Winds of change.....

A week into my latest trip down under and I've finally found some time to update the blog courtesy of a dismal evening in Christchurch, South Island! It always strikes me that although the countryside of New Zealand is spectacular and beautiful, some of its towns are a little less salubrious. After a tour of the possible eating venues this evening, I began to see why there also seems to be a variety of stores selling mind-bending drugs!

The week began in Melbourne and after a freshen up at the airport, it was straight into with a visit to the Shelmerdine vineyards up in Heathcote before ending up in the Yarra with Steve Webber of De Bortoli. Shelmerdine's wines continue to get better and better and though Heathcote remains perilously drought ridden, the Yarra vines have bounced back from the widespread frosts of 2006 with a good potential crop. The overnight stay with Steve Webber was an excellent opportunity to not only drink some nice wine, but to hear more of Steve's views on "wines with detail"......wines that rely on texture and complexity rather than fruit.

A visit to the Lusatia Park vineyards ,that provide the fruit for the PHI joint venture between Shelmerdine and De Bortoli, the following day rounded off my visit to the Yarra

Australia and New Zealand often appear to be quite close together but travelling to N.Z from Melbourne seemed to take an age. The flight to Auckland was delayed so the connection to Blenheim was missed and an overnight stay in Wellington resulted. An early flight the next day and finally I had reached my destination...Marlborough.

This region is positively booming with vineyards as far as the eye can see. The debate rages as to exactly how much further it can expand and retain credibility but it is quite clear that the N.Z Sauv Blanc bubble shows no sign of bursting. The purpose of the visit was to visit Owen and Wendy Glover whose Zephyr wines we have just taken on. With vines dating back to the mid 80's, their Dillon's Point vineyards are some of the most established in the region and have a good track record of supplying quality fruit to high profile labels like Wither Hills and Grove Mill. The first releases of Zephyr Sauv Blanc and Gewurz are just about to hit the UK so keep an eye out for what promises to be one of the best new releases for a long while. It's a real family operation and the quality of the wines is backed up with a passion and belief in the quality of what they do....

Tomorrow I'm off to Adelaide for a hectic couple of days with suppliers and also a significant UK buyer so it's going to be a busy but fun couple of days before the final leg in glorious Margaret River. Hopefully I'll get a chance to update again before I head off next Saturday.....