Kiwi wine: seductive white, with a crispy edge

Wine from Marlborough? Then you immediately think of a fresh, juicy and exuberant Sauvignon Blanc. An explosion of citrus, lychee and gooseberry. Nothing wrong with that, but these days more beautiful wine is coming out of New Zealand. Such as sultry Pinot Gris with a sparkling, mineral finish.

Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest and best-known wine region. Located at the northernmost tip of the South Island. Because of the cool Pacific and the southern location, conditions there are different from what you would expect from a New World wine country.

Fish in the maritime climate

This is an area with long, warm, sunny days and cool nights. The perfect combination for grapes, because these large temperature differences allow them to develop lively and fruity aromas. Sauvignon Blanc is the ultimate example, with its distinctive — bursting out of the glass — grassy aroma. But an aromatic grape like pinot gris also feels like a fish in this maritime climate. The relatively cool conditions can actually be compared somewhat to the climate of the French Alsace, where the variety has been at home for centuries. And in New Zealand, the pinot gris grape can — and may — ripen at its leisure in the rolling vineyards of the Wairau Valley, allowing it to develop its intense aromas.

Knowledge and experience in the glass

And there’s a Pinot Gris in my glass now. Given to me to try. The wine comes from Babich Wines. This winery is celebrating exactly 100 years this year. Interesting. After all, we too often think that New World wine producers are only just getting started. But this wine clearly speaks of knowledge and experience. A ripe, full-bodied wine that — when you smell it — you almost forget to drink it. So delicious! Ripe pear, apricot, pineapple, roses, honey.. Wonderfully fruity and complex. When I do eventually taste it, it is surprisingly spicy. Fresh and mineral. The honeyed quality is there, but seductively in the background. Above all, ginger notes and a pleasant lemon zesty tingle linger.

But there is one striking difference: the alcohol percentage.

Different names

The pinot gris variety has several names. Pinot grigio, pinot beurot, ruländer and grauburgunder; all the same grape. But confusingly, its wine has many faces. I have previously made an impassioned argument about the difference between pinot gris and pinot grigio . In Europe, a bottle of Pinot Gris (meaning full and aromatic) generally comes from Alsace, and a bottle of Pinot Grigio (meaning fresh and crisp) from Italy. In the New World, things are different. There, gris or grigio is mainly used to indicate the fuller or crisper style. This Pinot Gris indeed mainly shows the characteristics of an — admittedly dry — Alsatian wine, with its exotic, rich structure and fresh, mineral notes. But there is one striking difference: the alcohol percentage. This bottle even states 14%! A clear consequence of the sun, which works just a little harder there than here. And that gives a playful tingle on the tongue. Not unpleasant, rather sweetish and full. And no problem at all when you serve the wine alongside somewhat richer dishes.

Crispy bacon

Both with a courgette soup with a crispy piece of bacon and with a piece of cod, the wine proves to be a seamless match. It is also convenient that you can simply keep serving the same wine at the table! And a New World Pinot Gris is also wonderful with Asian dishes (because of its sweetness), pumpkin soup (because of the ginger), or carpaccio and a good pâté (because of its richness).

New Zealand and Marlborough. They are still always mentioned in the same breath as their Savvy Sauvignon. Unjustly so: in this young and dynamic wine country — with its many wine regions and grape varieties — there is a much newer world waiting to be discovered. Because if there is one thing that characterises those Kiwis, it is their feel for quality.

For more information about wine from New Zealand, visit New Zealand Wines.

Text: Romy Kooij | Miss WineLane
Image: Shutterstock