New Zealand wines are hard to beat at any time of the year and even more so when it comes to celebrating the language of love on Valentine’s Day.
Here are six suggestions – two red, two white and two sparkling – to wine a little and love a lot on Friday, February 14:
Deep, dark magenta, Te Mata Estate Vineyards Syrah has an incredibly inviting fragrance of raspberry syrup, black cherry, plum and anise. Rich ripe fruit jumps out on the palate; a black-forest banquet of boysenberry, Turkish delight, lavender and nutmeg, with dark cocoa on the finish.
The bright modern fruit expression is balanced by savoury spice and supple ripe tannin. Pair this drop with a perfectly-cooked steak and garden salad to set the scene for romance.
This Pinot Noir delivers outstanding varietal character. The nose has cherry fruit with some earthy forest floor aromas and the palate offers lovely mouthfeel, delicate strawberry flavours and fresh acidity.
An excellent pairing for duck, perhaps enjoy a glass with Peking duck pancakes on Valentine’s Day.
Established in 1985, Cloudy Bay was one of the first five wine makers to venture into Marlborough. Sauvignon Blanc is the iconic wine behind the Cloudy Bay tale.
It is the unmistakable aromas, ripe fruit flavours and fine structure that make Cloudy Bay synonymous with premium Sauvignon Blanc globally. It is a fresh, aromatic and vibrant wine, best enjoyed with seafood.
A medley aroma of sweet citrus blossom, vanilla, mandarin peel and almonds, the palate is very intense, layered and complex with ripe nectarine, citrus rind and nutty mealy depth.
This Chardonnay has a great depth of flavour and an incredibly long and lingering finish.
Vibrant, crisp green apple, pear and peach flavours are accented by notes of lemon zest, toasted biscuit, honeycomb and dried white flowers in this sparkling wine from Central Otago.
Finishing with a refreshing jolt of acidity, this sparkling is best drunk now making it a perfect choice for a romantic rendezvous.
This elegant Brut Cuvée has been carefully crafted, using traditional methods, from specially selected parcels of Single Vineyard Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit.
Lying across calcium-rich clay and limestone soils, this sparkling demonstrates a distinctively crisp minerality and sumptuous concentration of flavour. Low intervention and traditional techniques are used in the winery to preserve single vineyard charm.
