Lindauer has always been a bright star for New Zealand's wine industry - partly because it was the most accessible sparkling wine in terms of price, but also because it was used as a loss leader for grocery stores, and could be had for $10, $9 or even $8 (almost half it's retail price!) a bottle! Amazing for a wine that is fermented in the bottle, and with 18 months of bottle age (it also ages very nicely in the bottle - we've had some really nice examples that had been sitting in the cellar for a year or more). At those prices, there is no better value in wine, sparkling or not, in New Zealand.
As a fan of the brand, I am concerned about the recent sale of Lindauer by Pernod Ricard to Lion Nathan New Zealand and Indevin, and hope that the production standards do not slip!
There is quite a range in the Lindauer brand - Sec, Rosé, Brut Cuvee, Fraise (a brilliant marketing design. Though I really don't like the stuff, it fits a market niche very nicely!) and more recently the Sauvignon (sparkling Sauvignon blanc), which I've tasted and think is pretty much spot-on for what a typical Marlborough Savvie drinker would want (not that it's my cup of tea, so to speak!!).
More recently, there has been a limited release in the form of Lindauer Summer, which is a sparkling Pinot gris made using fruit from Gisborne.
I know what to expect when I buy a bottle of New Zealand sparkling Sauvignon blanc, but what to make of this sparkling Pinot gris, when still wine versions of Pinot gris are all over the place in terms of style? There's only one way to find out! So... what's my take on it?
My tasting notes:
Nose:
Fresh apple (Jonagold variety, if you know it - one of my favourite apples!), honey, fresh plum and Queen Anne cherry
Palate: Nice fresh mousse, though not so fine a one. Good palate weight, with the flavour of sweet lemonade (e.g. Sprite carbonated drink or the like for those in North America that might be reading this!). Slight metallic character, but nothing too distinguishing in terms of flavour, except some Golden Delicious apple. Slight astringency, and a short length.
Note that this is not methode traditionelle, but a Pinot gris still wine that has been carbonated (like the Sauvignon). So a rough mousse is to be expected, as the complex of compounds that make a really fine mousse in bottle aged wines isn't there...
Overall opinion? I tweeted this comment about it:
"Drinking Lindauer Ltd Release "Summer" -Gissy Pinot gris sparkling wine. Verdict? Meh+. Not bad, not great, but keep up the experimentation!"
The slightly expanded version is that I like the fact that they're experimenting. I like that they're featuring a product made from Gisborne grapes, a region that has suffered a bit in recent years. I think they've made another product that will appeal to a segment of wine drinkers (personally, I don't think I'm in that segment), but I think it does suffer from an identity crisis.
The marketing does try to convey the limited availability and to some extent the wine style through the choice of the name, "Summer," but for me, it's not the sort of thirst-quenching drink I would expect for that name. IMO, it would need to have more acidity, and be more fruity.
However, I do applaud Pernod Ricard for putting this out in the marketplace, and I hope that they continue to do limited releases of different styles - always keep pushing the envelope!!
But of course, now it's no longer PR's job - it's in the hands of Lion Nathan NZ and Indevin! Keep up the innovation, please!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Time for a pet peeve - Capitalisation of variety names!
Bear with me here!
One thing that the popular press seems to do is not capitalise the names of grapevine varieties.
Oh, sure, Glen, "big soap-box," you say... but this does really bother me!
In New Zealand it's rampant! Editors of the Christchurch Press, and related newspapers, enjoy a glass of "riesling," for example. The editors of the Listener will extol the virtues of the latest release of "sauvignon blanc."
And it's not limited to Australasia! The New York Times also finds it difficult to capitalise these proper names.
Thankfully, more rational heads prevail at JancisRobinson.com, where the real Pinot noir will stand up and be recognised!
In scientific publications, there is an effort to do the right thing and keep the capitalisation as it should be. The American Journal of Enology and Viticulture specifies that "for varietal names, the AJEV conforms to spellings listed in
the TTB listing of approved grape names for American wines
(http://www.ttb.gov/wine/wine-faq.shtml#w9)." This kinda takes it out of their hands, but at least it's an "official" source. And the US government uses capitals!!
But what about Europeans? How do they handle it?
For that, it's best to go straight to the source - the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (the OIV, http://www.oiv.int/uk/accueil/). They publish standards for viticulture and winemaking (for a more complete listing of their responsibilities, see this page), including such titles as the "Description of wine and grape varieties throughout the world," the "OIV descriptor list for grape varieties and Vitis species," and the "International list of vine varieties and their synonyms."
The latter of these, for example, lists names, all of which start with a capital letter - as proper names should!!
When you get to binomial names, such as Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, things get a bit more complex, with some people always capitalising both, some never capitalising the second of the names, and some doing a mixture, depending on what the variety name is. The OIV document has a mixture, for example.
So, is there a golden rule for capitalisation of variety names? Well, no. Sometimes in a two-part name the second name isn't capitalised.
But the first part of the name is _always_ capitalised!
Please, editors of the world, do the right thing and capitalise the names!! After all, how do you think people would react it if someone referred to barack obama, president of the united states of america??
One thing that the popular press seems to do is not capitalise the names of grapevine varieties.
Oh, sure, Glen, "big soap-box," you say... but this does really bother me!
In New Zealand it's rampant! Editors of the Christchurch Press, and related newspapers, enjoy a glass of "riesling," for example. The editors of the Listener will extol the virtues of the latest release of "sauvignon blanc."
And it's not limited to Australasia! The New York Times also finds it difficult to capitalise these proper names.
Thankfully, more rational heads prevail at JancisRobinson.com, where the real Pinot noir will stand up and be recognised!
In scientific publications, there is an effort to do the right thing and keep the capitalisation as it should be. The American Journal of Enology and Viticulture specifies that "for varietal names, the AJEV conforms to spellings listed in
the TTB listing of approved grape names for American wines
(http://www.ttb.gov/wine/wine-faq.shtml#w9)." This kinda takes it out of their hands, but at least it's an "official" source. And the US government uses capitals!!
But what about Europeans? How do they handle it?
For that, it's best to go straight to the source - the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (the OIV, http://www.oiv.int/uk/accueil/). They publish standards for viticulture and winemaking (for a more complete listing of their responsibilities, see this page), including such titles as the "Description of wine and grape varieties throughout the world," the "OIV descriptor list for grape varieties and Vitis species," and the "International list of vine varieties and their synonyms."
The latter of these, for example, lists names, all of which start with a capital letter - as proper names should!!
When you get to binomial names, such as Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, things get a bit more complex, with some people always capitalising both, some never capitalising the second of the names, and some doing a mixture, depending on what the variety name is. The OIV document has a mixture, for example.
So, is there a golden rule for capitalisation of variety names? Well, no. Sometimes in a two-part name the second name isn't capitalised.
But the first part of the name is _always_ capitalised!
Please, editors of the world, do the right thing and capitalise the names!! After all, how do you think people would react it if someone referred to barack obama, president of the united states of america??
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