St. Patrick's Day Wine Tasting with Winebow

Hawke's Bay, located on the Southeast facing coast of the North Island, is New Zealand's second-largest wine region. The geography mixes hilly topography, river valleys, alluvial plains, and a coastal strip with direct exposure to the expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape here, at 1,084ha, followed by Merlot, Pinot Gris, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The fruit for this wine is sourced from select vineyards planted in the many sub-regions of Hawkes Bay. The individual parcels were harvested separately then fermented in both tank and French oak barriques. A percentage of the wine was allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation for added richness and complexity. The finished wines were left on their lees with regular stirring until blending and bottling (unfined). 

This is a medium-bodied chardonnay with clean, crisp citrus mingling with riper fruit (like peaches). A bit of butter and toasted nuts add low-notes, and it finishes with a hint of spicy oak. 

Barossa Valley, in southeast Australia, is the heart of the industry and the country’s most famous wine region. Its phylloxera-free vineyards have led to it having the oldest, ungrafted, dry-farmed plots of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, up to 170 years old, making this area an irreplaceable heritage site. The Barossa Zone includes the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley wine regions.

This shiraz is from multiple Barossa vineyards with an average vine age of 40 years, planted between 300 and 1500 feet elevation. It’s fermented in stainless steel then matured for 10 months in 15% new French, Hungarian and American hogsheads, barriques & octaves, and the balance in old octaves, hogsheads, and barriques.

This shiraz is generous, with rich dark fruit, like cherry, plum, & blackberry. The portion of new oak offers toasty mocha notes; finishes meaty with peppery undertones.