Buying wine for Christmas? Here are some choices from both ends of the price spectrum.
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Santa has always enjoyed lemonade on Christmas Eve, but why not give him a refreshing glass of sparkling sauvignon blanc? With his delivery schedule, the country’s wine lake could be drained in a night. A chilled glass of bubbly is a great way to kickstart Christmas Day. From the largest Champagne house of all, Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial is hugely popular in New Zealand. Prices range up to $90, but some retailers are currently offering Moët (pronounced Mo-wet) at $59.99.
The Good Wine Co (www.thegoodwine.co.nz) is selling Moët in a gift box for $57. You have to order a minimum of six bottles (mixed); delivery is free in Auckland, $7 to the rest of the North Island, and $10 in the South Island. The company has another decent champagne, Lanvin Brut, at $34.99. Or for $79 you can buy Veuve Clicquot Le Fridge – a bottle of Veuve Clicquot inside a bright-yellow plastic cover with a retro 1950s fridge design. It keeps the wine chilled.
If money is no object, it’s hard to go past Louis Roederer Brut Cristal 2002. You can buy a methuselah (six-litre bottle) from www.blackmarket.co.nz for $9995 (delivery is free). According to Wine & Spirits magazine, “If a wine could ever make you want to pull the top down on your ’68 Ferrari convertible, rip off the rear-view mirror and take off, this is it.”
If money is an object, Daisy Hill Sparkling Wine ($9.99 from the Fine Wine Delivery Company) is worth discovering. This sparkling rosé from Marlborough is a great buy – appetisingly crisp and lively, slightly sweet and yeasty, with much greater depth and complexity than you’d expect in its humble price category. Glengarry Wines has an impressive array of gift packs. “Central Otago Delight” ($59.90) features a bottle of Rockburn’s highly regarded pinot noir, Central Otago cherries and a Riedel glass. “One for the Girls” ($59) is a combo of “seductive summery sweets”, such as turkish delight, tea from Harvey & Sons and a bottle of rosé from the south of France. For those on a tight budget, Glengarry is offering “Simply Sweet” ($19.90) – “nice box, nice wine, nice chocolates”.
Wine glasses are a popular gift – sometimes too popular, as many wine lovers can attest. For $69.90 (plus $6 freight), www.blackmarket.co.nz has a six-pack of Schott Zweisel crystal glasses from Germany, designed for specific varietal wines and styles, such as chardonnay, riesling, sparkling, bordeaux and burgundy.
Other gifts could include books on wine – my 100 Must-Try New Zealand Wines ($34.99) and Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2012 – 20th Anniversary Edition ($39.99), and Passion and Patience – A Wine Story ($19.95), a down-to-earth DVD guide to how grapes are grown and how wine is made, featuring winemaker Shayne Cox (available at www.lacantina.co.nz).
What to drink on the big day? Regardless of what you are feasting on, these wines offer stunning value – and a talking point or two. For sauvignon blanc, it’s hard to go past Dashwood Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($20), a punchy, limey wine that scooped the trophy for champion sauvignon blanc at the recent Air New Zealand Wine Awards. If you shop around, you’ll find it at $10.99. If you prefer a weightier, riper and richer style, Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($17.99-19.99) is my Best White Wine Buy of the Year.
Who doesn’t enjoy pinot noir? Pencarrow Martinborough Pinot Noir 2010 ($29) is a deliciously rich, smooth red – winner of the champion pinot noir trophy at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. It’s widely available on “promotion” at $22.99.
To match richly flavoured red meat dishes, Church Road Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (under $20 on “promotion”) and Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke’s Bay Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($23) are hard to beat. For a special treat, try the dark, powerful, splendidly ripe and concentrated Mission Jewelstone Cabernet/Merlot 2009 ($39).
WINE OF THE WEEK
Alpha Domus AD Noble Selection 2011 (*****) A deletable finale, made from late-harvested, fully botrytised semillon grapes grown in Hawke’s Bay. Bolden, oily and seductively sweet, with hugely concentrated flavours of apricots and honey. $40 for a 375ml bottle.