Seeing the Potential of North Canterbury, NZ with Mt. Beautiful Winery

I’ve always enjoyed the wines of New Zealand and their sauvignon blanc has always been some of my favorites including some of their pinot noir as well.  Our Wine Pairing Weekend group is exploring the wines of New Zealand.  My feature is with the Mt. Beautiful winery.  The name alone was enough to peak my interest.....get it! 

The Winery 

Mt. Beautiful is a winery located in the southern island of New Zealand.  It is located right along the coast and at the foothills of Mt. Beautiful to the east.  Owned by David Teece, his family’s roots are engrained in the farming business with an entrepreneurial spirit.  David’s knowledge expands far beyond the wine industry as he is also a professor and author of over 30 books.  He is also rated by Accenture as one of the worlds “Top 50 Business Intellectuals”.  An intriguing man that let his passion for growing great products in New Zealand lead the way to take the risk of starting Mt. Beautiful, also certified sustainable. 

Mt. Beautiful winery ~ Copyright of Mt. Beautiful

The winery is located in the North Canterbury appellation amongst a myriad of soils and microclimates.  Wine Spectator named this appellation as “one of the fastest growing wine areas”.  I think this was the first experience I’ve had with this appellation as the Marlborough wine region is probably the one most seen on the market.  If you know me by now you know I love the opportunity to try something different.   

The Wine 

2017 Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir – Mt. Beautiful’s pinot noir is located in their southern vineyards at the highest elevations.  There it is the warmest location with a lesser chance of frost.  Mt. Beautiful seems to give great care during harvest hand selecting, destemming and sorting their own grapes.  This wine spends 10 months aging in 20% new and used French oak.  It’s ruby colored with purplish highlights.  Ripe blackberries and blueberries were very apparent on the nose.  Rather lighter in body its black fruits are very expressive in the glass showing elegance with subtle tannins on the finish.  ABV 13% SRP $28 

The Pairing 

I had a few directions I was going to go with pairing this wine, but have been having a recent craving for salmon, which to me is always a classic pairing with pinot noir.  I wanted to grill it, but with the kids it’s not the easiest feat.  I chose to do a simple baked salmon paired with some of our fresh vegetables we pick up weekly from our local farm.  Simple, but delicious!  

Join the rest of wine and food pairing bloggers as they share their personal dishes with New Zealand wines.  If you catch us in time this Saturday August 10th at 11am EST on Twitter we will be chatting live about our pairings and wines. Check it out at #ItalianFWT.  

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will be making Hāngī in a Dutch Oven + Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2017 
• Linda of My Full Wine Glass will be posting New NZ wine, old Sicilian dish (#WinePW) 
• Jane of Always Ravenous will be pairing New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Paired with Fresh Flavors of Late Summer 
• Cindy of Grape Experiences will show how to Beat the Heat with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Chilled Cucumber Soup with Mint 
• Gwen at Wine Predator will be pairing New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with Zesty Arugula Kale Pesto Pizza and Salad #WinePW 
• David of Cooking Chat will be pairing Tomato Caprese Salad with Pesto and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 
• Pinny of Chinese Food and Wine Pairings will be serving New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Pan-fried Chinese Potstickers 
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm will be Discovering New Zealand Wines 
• Sandra of Wine Thoughts will be taking A Tropical Staycation with Spy Valley E Block 
• Cynthia and Pierre of Traveling Wine Profs will be sipping New Zealand Chardonnay with a view of... The Pyrenees #WinePW 
• Rupal the Syrah Queen will be drinking New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with Grilled Mediterranean Swordfish 
• Nicole at Somms Table will be sharing Memories of New Zealand's South Island with Waipapa Bay Wines. 
• Our host for this month, Lori of Exploring the Wine Glass, is thankful that Humans May Only Be 5%, But They Make Great Wine #WinePW

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*These wines were provided as samples, but as always opinions are my own.

Friulian Reds with Zorzettig

Nothing gets me more excited when it comes to Italian wine than having the opportunity to taste grapes that I don’t too often have the opportunity to taste.  Going to the Gambero Rosso event in Boston earlier this summer provided me that opportunity.  This month our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group is exploring wines of northeastern Italy including reds, whites, sparkling, dessert wines.  Heck anything goes this month.   

If you’re a regular reader of my blog you know that I love the white wines of northern Italy, specifically northeastern Italy.  Not too often do I taste the reds, but I’ll jump at any opportunity to do so.  At the Gambero Rosso even I discovered the wines of Zorzettig located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia wine region.  Today I want to share with you their red wines including schioppettino and refosco. 

The winery ~ Zorzettig 

Zorzettig is located in the hills of Spessa di Cividale of the area of Colli Orientali.  With generations upon generations of winemaking in the family today the winery is managed by Annalisa Zorzettig with the help of her brother’s assistance in the vineyard.  Other generations including Annalisa’s daughter Veronica and young granddaughter will be following in her footsteps one day.   Their production is quite large with over 900k bottles annually. 

Zorzettig family ~ Copyright of Zorzettig

The land ~ Colli Orientali 

The Colli Orientali is one of the respected wine producing areas of Friuli.  It’s found just north of Collio in the eastern part of Friuli at the foothills of the Pre-Alps.  The vineyards were built there by the legionnaires of Julius Caesar.  Due to the steep hillsides the vineyards are terraced to allow easier cultivation of the grapes and hand harvesting of the grapes. 

Copyright of Zorzettig

The grapes ~ Schioppettino & Refosco 

Schioppettino and refosco aren’t two grapes I have covered a lot in the 6 years since I started my blog so am always happy to share them once I find ones I’ve enjoyed.  Schioppettino, pronounced skee-oh-pet-tino, is one of Friuli’s native red grapes.  It’s also known as ribolla nera.  This grape faced extinction since it was challenging to grow, but was rescued in the 1970’s by the Rapuzzi family and the Mayor of Prepotto.  It’s darkly colored with notes of black fruits and some spice.  It’s a full-bodied wine with intensity, structure, high acid and tannins.  They usually will age well as well. 

Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, another native red grape of Friuli, is found throughout the region with its home in Carso.  The name of the grape means “from the red stem” and is due to the fact that the stalk turns red once the grapes have ripened.  Refosco can produce different styles depending upon the use of oak or not.  Medium to full-bodied it lends red and black fruit notes with herbs and spice.  Another grape high in tannins and acid.  

The wines 

2016 Zorzettig Schioppettino 

I was informed at the tasting that the word schioppettino comes from the verb scoppiare meaning to burst as the skins explode during fermentation.  Made of 100% schioppettino.  With a nose of black pepper and green bell peppers.  Rather lighter than I expected close to medium bodied.  A soft wine with notes of forest berries.  At this price point it’s quite the bargain.  SRP $10-12 

2015 Zorzettig Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Myo 

These grapes hail from the oldest vineyards of the estate and was a project started in 2008 with a new selection of grapes both native and international.  The project is named Myo Vigneti di Spessa.  Vigneti meaning vineyards of Spessa.  Myo stems from an ancient Friulian ballade based on the simplicity of daily living.  Zorzettig felt Myo was the best name for these wines due to their pride and respect for their land and their labor of love put forth in the vineyards. 

From the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC, this wine was my favorite of the two.  Made of 100% refosco.  Deep ruby red in color.  Moderate tannins with nice, crisp acidity.  Black fruits and ripe raspberries.  Good overall body and structure.  SRP $20 

Join my fellow wine and food loving friends as they share their choices for northeastern wines of Italy.  If you catch this in time we will be live on Twitter Saturday at 11am EST @ #ItalianFWT.  See you there! 

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla hunts down “Coniglio in Agrodolce + Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla 2017.” 
• Wendy tries “Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Pizza with a Terlano Pinot Bianco” over at A Day in the Life on the Farm. 
• Linda investigates “Alto Adige Offers More than One White Wine” at My Full Wine Glass
• Gwendolyn is The Wine Predator, and she will be “Celebrating Summer in the Mountains of Italy : 4 wines with 4 courses from Südtirol.” 
• Jeff at FoodWineClick! will be getting back to nature with “A Food-Friendly Skin-Fermented Vigneti delle Dolomiti.” 
• Cindy will be taking a look at “Picolit – A Historic, Rare, Sweet Dessert Wine from Collio DOC” over at Grape Experiences.  
• Lauren, The Swirling Dervish, will be trying out “Elena Walch Müller Thurgau with Summertime Shrimp Pad-Thai.” 
• Katarina will be look closer at “Aquila del Torre winery: An Oasis in Friuli Focused on Local Identity and Innovation” at Grapevine Adventures. 
• Nicole from Somm's Table shares "2 Ounce Pours: A Quick Look at Pinot Bianco." 
• Kevin will be doing a bit of a double-header here at SnarkyWine, with some “Mountain Bubbles and a Tannic Finish.” 

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Native Grapes of Liguria

Liguria is one of the wine regions I don’t write about too often on here just due to the opportunity of not trying wines from there too often.  Earlier this summer I attended some tastings in Boston including the Gambero Rosso event and tried a variety of unique grapes from Liguria.  The grapes included pollera nera, cruvin, rossese di dolceacqua and good old vermentino and sangiovese.  Lets dig into the region and these Ligurian wines that await exploration. 

Lunae Bosoni 

Lunae Bosoni is only about a couple miles from Tuscany between the areas of Ortonovo and Castenuova Magra.  Five generations of the Bosoni family are currently operating the winery today.  Lunae Bosoni is one of the larger producers of Liguria.  What I loved discovering about this winery is their proximity to Massa Carrara in Tuscany.  This is where my mothers part of the family hails from and I had the opportunity to go there on my honeymoon.  If you aren’t familiar with this area they are known for their marble shipped all over the world.  As you drive closer the mountains look like they’re covered with snow, but its all marble.  We took a tour inside.  Amazing! 

Tour inside the marble caves of Massa Carrara

The Bosoni family owns 85 hectares with additional land that they partially lease as well as their work with other small growers.  The name Lunae Bosoni stems from the ancient Roman city “Portus Lunae” meaning “port of the moon”.  The winery takes pride in their vermentino as well as working with other local red grapes of the area including massareta, pollera nera and sangiovese.     

Pics sourced from Montcalm Imports

I tasted the 2018 Colli di Luni Vermentino Etichetta Nera and their 2015 Colli di Luni Rosso Niccolo.  The Etichetta Nera is made of 100% vermentino and goes through a cold maceration for 12 hours that lends to a richer wine with more complexities.  The grapes are sourced from 35+ year old vines.  This is considered the winery’s flagship wine.  The nose reminded me of gewurztraminer with its aromatics.  Round, soft, clean with apples flavors on the palate.  This wine is done in all stainless steel spending about 3 months on the lees.  Just beautiful.  13.5% ABV SRP $21 

The 2015 Colli di Luni Rosso Niccolo is made of 70% sangiovese with 15% pollera nera and 15% merlot.  The goal is to eventually replace the merlot and make it 30% pollera nera.  Pollera nera is an old vine from the 12th century that has been rediscovered.  You will find it only in Liguria that I am aware of.  I appreciate the work that wineries like Lunae Bosoni do to reinvigorate these ancient grapes and prevent them from extinction.  Pollera nera is a thin skinned grape like pinot nero.  This wine spends about 12 months in barrique with about 6 months in the bottle.  The wine is named after Pope Niccolo that was born in the nearby town of Sarzana.  I loved the structure of this wine, the ripe cherries with herbal notes and hints of pepper.  13.5% ABV SRP $19 

Punta Crena 

Two other producers that stood out mostly because of the uniqueness of the grapes.  This tasting was the first time I had a cruvin, or at least from what I can remember.  Punta Crena is owned by the Ruffino family that have been caring for the vineyards for 500 years.  It is today run by 4 siblings of the family.  The winery is located in the tiny village of Varigotti.  Located only about 1200 meters from the sea the breezes coming off the Ligurian Sea definitely moderate the climate here for the grapes.  Punta Crena works with some unique grapes very unfamiliar to myself including crovino, mataossu and barbarossa.   

Picture sourced from Kermit Lynch

Crovino is a grape that is rather difficult to work with and produces very small yields.  I believe that Punta Crena is the only winery that actually grows this grape.  In local dialect cruvin means to fall and these grapes are ones that basically fall off the vine once ripe.  The 2017 Punta Crena Cruvin is both unfiltered and unfined and spends all its time in stainless steel with about 4 months on the lees.  I immediately smelled earth and dirt upon smelling this wine.  Lots of dark fruit, some spice, lower in tannin with a smooth structure.  Quite interesting to say the least and worth seeking out.  SRP $34  

Azienda Agricola Danila Pisano 

Picture sourced from Louis Dressner

Danila Pisano is a winery located on the far west side of Liguria bordering France in the Val Verbonne Valley.  Danila, owner of the winery, restored the family vineyards in 1990 and has been making wine every since.  They became certified organic back in 1996.  Danila grows exclusively the Rossese grape, native to Liguria.  It is typically called Rossese di Dolceacqua named after the village from which it grows.  The 2017 Danila Pisano Rossese di Dolceacqua is a soft, delicate wine displaying red fruit.  Light in body with a hint of pepper, violets and currants.  For those that love red wines and are looking for something lighter to drink in the warm months you may want to check this out.  SRP $24
 

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