– – It’s dark. A few minutes after midnight. An almost full moon shines down upon a hollow patch of clouds, turning them silver, and leaving only a little light left to illuminate the hallowed ground below. A gentle wind rises and rushes through the bony remains of harvest, causing the canes to rattle and shake, and disturb the peaceful silence. Shadows … Continue reading ‘Fortunate Futures’ – Ata Rangi Martinborough N.Z.
Alex Craighead is an Australian born New Zealander who trained as a chef, before moving to Western Australia for the warm weather, and to study accounting. “I moved to WA because I was so sick of the cold in Wellington,” says Alex. “I didn’t have very much money and the only place we could go … Continue reading IS DON IS GOOD – DON Wines, Martinborough, NZ
“There’s nothing sadder than having great fruit that you’ve toiled over for almost a year, pruning and shoot thinning and growing it to get it to perfection, and then something goes wrong in the winery and you have to throw all that fruit away,” says vigneron Lance Redgwell from Cambridge Road, in Martinborough. Thankfully, that hasn’t … Continue reading Raw Materials – Cambridge Road, Martinborough.
They say, ‘good things come in threes…’ Back to the Future, definitely. Godfather Trilogy, absolutely. The first and second Chicago Bulls three-peat (’91-’92-’93, then ’96-’97-’98), big time… So, what about Rootstock Sydney, 2015? “The collaborative spirit from food and wine people… was palpable.” A lot has changed since 2013, when Rootstock Sydney humbly tumbled out … Continue reading ‘Good Things Come In Threes’ – Rootstock Sydney 2015
In case you haven’t noticed, Rootstock Sydney is on at Carriageworks, this weekend… Once again, there’s loads of great winegrowers, artisans and producers attending, many of which I’ve written about, here, on The Wine Idealist! So, before you go, why not read up on who’s who, what they do, and why they do it… AUSTRALIA … Continue reading Get Thee To… Rootstock Sydney 2015
2014 has been a remarkable year. It started with a bang and is ending with a flourish… Way back in February, I was fortunate enough to have the privilege of participating in vintage 2014, in the Hunter Valley, picking grapes, and actually making my very own wine. Thanks to Ross McDonald of Macquariedale, I was able to … Continue reading The Wine Idealist – 2014 Year In Review
– GO TO ROOTSTOCK! – Just about every Australian and New Zealand winegrower I’ve written about, here on The Wine Idealist, will be at this weekends festival. Taste their natural, organic and biodynamic wines and meet them all in person, along with an entire two days jam packed with international winegrowers, artisan food, beer and … Continue reading Go! to Rootstock, Sydney – 2014
Welcome! Read past editions and stories from The Wine Idealist… The world’s best resource for information about natural, organic, and biodynamic wine from New Zealand. SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWERS in NEW ZEALAND GISBORNE Millton Vineyards – BDc – Gisborne HAWKE’S BAY Stonecroft Vineyards – Oc – Hawke’s Bay Bilancia/La Collina – O – Hawke’s Bay MARTINBOROUGH Ata Rangi – O – … Continue reading New Zealand
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