Vino Fino's Blog

Wines Of Spain

Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:00 GMT

FREE INSTORE TASTING ,This Saturday 19^thAnytime between 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, at Vino Fino, Featuring the Wines of Spain. With 20+ wines available to taste, this is a great opportunity to broaden your palate and discover something new and exciting. You will also experience the incredible value the wines of Spain invariably offer.

Shop now Re:Opened

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:22:00 GMT

Vino Fino's retail premises at 188 Durham Street South have now re-opened and a big thanks to all of you for your support over the past 12 months while we have awaited repairs.

Work In Progress

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:02:00 GMT

After almost a year of waiting, we are nearing the day when we can be fully operational again, with repair work on the interior of the shop now underway. We'll keep you posted as we near our re-opening date. In the meanwhile we will be at the premises for order pickups Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm. Tastings will resume February 28th.

Happy New Year

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:30:00 GMT

Trust everyone is enjoying the Festive break. At Vino Fino we came through last Friday's quakes unscathed and the building appears not to have suffered further damage - thank goodness the parapets had been removed. We will be processing orders Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th December and from Wednesday 4th January onwards.

Last Orders...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:27:00 GMT

As we approach Christmas the deadlines for online order deliveries is closing. For North Island and all rural address the last day for dispatch is Tuesday 20th. For South Island addresses last dispatch date is Wednesday 21st - i.e. orders recieved prior to then. For Christchurch city orders need to be made by Wednesday 21st for dispatch and delivery Wednesday - Friday. We remain on the premises for collection of orders 9 am 6 pm (Saturday 24th 10am - 3pm)

Festive Season Selection

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:03:00 GMT

Christmas is fast approaching and thoughts turn to celebrations. We have sorted out a range of wines which offer great value and drinking experience. These wines that stand-out. We have used our vast wine experience and contacts to source these wines and taste tested them all so that you can be assured of quality. Check our Festive Selection pages for all the wines..

Top Pinot Noirs

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:27:00 GMT

On Tuesday evening our tasting featured the Top 8 Pinot Noirs as Featured in Cuisine, plus two ‘mystery’ additions (Pencarrow 2010, Champion Pinot Noir Air NZ Wine Awards announced last Saturday night) and Crater Rim Lot 7 which received a massive score in the Wine Advocate (USA).

Of all the Cuisine Pinot Noir tastings we have held, this would have to be the best and most consistent line-ups we have seenThe overall standard was exceptionally high (as it should be) and there were no “what is this wine doing in the line-up?” type wines.

A surprise for many was the Whitehaven Greg – an excellent wine and the ‘return’ of the Giesen name to the top category. We are quite spoilt by choice at present, with some excellent Pinot Noirs available at what could be considered bargain prices . To be able to purchase world class Pinot Noir at less than $45.00 is amazing.

We ask for everyone’s top 2 wines at the end of the tasting and the crowd picks on the night were (in order of preference) the Amisfield, Whitehaven ‘Greg’, Olssen Jackson Barry, Domain Road, Crater Rim Lot 7 (all of these just separated by one vote each), followed by Wooing Tree, Wild Earth Deep Cove, Giesen Brothers, Thornbury and Pencarrow (equal).

These are the notes from Cuisine with online prices listed (order via Pinot Noir pages).

We served the wines from number 8 finishing with number 1.

1 ***** Olssens Jackson Barry Pinot Noir 2009 $42.99

Jewel-like in the glass, flashing blues as well as deep reds, this splendid pinot is equally vivid in aromatics, taste and mouthfeel. Flavours akin to raw red and dark berry fruits, along with a whisper of wild thyme (of which there’s plenty around Olssens’ Bannockburn vineyard), fragrant beetroot and subtle oak complexity, all grow in the mouth. And it has the depth and structure to develop beautifully over the years ahead.

2 ***** Whitehaven Greg Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009 $32.99

The resurgence of this established label continues with this attractive, bright, concentrated wine. It is rich in sweet dark plum and chocolatey notes, presented in a relaxed and comfortable structure. Try it with wild pork.

Mystery Wine Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2010 $22.99 Champion Pinot Noir ANZWA November 2011 $22.99

Brilliant dusky black cherry colour, full of Pinotness, with wild strawberry, cherry, warm forest, spice and briar notes on the nose. Brilliant tight sinewy autumn forest, whispy and wild, a bit Lindsay Lohan but with more spine and a lot more fine. Lovely long warm earth tannins with a hint of chalk dust. Greatness prevails.

3 ***** Thornbury Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009 Best Buy $26.99

Yet again, the Thornbury label provides lip-smacking quality at an eye-popping price. Faded rose and clove scents, great balance and intensity, and a long, juicy finish all contribute to what is a seamless, flowing drink. With its easy charm, it would be an ideal Friday-at-five pinot.

4 ***** Domain Road Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 $33.99

Since its debut pinot in 2006, this Bannockburn label has regularly starred at Cuisine tastings. Ink-dark, with a punchy fruit presence enriched by oak, the latest rendition is a big wine. Providing lift and elegance are well-managed fruit tannins and acidity. Suggested match: rabbit terrine with dark cherry chutney.

Mystery Wine Crater Rim Lot 7 Pinot Noir 2009 92/100 Robt Parker.Com October 2011 (one of the top Pinot Noir scores) $39.99

Medium ruby-purple in color, the Crater Rim Lot 7 Pinot Noir is slightly closed with subtle cranberry, pomegranate and spearmint aromas over earth and chocolate nuances. Medium bodied, it offers plenty of tight knit berry and spice flavors with crisp acid, medium level finely grained tannins and a long finish. Approachable now, it should benefit from another year in bottle and drink to 2016+.

5 ***** Giesen Marlborough Pinot Noir The Brothers 2009 $32.99

Heading the Giesen winery is a fraternal triumvirate, hence the name of this wine which Ben Glover likened to Grace Kelly. “She’s all grace, slightly angry with the monarchy, but always maintaining her poise.” Admired traits include good ripeness, a whole-bunch herbal twist and an overriding harmony.

6 ***** Amisfield Pinot Noir 2009 $43.99

Nothing amiss with Amisfield’s current release. A languid, silkiness characterises the texture; plums, spice and dried herb flavours are supported by rich tannins and superb acidity. Definitely a sleeper that will reward at least five years in the cellar.

7 ***** Wild Earth Deep Cove Pinot Noir 2009 Best Buy $31.99

Crafted by the experienced Steve Davies using fruit mainly from the Gibbston, this wine delivers terrific value. Seductive aromatics set up a rich, sinewy mouthful where upfront curranty notes are layered with more savoury, herbal flavours. Match it with slow-roasted pork belly.

8 ***** Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2009 $38.99

A sexy, Carmenesque quality comes through in this wine’s dark colour, extravagantly floral perfume (lilac, violets) and resoundingly rich, plush fruit presence. There was comment on the spicy oak influence, which the panel felt was justified by the ample fruit.

The Best Bubbly

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:53:00 GMT

Marlborough Twin Islands Brut NV Named Sparkling Wine Of The Year

Nautilus Estate of Marlborough is celebrating today after its Marlborough Twin Islands Brut NV as named Best Sparkling Wine of 2011 by leading Australian wine publication Winestate.Made in the traditional method, it’s the perfect choice this Christmas, bringing a touch of finesse to your table without the expensive price tag. The wine retails for NZ$28.

Having only just been launched in Australia, but available in New Zealand for many years, the wine has made a huge impression, beating off more than 1000 other sparkling wines from Australasia to take the best-of-the-year title.

With fine, dry lemon and hazelnut flavours and a long, soft and biscuity finish, Marlborough Twin Islands Brut NV drew the attention of tasting and judging panels in both Australia and New Zealand before being named Winestate’s best.

"I am always really happy to receive a trophy," says Jones, "but even more so when it’s for our more affordable wines. Twin Islands is a great value sparkling wine, made in a very classic style, which makes it perfect for occasions like Christmas or New Year."

Jones says Nautilus Estate has purposefully avoided the current trend of sparkling sauvignon and other non-traditional varietals.

"Chardonnay and pinot noir have been used for the best sparkling wines for centuries and I think they are particularly suited to it."

Deliveries and Pickups

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:52:00 GMT

While our premises remains closed awaiting repairs we can still offer delivery or pick up of your orders.

Open Hours For Pickups:
Monday - Friday 9.00 am to 5pm
You may wish to pick up your order from our premises at 188 Durham Street

Christchurch Delivery Schedule:

Due to the large volume of deliveries at present and with the road and traffic situation as it is, we have come up with an informal delivery schedule to give indicative time frames to various parts of the city as listed below.

Indicative days and areas for local Christchurch deliveries:

Monday - Eastern Suburbs - eg. Mount Pleasant, Sumner to Shirley
Tuesday - Southern Suburbs - eg.St Martins to Westmorland including Hill Suburbs
Wednesday - Northern Suburbs - eg.St Albans to Papanui, Airport, Ilam, Fendalton
Thursday - South West - eg. Riccarton to Hornby, Halswell
Friday - Western Suburbs - A broad sweep from Addington to Papanui

City and displaced CBD (ie.Addington, Middleton) most days as required.

FREE For 6 bottles or more (less than 6 bottles $4.00 per order.) Please note Christchurch City Delivery area does not include Rolleston, Lincoln, Kaiapoi, Lyttleton etc or rural areas surrounding Christchurch.

Out-of Christchurch deliveries will be couriered as usual.

Standing Tall - Online Ordering now available

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:24:00 GMT

Although our shop remains closed to customers we are now able to process online orders.
The cordons are coming down, the buildings opposite us are coming down but the grand Vino Fino is Standing Tall. Our building has remained resolute in spite of all the shaking, so we have been able to enter the premises and begin the cleanup. Yes, a lot of stock has been damaged, much of it screwcap damage. As we found with the Sept 7th quake, screwcap bottles do not survive falling to ground very well and even the slightest dent can compromise the wine inside. The reinforced concrete building itself has suffered no structural damage and will only require repairs to surface cracks. It was green stickered after the quake and an independent engineer has verified no structural damage and we will be be fully functional as soon as possible.
In the meantime we are able to accept internet and phone orders and our delivery service is up and running.

Te Mata Showcase Tasting 2011

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:01:00 GMT

Given Hawkes Bay’s hottest summer in a decade, and its driest for 30 years, 2009 was a nigh-on perfect growing season for cabernet sauvignon. With the noted input of vines of over 20 years of age, Coleraine ’09 is ‘the wine of a lifetime’.

Te Mata Estate believes Coleraine ’09 is the greatest Coleraine yet, surpassing the stellar ’05 and ’07. Decide for yourself at Te Mata Estate’s Showcase, where both vintages will be tasted alongside the new release Coleraine ’09.

THE DIVINE NINES
For the first time in Te Mata Estate’s history, Coleraine and Awatea ’09 have been reviewed prior to release. In October 2010, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate said Te Mata Estate “has fashioned a clutch a stunning wines in both 2008 and 2009” and declared Coleraine and Awatea ‘09, “bona fide classics in the making”.

Sales of Awatea continue to gain momentum. The ’07 vintage sold out in eight months, the ’08 did the same. To honour our long time friend, Auckland wine trade personality José Hernandez, we released an early José-dedicated bottling. Now, Awatea ’09 under our regular label is back.

“The 2009 could turn out to be a spectacular Awatea. There is already so much character and charm here.” Robert Parker’s Advocate, October 2010.

Along with Elston, Zara and Bullnose ’09, Te Mata Estate’s Showcase 2011 will also feature the new release Cape Crest ’10.

PERFECT TEN
The rise in popularity of barrel fermented sauvignon blanc continues to introduce new fans to ‘the original’, Te Mata Estate’s Cape Crest. The 2010 vintage has produced an exceptional Cape Crest, showing ripe nectarine and strawberry flavours, with mineral notes to its long complex finish. A perfect ten.

Coleraine2009 – The Wine of a Lifetime!
“When we chose to move to Hawkes Bay, we did so because we thought it was the region with the best prospects for making blended red wines – modern clarets – to a competitive international standard.

We purchased Te Mata Estate in 1974, 37 years ago, because it owned vineyards with north facing slopes rather than flat land, and because we believed that these aspects, in common with most of the best vineyards in the world, give an aromatic intensity and style, natural reduction in vigour, and quality of tannins that are fundamental elements of quality.

What a ride it has been! From the first vintage of Coleraine in 1982, to the upcoming release of the ’09, we’ve had to deal with all the usual factors that get in the way. The weather, the farming lobbies that didn’t want grapes grown in Hawkes Bay, wine fashion, doctrinal bureaucracy, and occasionally our own wavering self-confidence.

Despite all this, our customers have remained our greatest believers in us and have kept us going. So well, in fact, that this March we launch the best wine we have ever made, Coleraine ’09. If, to date, Coleraine has been recognised as being of second growth quality, the ’09 begs the question as to the level we have now reached.

Coleraine ’09 is the wine that proves to us that our early hopes were not in vain, we were right, and that, yet again, we are raising the bar for ourselves.

We hope you agree.” - John Buck

For The Tasting
On Arrival

Cape Crest ’10
Zara ’09
Elston ’09
Bullnose ’09

Formal Tasting
Odds On

Awatea ’05
Awatea ’07
Awatea ’09
Coleraine ’05
Coleraine ’07
Coleraine ’09

Tickets $30.00
Available at Vino Fino

Tasting Review

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:14:00 GMT

Tasting Tuesday 8th February 2011

New Releases featuring Dog Point

Crater Rim From The Ashes Waipara Riesling 2010
A delicious way to begin the tasting with this light refreshing Riesling. Low alcohol (8.5%) and noticeable sweetness, this is a fantastic aperitif style, which is best served well chilled.
Special price $15.99

Huia Gewurztraminer 2008
Huia are a relatively small Marlborough producer whose focus is definitely on quality. They are one of the five wineries in Marlborough’s MANA group (Fromm, Herzog, Huia, Seresin and Te Whare Ra) These wineries share key elements of one vineyards, wineries, wine making teams and organic practises. Huia’s Gewurztraminer has always been one of their strengths, so it must have been a blow to this winery when a substantial off-shore order was cancelled and hence the current special offering in the local market.
A dry style (only 2gms residual sugar) with a portion barrel femented. Aromas of spice and apricot with quite a textural slightly oily palate. Quite Alsatian in style.
Super Special $14.99

Dog Point Wines
Ivan Sutherland and James Healy of Dog Point had to change plans and unfortunately unable to be here this week to show their new release wines, but we have to say the wines really spoke for themselves. The three 2009 vintage new releases are simply outstanding. Dog Point focus on vineyard fruit quality with much intensive work on the vines with much lower yields than the norm

Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Served after the Huia Gewurz, I thought this may have been overpowered, but I need not have worried. This is an intensely concentrated dry Sauvignon with an edgy minerality component. One of the top Sauvignons from 2010.
Special price $20.99

Dog Point Section 94 2009
James Healy has been refining this style of barrel aged Sauvignon Blanc since ‘creating’ Te Koko during his Cloudy Bay days. Past vintages have shown quite a degree of ‘funk’. This has been toned down quite a lot with the 2009, which displays much more Sauvignon Blanc fruit character than has been evident in the past. Beyond the fruit, there is a depth of wine making influenced flavours and structure.
Special price $32.99

Dog Point Chardonnay 2009
Again, like the Section 94, this is much less funky than previous releases. A beautiful Chardonnay with fine texture, minerality, ripe fig and nut flavours.
Special price $32.99

Dog Point Pinot Noir 2009
This is a star wine. Beautifully and subtly layered with floral, plum, sweet spice, savouriness…. The wine has the classic peacock’s tail effect on the palate with the flavours unfolding on the palate. An early contender for our Pinot Noir of the year. Special price $43.99

Mission Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2009
We haven’t had many Mission reds in recent times, so is was good to reacquaint ourselves with a wine like this. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 45%, Merlot 40.5%,
Cabernet Franc 14.5%. Obviously from a very good vintage, this is very youthful from the dark colour to the big palate. Ripe Cabernet flavours come through with chalky, mouth-coating tannins. Give this another couple of years to see its best. For $20.00 this is very good quality
Special price $19.99

The final 2 wines are new labels from Rosemount. These replace the old Show Reserve labels with the “fruit sourced from older vineyards that show strong regional and varietal characters. These wines aim to reveal ‘terroir’.”

Rosemount District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008
As Paul said, this is more in the ‘bear-hug’ style than cuddly. There is the usual softness but alongside this is a sense of grip and pull. Certainly above average quality.
Special price $19.99

Rosemount District Release Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
2009 vintage in Coonawarra being regarded as one of the best – alongside the likes of 1996, 1990. And judging by this wine, I couldn’t disagree. Dark, with blueberry, chocolate, blackberry flavours. Big with chewy tannins but balanced – it is just a young wine. Excellent wine.
Special price $19.99

The Riesling Challenge 2010

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:55:00 GMT

An innovative promotion of the Riesling grape is taking place this year. The 2010 vintage Riesling grapes come from one vineyard and the 12 wine makers involved are able to produce a Riesling wine of any style from those grapes.

Twelve renowned Riesling wine-makers are taking part, which is a first in terms of providing a means of establishing the extent to which the wine-maker’s individual skills can sculpt a given – and matching – batch of grapes into a world class wine.

The New Zealand Riesling Challenge is also an opportunity to show-case this most versatile of grapes to consumers and media…..and it is intended to be a lot of competitive fun to boot!

The wine-makers are:

Ant McKenzie, Te Awa Wines

Larry McKenna, Escarpment

Mike Brown, Waimea Estate

Paul Bourgeois, Spy Valley

Jules Taylor, Jules Taylor Wines

John Forrest, Forrest Estate

Simon Waghorn, Astrolabe Wines

Jeff Clarke, Pernod Ricard NZ

Simon McGeorge, Waipara Hills

Matt Donaldson, Pegasus Bay

Brendan Seal, Mount Edward

Matt Dicey, Mount Difficulty

Hand harvested Riesling grapes from Mud House’s Waipara vineyards were provided to each competitor. Each of the competitors got every tenth bin i.e. everyone got the same batch of grapes, picked on the same day!

There were no specific rules in relation to wine-making, except that all wines produced as part of the New Zealand Riesling Challenge must be made – and recorded – strictly in accordance with all export certification rules applying to the vintage.
The finished wines will be labelled with each winemaker’s signature on the Riesling Challenge label and packaged in 12 bottle cartons containing one bottle of each of the individual winemakers Rieslings

The Rieslings will be judged by a panel with the winner being announced on 19^th December.