It was over five years ago that I was lucky enough to earn a trip to New Zealand through Villa Maria Winery. We visited both the North and South Islands. On the former we sampled wines from Hawkes Bay in the Bordeaux and Rhone Style. On the latter we stayed in Marlborough and were awed by the massive amount of Sauvignon Blanc they’d planted and by all the new hill plantings of Pinot Noir and Riesling. They joked how they had to kick off the goats to make space for Pinot in the hills that frame the alluvial plain that is Marlborough.  That’s what’s so clever about these industry wine trips: you never forget the hospitality and generosity of other oenophiles. Yes, even now, I am pre-disposed to loving these wines, as they often remind me of an incredible adventure and of locales where I first experienced this particular terroir and varietal combination.

 On the northern tip of the South Island, facing the North Island, made famous by Cloudy Bay back in the Nineties, Marlborough is the center of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I am drinking the Jules Taylor 2010 Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc, and I get the gooseberry that is in almost all Sauvignon Blanc wines. Sauvignon Blanc is the one grape that in the vineyard smells exactly like the wine. Most other wine grapes smell like table grapes, but Sauvignon Blanc truly smells like Sauvignon Blanc. I get this hint of bell peppers, and I think back to the large green mussels we sautéed in a similar wine with diced fresh peppers and leeks. The Jules Taylor brings back that sense memory, and then continues to tell its own story. Clean and zippy on the palate, with bracing acidity, without being strident; elegance and balance rule the day at only $16 per bottle. Obviously it pairs very well with seafood, or creamy chicken dishes, or just herb-roasted fowl. For the vegetarians out there, this wine would pair well with mildly spicy Asian food, or tarragon-roasted tofu, or Alfredo dishes.

They were so proud of their newly discovered microclimates for Pinot Noir that they drove us up in jeeps, to picnic and to see the new plantings and the incredible view of Blenheim and the whole valley. This is when they told us about the evicted goats, as we sampled some of their reserves and individual vineyard Pinot Noirs. This Jules Taylor 2009 Pinot Noir from Ballochdale Estate, is from a similar high altitude vineyard. My first whiff is of smoke and clean earth, like a campfire the next morning, which quickly transforms into sun-dried tomatoes and white pepper. This kiwi Pinot has some real depth, with mineral notes on the palate. After an initial taste of dried cherries with a hint of brandy, I quickly shift to orange zest, finishing out with a slight spicy, mineral bite. I think of the grilled lamb we had in New Zealand, and how this wine would pair with it perfectly, with some roasted fingerling potatoes and some of their local squash, which looked giant and alien, like their mussels.

I couldn’t help but notice all the venison farms around Marlborough, and this is a Pinot that can hold up to venison. Grilled vegetables of all kinds would work with the initial smoke characters of this wine. Maybe roasted eggplant and ratatouille would bring in some of the strangely Provençale flavors I get out of this complex wine, well worth it’s $20 price tag. If you think all Kiwi Pinot Noir is thin, then try this one, and you’ll know that doesn’t have to be the case.

 Our sense of smell has been shown to evoke memories, quicker and more viscerally, than any of our other senses. By just cracking open this wine in Gainesville, Florida, I’m transported back to an adventure of five years ago, and a place of beauty and wonder, hosted by a welcoming and relaxed populace (no wonder so many of us want to move there). Now to try and recreate some of the meals that I had to further appreciate these wines and bring back even more memories. Cheers!

Daniel Eddy, Fine Wine Consultant for ABC in Gainesville, Florida

Want to read more of Daniel's wine musings? He also writes for the Gainesville Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/wine-pairing-in-gainesville/daniel-eddy