Felton Road - most are set up in central otago and bannockburn, can't go wrong with either of them, probably in the USD$60-70 range and will wipe the floor with most new world and a lot of old world pinot's.
@@Chzydawg Wow, great answer, thanks a lot for this...i really appreciate your support and your time...really thanks. I will try to get those suggested wines :)
that is a tough one to pick my preferred NZ wine. Certainly on the list: Kemp Road Whenua (probably one of the frutiest wines but very well balanced wine I have tasted), Kidnapper Cliff Ariki, Villa Maria Syrah Reserve Gimbletts Gravel. Pretty much a Hawkes Bay lover with the Bordeaux style blends...and as a proud German Kiwi I must say that I prefer the NZ Syrah over Australian one any day of the week...much more profound and less perfumed...
Based in Auckland but travelling back and forth between nz and Germany...pre covid every second month, always full with a suitcase of wine to share with friends...I forgot to mention alpha dommus aviator...or also the navigator as an everyday option...how do rate Kemp road whenua if you have tried it?
I found your video very instructive, thanks alot mate. You're very knowledgeable and obviously been down here before. I'm NZ born who has a newfound interest in our wines and wine industry oddly enough as a result of the pandemic. Cheers
Great video. Can you make one on Chilean wines? They are present at reasonable prices almost in every international market and it would be great to know the differences.
When I heard the term Cat's Piss associated with Savvy Blanc, it put me off it forever. But i'm sure it's okay if you're prepared to pay up. I have always liked Chardonnay so now i'll look for a Kiwi one. I hope you "do" Australia some time. I was thinking your video on Worst Wines would show us up, but no - only one. We can churn the stuff out and the high alc. will put you to sleep. I think I read that Jancis Robinson doesn't feel too excited about our South Aussie Cab.Sav's when we're led to believe the Coonawarra is world class. We need you down here Konstantin. We need the good oil on Aussie plonk.
You forgot to mention the superb Methode Traditionelle sparklings from Marlborough: Saint Clair Dawn, No.1 Estate (Le Brun), Allan Scott Cecilia Vintage, Jane Hunters Vintage Cuvées, Natilus Estate N.V. and even Mumm‘s Petit Cordon and Deutz Marborough Cuvée just to mention a few. Btw. Giesen‘s Single Vineyard Pinots and Chardonnays are worth a try and a bit underestimated! Cheers!🍾
Discovered Cru Sauvignon Blacn by Shaw and Smith recently, and is an amazing expression of the grape. Other favorite Pinot Noir is Ata Rangi, of course! Konstantin - which is your memorable NZ wine?
Just to clarify for others, this is winery Smith & Sheth I believe, as they label all their wines Cru. All of their wines are excellent in my opinion, particularly their Chardonnay.
I remember the first time I tried Villa Maria Sauv Blanc - certainly grabbed my attention, and I enjoyed it at the time, however, generally speaking Marlborough SB has too much passionfruit to it for me - reminds me of passion fruit soft drinks we used to have as a kid - always too sweet :) The NZ Pinots I've had, I've struggled with alcohol levels, and have had more luck with Mornington Peninsula. I think I need to get out there and try more NZ wines.
The passionfruit comes out especially in the Wairau River sub-region of Marlborough, where the soils are old riverbed. The clay-soil Southern Valleys, and the Awatere Valley sub-regions have less tropical fruit and more gooseberry and herbaceous notes.
As a Kiwi: Clearview [Hawkes Bay]: Reserve Cab France and Reserve Chardonnay Wooing Tree [Otago]: Rose [Pinot] Fromm [Blenheim]: Reslings, Pinot and Syrah Stonecroft [Hawkes Bay]: Old-vine Gerwurtztraminer and Syrah (Although the original winermaker, Alan Limmer, who was a gnius, has retired and passed the vinyard on, and I am not convinced about the new direction :) ] De La Terre [Hawkes Bay]: Syrah, and would you believe an awesome Montepulciano and, perhaps even stranger, a fantastic GR and Reserve Tannat. ...and, just reminded: Pyramid Valley: Pinot Blanc I could go on... and on... and on... but you'd get bored :)
There are some great Rieslings being produced in many of the Marlborough sub regions as well as in Nelson. My preferred SB is the Grove Mill, sold by The Wine Society, as its not quite as strident or astringent as many of the others that are sold in the UK. As in many other parts of the world, I think, NZ SB became the white wine of choice here maybe 10 years ago, with the inevitable result that there is now a lot of seriously poor wine at the lower end of the market. With shipping costs from NZ having gone up 10 fold in the past year, and given that duty and vat account for £3.50+ on every bottle, just think before you buy supermarket plonk at £5.99!! Probably 10p - 15p worth of wine in there.
You mention hybrid varieties as being lower quality. Could you do a video tasting high quality producers using hybrid grapes? Would be great to get your input on these misunderstood grapes. Imo, there are some fantastic wines out there made from hybrid grapes. Cheers.
For Maori (NZ indigenous) the creatively named North Island is called "te ika a Maui" (the fish of Maui), and "te Waipounamu" (the Greenstone) for the South Island. The South Island is also called "te waka o Maui" (the canoe of Maui), reflecting a creation myth, and our maritime history. New Zealand is called Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud). I don't like sauv blanc, unless it's been distilled to concentrate the fruity flavours. I prefer the red wines.
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine most Kiwis do too - no shade for trying! I'd be really interested to hear your take on varietal vs. provenance vs. winemaker/winery in terms of identifying, understanding, and marketing wine.
Will you taste Walnut Block Sauvignon Blanc and let me know what you think of it? It is my go to for Sauv Blanc....Not too expensive but always dependable for what I want out of it!! I also think you should let Random People help you set up for your videos...Having your wife do it seems a bit set up....(No offense to your wife - I am sure she is LOVELY!!! Just commenting on what I think would be very interesting...and not a SET UP!!) Keep on VLOGGING!! Love the input!
My wife would never make things easy for me ;) ... The second video on expensive wine was prepared by a wine merchant and I will probably need more help from other people in the future!
Shame on me, I've never had any wine from New Zealand so far. I had a lot to learn about the country for my university degree some years ago (but this did not have anything to do with wine unfortunately) and I have also learnt a lot about wine later but never combined both and the only thing I knew so far was that the Marlborough region is really famous for Sauvignon Blanc. Well, seems to be that I have to do some homework. Anyway, thanks for introducing this interesting region to us!
Just been in the Gimblett Gravels today. I'm working for Te Mata. BTW Really like your videos and your way of explaining things and the level of information you give.
Hey Konstantin, can you do a video on Canadian wine, specifically the Okanagon Valley? I think there are some really great wines coming out of this region and curious to get your opinion.
This would be interesting!
I second this !!!!
I third this!!!
i fourth that!
Niagara peninsula tho!
Great video!!! My favourite is Sophia from Craggy Range in Hawkes Bay!
Great video. I only really have experience with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines. As your B roll video footage typically showcases great wine selections, now I've got to rewind and pause the video and see if I can find those Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines you highlighted 😁 Always thirsty.
:) Thank you!
It is very nice to hear my home region of Nelson mentioned. Neudorf Chardonnay is a favorite. Did you work there? Siefried’s Rieslings also from Nelson plus I would echo the Gimblett Gravels Syrah as a unique expression and some of the Martinborough pinots such as Ata Rangi.
No - I love their wines but I worked for Te Mania.
Great choice, Te Mania .. know it well. All success to your channel - very informative, witty and enjoyable videos.
I worked for River sun nurseries they produce most of the grape plants in NZ ,I live in gisborne thanks for talking about NZ wines please keep it up ,
Will do!
Te Mata, Ata Rangi and Felton Road are my favourite NZ boutique wineries but there are many others that produce wonderful wine. Some wineries are very small and are almost impossible to lay your hands on their wine (Stoneyridge and Dry River are good examples). Villa Maria is my favourite large scale NZ winery. NZ is famous for Sauvignon Blanc, well known for Pinot noir, often overlooked for Bordeaux blend styles of red, Syrah, Chardonnay and sparkling wines but most underrated and overlooked NZ wine is Riesling.
Dry River wines are often criticized for not being typically varietal. I've had Pinot you would not identify as Pinot.
our riesling is our best white grape
Cloudy Bay and Spy Valey for Sauv Blanc. I love the tropical fruit notes and bright accidity. These wines are perfect companions to our sweltering summer here in Florida. Never had a Chardonnay from NZ but will look for them, following your comments. Thanks!
Just found this channel and am beginning my absolute binge of your content. Thanks. Keep an eye out for me in the comments of other videos, lol.
Oh and PS I'll say that sauvignon blanc from Marlborough (shoutout to Whitehaven) was the first time I took a sip of wine and double checked that I indeed poured wine. It did not taste like any flavour a GRAPE could produce (in a great way).
Awesome, thank you!
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir was always a fave of mine, have to try more of the Chardonnay tho - thank for the great videos.
Thanks for watching!
It looks like my favorite New Zealand wine is The Infamous Goose Sauvignon Blanc
My tasting notes say:
This straw colored wine has a light body and a medium body. In the nose I get apple, pear, and a floral note. In the mouth I get citrus and honey.
This pairs nicely with candied almonds, dolmas, kalamata olives, and Bree.
My favourite New Zealand wines are the pinot noirs from Martinborough, in the south of the north island notably Te Kairanga and Ata Rangi
Totally with Jancis: Kumeu River all the way. Not sure I'd put them ahead of Leflaive but they certainly punch well above their pricing.
Hi Konstantin! My favourite PN at the last tasting in London were Seresin Noa PN wine. Also, Bel Canto Riesling from Pegasus. And of course Kumeu River top end Chardonnays. What would you suggest?
I like Neudorf for Chardonnay and Pinot, Villa Maria's Clifford Bay and Taylors Pass, Felton Road and also Kumeu River - for sure. And many more ...
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine I did a blind tasting with two of my colleagues from the wine industry and they mistook Kumeu River ‘Hunting Hill’ Chardonnay 2018 for a Meursault/Puligny Montrachet.
Thank you for your recommendations, I will definitely try next time the wines you mentioned.
Hi! Thanks for your videos!
Bell Hill's pinot is my favourite one from NZ. I remembered that I enjoyed Takapoto as well, but cannot locate it outside of NZ.
For whites, Pyramid Valley's chardonnay was memorable for me.
Pyramid Valley's Pinot Blanc is an absolute ripper too!
Ciao, very interested area, but as you said in your video, very far and difficult to go and visit (expecially these days). I would like to try more wines from there.Thanks for the video
Lots of big players in Kiwi wine, they really do specialise in colder climate wines. Moet + Hennesy own Cloudy Bay which is renowned for it's Sauvignon Blanc, they make two styles of it, the standard and the Te Koko. Would definitely reccommend Te Koko if you get the chance - beautiful wine filled with passionfruit and other tropical flavours, probably the most readily avaliable wine as the owners are keen to showcase to a more international market than others. Two of the most popular pinot noir wineries are Ata Rangi and Felton Road - most are set up in central otago and bannockburn, can't go wrong with either of them, probably in the USD$60-70 range and will wipe the floor with most new world and a lot of old world pinot's.
@@Chzydawg Wow, great answer, thanks a lot for this...i really appreciate your support and your time...really thanks. I will try to get those suggested wines :)
@@Chzydawg Great suggestions!
Was a wine writer briefly. One great recommendation is NZ's Pelorus vintage sparkling wine. It fools most experts when blind tasted with Vintage Krug.
I’ve enjoyed the Villa Maria Sauv Blanc along with Hans Greyl. Both clean, crisp, citrus in character and flavorful!
that is a tough one to pick my preferred NZ wine. Certainly on the list: Kemp Road Whenua (probably one of the frutiest wines but very well balanced wine I have tasted), Kidnapper Cliff Ariki, Villa Maria Syrah Reserve Gimbletts Gravel. Pretty much a Hawkes Bay lover with the Bordeaux style blends...and as a proud German Kiwi I must say that I prefer the NZ Syrah over Australian one any day of the week...much more profound and less perfumed...
Some great wines here! Where are you based?
Based in Auckland but travelling back and forth between nz and Germany...pre covid every second month, always full with a suitcase of wine to share with friends...I forgot to mention alpha dommus aviator...or also the navigator as an everyday option...how do rate Kemp road whenua if you have tried it?
I found your video very instructive, thanks alot mate. You're very knowledgeable and obviously been down here before.
I'm NZ born who has a newfound interest in our wines and wine industry oddly enough as a result of the pandemic. Cheers
Thanks mate. The interest in wine has increased over the last year. Being stuck at home might make you appreciate good wine even more ...
Great video. Can you make one on Chilean wines? They are present at reasonable prices almost in every international market and it would be great to know the differences.
Herencia from Santa Carolina is one of the best wines I’ve had
When I heard the term Cat's Piss associated with Savvy Blanc, it put me off it forever. But i'm sure it's okay if you're prepared to pay up. I have always liked Chardonnay so now i'll look for a Kiwi one. I hope you "do" Australia some time. I was thinking your video on Worst Wines would show us up, but no - only one. We can churn the stuff out and the high alc. will put you to sleep. I think I read that Jancis Robinson doesn't feel too excited about our South Aussie Cab.Sav's when we're led to believe the Coonawarra is world class. We need you down here Konstantin. We need the good oil on Aussie plonk.
Would love to come back and visit Australia soon!
You forgot to mention the superb Methode Traditionelle sparklings from Marlborough: Saint Clair Dawn, No.1 Estate (Le Brun), Allan Scott Cecilia Vintage, Jane Hunters Vintage Cuvées, Natilus Estate N.V. and even Mumm‘s Petit Cordon and Deutz Marborough Cuvée just to mention a few.
Btw. Giesen‘s Single Vineyard Pinots and Chardonnays are worth a try and a bit underestimated!
Cheers!🍾
True, but I could not include everything in this video.
Congratulations for the channel. When can you give us a Portuguese wines taste? Cheers
Hey, where in Nelson did you work? Can I guess Neudorf?
Discovered Cru Sauvignon Blacn by Shaw and Smith recently, and is an amazing expression of the grape. Other favorite Pinot Noir is Ata Rangi, of course! Konstantin - which is your memorable NZ wine?
Just to clarify for others, this is winery Smith & Sheth I believe, as they label all their wines Cru. All of their wines are excellent in my opinion, particularly their Chardonnay.
Would love to see a video on South African wine- particularly enjoyed an 'Owl post' 2015 Pinotage recently
Yes, ZA is not my speciality
I remember the first time I tried Villa Maria Sauv Blanc - certainly grabbed my attention, and I enjoyed it at the time, however, generally speaking Marlborough SB has too much passionfruit to it for me - reminds me of passion fruit soft drinks we used to have as a kid - always too sweet :) The NZ Pinots I've had, I've struggled with alcohol levels, and have had more luck with Mornington Peninsula. I think I need to get out there and try more NZ wines.
try Rippon- Sauvignon Blanc, Central Otago
The passionfruit comes out especially in the Wairau River sub-region of Marlborough, where the soils are old riverbed. The clay-soil Southern Valleys, and the Awatere Valley sub-regions have less tropical fruit and more gooseberry and herbaceous notes.
Try the Chardonnay!! (from a Kiwi)
I've yet to try a white wine from NZ that I didn't enjoy, but haven't tried any reds. Either way, would love to hear some of your favorites!!
Bordeaux Blends from the Gimblett Gravels are interesting and Pinots from Central Otago is also something worth checking out.
As a Kiwi:
Clearview [Hawkes Bay]: Reserve Cab France and Reserve Chardonnay
Wooing Tree [Otago]: Rose [Pinot]
Fromm [Blenheim]: Reslings, Pinot and Syrah
Stonecroft [Hawkes Bay]: Old-vine Gerwurtztraminer and Syrah (Although the original winermaker, Alan Limmer, who was a gnius, has retired and passed the vinyard on, and I am not convinced about the new direction :) ]
De La Terre [Hawkes Bay]: Syrah, and would you believe an awesome Montepulciano and, perhaps even stranger, a fantastic GR and Reserve Tannat.
...and, just reminded: Pyramid Valley: Pinot Blanc
I could go on... and on... and on... but you'd get bored :)
Yeah, couldn't Pyramid valley do a pinot blanc or what!
Please make one on Languedoc-Roussillon!
Great video. Hope your bank heist was successful.
There are some great Rieslings being produced in many of the Marlborough sub regions as well as in Nelson. My preferred SB is the Grove Mill, sold by The Wine Society, as its not quite as strident or astringent as many of the others that are sold in the UK. As in many other parts of the world, I think, NZ SB became the white wine of choice here maybe 10 years ago, with the inevitable result that there is now a lot of seriously poor wine at the lower end of the market. With shipping costs from NZ having gone up 10 fold in the past year, and given that duty and vat account for £3.50+ on every bottle, just think before you buy supermarket plonk at £5.99!! Probably 10p - 15p worth of wine in there.
A favorite of mine is Glazebrook, Savignon Blanc 2021
You mention hybrid varieties as being lower quality. Could you do a video tasting high quality producers using hybrid grapes? Would be great to get your input on these misunderstood grapes. Imo, there are some fantastic wines out there made from hybrid grapes. Cheers.
Great idea!
For Maori (NZ indigenous) the creatively named North Island is called "te ika a Maui" (the fish of Maui), and "te Waipounamu" (the Greenstone) for the South Island. The South Island is also called "te waka o Maui" (the canoe of Maui), reflecting a creation myth, and our maritime history. New Zealand is called Aotearoa (the land of the long white cloud).
I don't like sauv blanc, unless it's been distilled to concentrate the fruity flavours. I prefer the red wines.
Thanks for the info. I probably would have embarrassed myself pronouncing those names ...
@@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine most Kiwis do too - no shade for trying!
I'd be really interested to hear your take on varietal vs. provenance vs. winemaker/winery in terms of identifying, understanding, and marketing wine.
Could you make a video on South African wine? 🙏🏼
Will you taste Walnut Block Sauvignon Blanc and let me know what you think of it? It is my go to for Sauv Blanc....Not too expensive but always dependable for what I want out of it!! I also think you should let Random People help you set up for your videos...Having your wife do it seems a bit set up....(No offense to your wife - I am sure she is LOVELY!!! Just commenting on what I think would be very interesting...and not a SET UP!!) Keep on VLOGGING!! Love the input!
My wife would never make things easy for me ;) ... The second video on expensive wine was prepared by a wine merchant and I will probably need more help from other people in the future!
Late to the party... Waiheke Island, Exiled Pinot Gris!
My favourite: Moss Wood Pinot Noir
A great wine form the Margaret River Region in Western Australia! Also make a smashing Cab Sav! Cheers!
Please enable automatic english subtitles
Will do
Waiting for the video about Portuguese wines 😉
It is coming but you will have to be patient for a bit longer ;)
Boneline Iridium
I wish I had some swords.
I feel you. I wish I had MORE swords
Peregrine Pinot Noir
Nomad.
Cloudy Bay!
Shame on me, I've never had any wine from New Zealand so far. I had a lot to learn about the country for my university degree some years ago (but this did not have anything to do with wine unfortunately) and I have also learnt a lot about wine later but never combined both and the only thing I knew so far was that the Marlborough region is really famous for Sauvignon Blanc. Well, seems to be that I have to do some homework. Anyway, thanks for introducing this interesting region to us!
Oh noooo! It is not too late Alex. You should start with a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Sauvignon will never be the same.
I think you could apprroximate NZ SB by blending grapefruit juice and cat pee. Horrid.
As a kiwi I agree