Above: Belasco de Baquedano 

My impression of Mendoza was of a tired town, which had hosted a number of games during the 1978 Football World Cup but had seen little investment since. The memorial garden and fountain were covered in weeds and broken tiles. I skipped town fairly quickly and headed down from the Andes to Santiago in Chile.

Jump forward 19 years to the biennial Alimentaria food and wine fair in Barcelona. My trip had been partially sponsored by the Spanish trade agency, and who was I not to take advantage of that generosity? Next to Italian stands at wine fairs, Spain ranks right up there. No money was spared and I spent 3 days meandering through food and wine stalls, learning and tasting. It was strange then to find an Argentinian winery represented here. This is where my relationship with Belasco de Baquedano began.

Juan Ignacio Belasco who was born in Viana, Spain, to a family of distillers dating back to 1831. The family had carved out a niche market with Patxaran, a legendary regional sloe berry / anise liqueur. In the late 1980s, Juan Ignacio entered the wine business by purchasing vineyards and building a winery in the Navarra region of Spain.

In the early 1990’s, Juan Ignacio became infatuated with the malbec grape variety. With the assistance of renowned wine consultant and former Mouton Rothschild head winemaker Bertrand Bourdil, Juan spent more than a decade exploring Argentina in search of exceptional vineyards to create equally exceptional malbec wines. They eventually discovered and purchased 222 acres of high-altitude (1000m) old vine malbec vineyards in the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza. Belasco are located in the ‘Golden Mile’ of this sub-region, named Alto Agrelo.

Above: harvesting malbec grapes from the 110-year-old vineyards 

In 2003, with the assistance of his son Mikel, on a property adjacent to the 100-year-old vineyards, Juan Ignacio began the construction of the Belasco de Baquedano winery, and produced the winery’s first vintage in 2008.

I met both Juan Ignacio and Mikel at Alimentaria. Mikel’s English is impeccable and we discussed their family’s various projects, many of them focused on spirits and liqueurs. I was impressed by the winery’s Mayan-style architecture, the age of the vineyard and the wines I tasted. A few years later, in 2013, I placed my first order. 

I have since toured the vineyard and enjoyed lunch at the winery restaurant, Navarra, while tasting the range. This winery is one of the few in the world that boasts an aroma room – a hall that allows the visitor to smell and read about 46 different fragrances that can be smelled in a wine – a truly memorable experience

Above: the aroma room at Belasco de Baquedano. 

Sadly, Juan Ignacio passed away in 2017, but Mikel continues his father’s passion to create some of the finest malbec wines in the world. We have recently expanded our range of wines from Belasco from four malbecs (Moncagua, Llama, AR Guentota and Swinto) to also include a cabernet franc and a bonarda-malbec blend. Possibly the most interesting wine is the Antracita Malbec, an ice wine that is produced only in years when the grapes actually freeze on the vines. It’s deliciously thick and sweet and complex.

By all accounts, the Belasco family is a welcome Spanish foray into the highlands of Argentina. Why not take your tastebuds on a trip to Mendoza with us?

Charles Melton cellar door. Source: theaustraliancellar.co.uk

But Charlie, who had toured through France in the early 80s and become enamoured with wines from the southern Rhone Valley, did no such thing. He had been particularly taken with the wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape (which translates in English to “Castle of the New Pope”) appellation, where fruit from Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre (GSM) are blended with up to 11 other varieties. The resulting wines are typically luscious and berry-forward, with spicy, earthy undertones.

In Charlie’s own words: “Having seen the possibilities for these varieties in France, I started to experiment in the vineyard. We began to prune the old vines harder so they would produce lower yields with fewer berries that exhibit greater concentration. Dry grown vines also produced fewer bunches with richer and more complex flavours.”In 1988, Charles Melton Wines produced the first GSM blend in the Barossa Valley, known as the Nine Popes.

Initially in the style of the southern Rhone Valley varieties, it has evolved over the years to become a benchmark example of an Australian GSM. In Langton's Classification of Australian Wine, which places this wine at the level of "Outstanding”, it is described as having “exotic, musky, mulberry, plum and game aromas, ripe yet vigorous tannins, and superb richness of fruit.”

In addition to Nine Popes, now a cult classic, Charles Melton produces small quantities of shiraz, grenache, cabernet sauvignon and sparkling red, as well as a rosé and a dessert wine. With all wines, the majority of grapes are dry grown and harvested in low yields from the winery’s own vineyards — some of which are over 100 years old — supplemented by select family-owned wineries nearby.

My opportunity to start representing Charlie’s wine in New Zealand came in 2018. After much prodding by his sales manager Darren Erbsland, I finally visited in August 2019. After a morning tea with the whole crew (and cake baked by the lady of the Château, Virginia), we toured the winery, tasted a multitude of wines (including a 1996 Barossa Cabernet) and then hunkered down for lunch. The toils and tribulations of a wine importer! The warmth and hospitality of the Melton clan, the established brand and the quality of the wines made it an easy decision. Try some of these fantastic wines today.

The futuristic waiting room at the Bodegas López de Heredia Viña Tondonia.

López de Heredia's story begins towards the end of the nineteenth century, when French negociants (wine merchants) visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps. 

He fell in love with the Rioja region and especially the area around Hāro, the region's mythical capital. He observed a special combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine. Around 1877, he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the Bodegas López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, the oldest  winery in Hāro and one of the first three houses of wine in the Rioja region.

For me, it all started in a wine shop in Parnell about 7 years ago, when my colleague Miguel (himself a Spaniard) regaled me with stories about the quality of these legendary wines and urged me to reach out to them. I sent an email and received a formal business email requesting information about myself and my business. There were further questions about a potential conflict with the Carlos Serres brand from Rioja already in the Planet Wine portfolio. This was explained away with relative ease (‘style of wine’) and I was invited to visit Hāro and the winery on my next European trip.

In 2015, on my annual European excursion, I flew from Barcelona to Logroño. This Rioja town is a must on any food-lover’s itinerary, with kilometres of small restaurants lining long, narrow, cobble-stone lanes, each specialising in its own style of food.  I had been joined in Barcelona by long-time American friend Teresa, who had flown in from Orlando.


The López de Heredia Viña Tondonia vineyard

We hired a car and made our way to Hāro. This village is a sleepy hollow, with a railway station, some wineries and not much else. The Lopéz de Heredia winery is imposing, in an old, well-maintained warehouse kind of way. We headed into the futuristic tasting room, which was designed by architect Zaha Hadid in the shape of a decanter. The modern look contrasts dramatically with the external brick buildings and also the wooden store/stand which had been designed for and used at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1910.

We proudly glided past the throngs of tourists and were led into the inner sanctum where María Vicente welcomed us. In keeping with the formal email exchange, María re-told the history of the winery, the family and the style of wines which are world-famous, age-worthy and collectable.

On display were many bottles of aged Tondonia bottles and the evolution of branding over the years. But the real reveal came when we were led into the tunnels, which harboured innumerable barrels and bottles. For anyone used to stainless steel ‘heaven’ in a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc winery, this would seem to be anathema. At Viña Tondonia, just like at the rum distillery Hampden Estate in Jamaica, it is the microclimate that has an undeniable effect on the flavours of these wines.

In the words of the winery:

“Special mention ought to be made of the white wines. If there is one bodega experienced in producing age-worthy white wines, it has to be López de Heredia. To talk in our bodega of white wines being exclusively young and uncomplicated would be asking for trouble. We have never been averse to ageing white wines in oak for as long as reds, and the result is much more surprising than might be expected. When this type of wine has spent a long time in contact with oak, the oaky tastes and aromas are overly noticeable and even unbalanced. Nevertheless, when left for a few more years in bottles, the rough edges of oak become sufficiently polished and balanced to create a seductive bouquet of spice, bitter almonds, vanilla and walnut, trademarks of the majestic and opulent Viña Tondonia whites.”

Everything at Viña Tondonia is done by hand and in-house - from picking grapes to making barrels. This winery has one foot firmly rooted in the aged soils of Rioja Alta and the other dancing with potential suitors around the world. Suitors who are looking for the exceptional. In the wines of Viña Tondonia, this is what they have found. Each wine is named after the vineyard the grapes are sourced from - Tondonia, Cubillo, Gravonia and Bosconia.

I could regale you with many more paragraphs about this unique winery, but …. In late September we will be receiving our next shipment of wines from our (now less formal) friends in Rioja. We have very limited allocations of the 2010 Rosé Gran Reserva, the Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2008 and the Viña Gravonia Blanco Crianza 2011. The other wines are available in greater volume.

My final words: TRY these wines!

In the words of Eben Sadie, one of SA’s most revered winemakers, “Adi is an original. He is a blessing for sure.” I was lucky enough to participate in the last annual Revolution event in 2015. Three days of wine tastings, eating and dancing - serious but fun, a bit like Adi himself.

The large Swartland region (1h North of Cape Town) is now acknowledged as consistently producing some of the classiest wines in South Africa. Swartland is a gold mine of small, old vineyard plots scattered over many farms. Many of these are planted to bush vines – mainly of Southern French, Spanish and Portuguese grape varieties.

Adi grew up on Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest winery, where his grandfather was the general manager. He made his first wine at 13, and went on to work at cellars like Chateau Angelus in France and Wither Hills before spending nine years as winemaker at Stellenbosch Estate, Rustenberg.

In 2008, he and his cousin Hein bought Kalmoesfontein - a run-down farm with 28ha of dry-farmed bush vines, last farmed in the 1930s. They restored the neglected old cellar and farm and, using traditional techniques and biological farming practices, began producing wines under the name A.A Badenhorst Family Wines.

They now craft some of South Africa’s most internationally sought-after wines, and their distinctive, detailed vintage-style labels are instantly recognisable. They are possibly best-known for their delicious Secateurs Chenin Blanc, but the complex and elegant red and white ‘family’ blends, and the, perhaps most exciting, single vineyard offerings are what have put them on the world map. As Adi has described the single vineyard offerings, “these are wines without eyeshadow,” produced to reveal and respect the truth of each site.

Grapes for each wine are sourced from specific old-vine vineyards, some on the Badenhorst’s farm, others from neighbouring slopes and valleys. The names, most in Afrikaans, evoke images of their place: The range includes Dassiekop, Golden Slopes, Kelder, Klip Kop and Piet Bok se Bos Steen (all Chenin Blanc); Sout-van-die-aarde Palomino; Sk’windjiesvlei Tinta Barocca; Raaigras Grenache; Ramnasgras and Ringmuur Cinsaults.

Use the code ADIRULES to activate our offer of free shipping on any of Adi’s wines (valid to the end of September).  

I reached out to The Sadie Family winery in late 2014, wishing to arrange a meeting, a winery visit and a tasting (I can be quite demanding). Delana, Eben’s sister, who holds the fort and is the gatekeeper at The Sadie Family, was quite forthright in advising me that the winery would be closed until January 4 2015 and a visit before then would not be possible. This is the only break they get in a year for Eben’s surfing quests.

Reluctant beginnings 
On Eben’s first day back at work, I arrived with two wine-enthusiast South African friends in tow. They were relatively nervous as Eben Sadie and his wines are revered as royalty in South Africa. We arrived to be greeted by Delana and, finally, Eben arrived, demonstrably reluctant to engage with some visitors.

We sat in the large open-plan office above the winery, surrounded by hundrds of empty top-tier wine bottles from around the world. Delana, understanding her brother’s reluctance to engage with strangers, gently paved the way for Eben to start relaxing. He seemed reluctant at first to open any bottles to the Antipodean, but finally he did (corks of course). In South Africa, many wineries use the Zalto glassware, which is highly elegant, attractive and fragile.

Breaking the ice
Eben poured us a taste of his ‘other’ brand, Sequillo, which was soon to be deleted. This ‘entry-level’ wine was already making an impression, and we had not even arrived at the main act. Still not comfortable spending his first day back with these visitors, Eben swirled his Z glass rather forcefully and broke its stem. That was not all that was broken – the ice melted and we settled into a relaxed atmosphere, with Eben regaling us with his wide knowledge and interests, far exceeding the world of wine. After a couple of hours with Eben and Delana, including a cellar tour, we left with a deep understanding that this had been an exceptional visit at an exceptional place.

Later in 2015, I started importing the Sadie Family wines into New Zealand, and I am immensely proud to be afforded the opportunity to represent these wines. While Eben would never be out to gain glory through awards or point scores for his wines, he was chosen as the Institute of Master of Wine winemaker of the year a few years ago, and continually and consistently, his wines gain scores in the high 90s from all of the world’s top wine critics.

A unique perspective
I have been to visit Swartland and Eben and Delana a few times now. On the last occasion, I sat with Eben for four hours in his newly-built home. I spoke (interjected) for perhaps 10 minutes of those hours and never felt that I needed to be heard. Here is a quote from Eben that explains the man’s perspective a little more:

“We’ve got to farm incredibly conservatively this year. It’s like when you run a marathon, the idea is that you’ve had all the training, but you must also be in the state of mind, and must also have the physique, and you must have the reserves. But, for the vines this year, it’s gonna be like running the marathon on a serious hangover with a baby on the back.”

For further reading on Eben and his wines, I recommend this article by Daléne Fourie of Port 2 Port in South Africa. She has more patience than I and a beautiful way of weaving words into a story. 

When I was still free to roam, it was the internet that led me to email Vins Padró in Spain. I had seen their newly-launched vermouth range online and was interested in finding out more. In New Zealand restaurants and bars, there seemed to be a growing interest in vermouth, both imported and homemade. In March 2017, I received a perfectly-worded response from the winery asking about Planet Wine and what we do.

I requested, and received, samples of Vins Padró’s five different vermouths in their glorious packaging. On tasting them, I was instantly convinced that they needed to be added to the Planet Wine portfolio. However, as I am wont to do, I decided to first visit the winery to introduce myself and get to know the people in charge.

The winery is located close to Tarragona and about an hour south-west of Barcelona, where the Padró family have been making wine for five generations. They started with liqueur wines and vermouths and, when vermouth went out of fashion, then added bottled red, white and rosé as well as bag-in-box wines to the portfolio – all supervised by the same winemaker who is a longstanding friend of the family.

In around 2015, local customers (70% of their sales are local) asked them to bottle their vermouths. Listening to their most loyal market, they launched their Myrrha range and then, in 2016, the Padró & Co Premium line, which is really a tribute to the family’s long vermouth-making origins.

In 2017, my annual wine journey took me on a very circuitous and adventurous route: I started in Germany, then travelled from Frankfurt to Kiev (Ukraine), Armenia, Georgia, Italy and, finally, Spain. Only by setting foot in these locations, meeting the people who craft the wines, understanding the lie of the land and tasting the product in situ with the local food, do I feel that I can tell you the full story of the products and brands that I import into New Zealand and represent with full confidence.

I headed from Tarragona inland to the village of Conca de Barberà where I had blindly booked accommodation online. I was lucky: the room was in an old three-story stone building with large rooms, interesting art, high ceilings and a superb buffet breakfast.

Fortified, I guided my rental car towards Brafím in the morning. After half an hour I arrived at an imposing, older-style winery building. I had to pass through security – not something I had imagined when I was visualising the origins of the craft vermouths. After waiting in a spartan office for some time, I was greeted by Louise, the English wife of one of the owners of the winery. A lovely person, superbly friendly – this was more like it. We went on a tour of the main winery (more tanks, more barrels, more crushers – they really do look the same a lot of the time) and then the real story began: the artisanal craft of making vermouth.

With the large volumes of wine produced at Vins Padró, they have access to many different grape varieties, wines and wooden barrels. Fast-forward to the spectacle of the many infusions bubbling and seeping away in their glass jars, then to be blended and aged in old oak barrels. 

Vermouth infusions at Vins Padró

While the superb packaging of the 5 vermouths initially caught my eye, it was the warmth of the people, the integrity of the wine-making process and deliciousness of the products that convinced me that the Padró family should join the Planet Wine family in New Zealand. Make your move, whether it be vermouth with a twist of lemon and soda or tonic or the jolt of a Negroni, these 5 Padró vermouths fit every bill.

Buy Vins Padro vermouth 

The top UK wine critic described the Bordeaux-style blend as “one of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted,” naming it overall red wine of the year in his seventh annual guide to South African wine.

The iconic wine was named after Kanonkop’s formidable founder, the government minister and wine-lover Paul Sauer. A member of the South African parliament for over 40 years, Sauer was one of the leading advocates for the country’s wine industry, and was responsible for implementing the law that South African supermarkets could sell wine (but no other forms of alcohol).

Sauer founded Kanonkop (Afrikaans for “Cannon Hill”) Estate in 1929, just down the road from the family farm where he had been raised. But it wasn’t until 1973 when the first wines bearing the Kanonkop label were produced.

Now, the estate is run by Sauer’s grandsons, Paul & Johann Krige, and Kanonkop has become something of a legendary name among wine lovers globally. In fact, in April this year it was named one of the World’s 50 Most Admired Wine Brands by Drinks International Magazine.

Paul Sauer (left) with the estate's first farm manager (source: Kanonkop.co.za) 
 

So what sets this fourth-generation, family-run winery apart?

For starters, Kanonkop were one of the first producers to grow and vinify South Africa’s signature grape variety, Pinotage. The red-blooded grapes were first planted at the estate in 1941, and now make up just under half of Kanonkop’s vines. To this day Kanonkop is famous for producing benchmark examples of the style. 

Then there is the fact Kanonkop only produce red wines, a decision the family made in 1981 and have stuck to ever since. Previously they had produced Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, but these were poorly suited to the terroir.

Another point of distinction is that all Kanonkop’s wines are designed to age well: not just in terms of longevity, but in the way they gain complexity and nuance in the bottle.

Finally, it comes down to the family’s down-to-earth and hospitable attitude.

As Johann Krige puts it: “We don’t have time for and are not inclined to airs and graces at Kanonkop. This is who we are: we are not just selling wine, we are selling a lifestyle. This is ours, and everybody is welcome.”

Paul and Johann Krige (source: Kanonkop.co.za) 

Paul Sauer 2017 has been one of the most hotly anticipated (and strictly allocated) releases of 2020, and will be landing in-store at Planet Wine in September. If the early reviews are anything to go by, stocks will not last long. As Master of Wine Greg Sherwood, who scored the wine 98/100, wrote:

“This 2017 Paul Sauer has all the subtlety and finesse, elegance and seamless balance to rival the greatest Bordeaux blends of France, while retaining its own unique South African signature imprint.”

if you would like to reserve some of this fine wine, please email martinc@planetwine.co.nz

This is why I am in the wine game: the opportunity to mix business and pleasure and to develop great friendships. When I visit Tenuta Di Riseccoli, in the heart of Chianti Classico territory just 45 minutes south of Florence, I feel like I am combining all three. 

The Romanelli family, who’ve owned the property since the early 1900s, have made me feel incredibly welcome since my first visit in 2002. Riseccoli was a major catalyst in the creation of Planet Wine.

A few exploratory emails to me from Benoit Faure Romanelli in 2002 set the ball rolling; I had planned a trip to Corfu with a group of card-playing Bostonian friends that year and it was a cinch to add a week in Tuscany.

It helps that I usually stay in one of the two beautifully restored case coloniche, or traditional farmhouses, that afford spectacular views across the Tuscan countryside to the Apennine mountains in the distance. The two restored stone villas each boast a large swimming pool and expansive gardens that flow into the vineyards and are rented out as ‘agriturismo’ villas. They are a short walk away from the winery and the cellar door. (Please contact me for more information. I can connect you directly with the owners.) 

Florentine sculptor Romano Romanelli acquired the 17th century country house and surrounding grounds in 1902. The third generation of artists and sculptors, Professor Romanelli was a member of the prestigious Florence Academy of Arts and his works can still be seen in public spaces across Italy, and in museums around the world.

Outside of art, Romanelli had always held a keen interest in agriculture and winemaking.

From making wine for friends to fame for quality wine-making

The property was a working farm when he took it over, with olive groves and orchards as well as vineyards. Initially, wine was made solely for the private consumption of the family and their closest friends in Florence, but Romanelli soon took to modernising the estate, adopting the latest viticultural and winemaking methods.

Riseccoli rapidly became known for its quality wines, first in Tuscany (visitors to the present winery can see the awards the Estate received dating as far back as 1927) and then beyond Italy's borders.

For much of the latter part of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, it was Romanelli’s daughter Illaria and her now late French husband Arnaud Faure, who kept up the family tradition at Tenuta di Riseccoli. Now the baton has been passed to their four sons – Nicolas, Benoit, Laurent and Thomas Faure-Romanelli.

Their ongoing dedication to maintaining the family legacy and producing outstanding wines has positioned the small-scale estate as one of the most acclaimed in the Chianti Classico sub-region of Tuscany. The family and its team have more recently carried out several major transformations to the estate – restructuring the vineyards, improving the clonal selection and diversifying into other grape varieties, as well as upgrading winemaking techniques and cellar equipment.

But they maintain an artisanal approach to winemaking and take advantage of the varying climate conditions of the region to let each vintage reveal its own unique expression of Riseccoli’s terroir. Their Chianti Classico is now certified as organic.

Petit Verdot grapes and extra-virgin olive oil

One of their most adventurous initiatives has been the planting of petit verdot grapes for a single varietal wine. After they ran into some issues for naming the wine Petit Verdot, it is now called Piccolo Verdot and is receiving rave reviews. About 25ha are in production, mostly planted to sangiovese with smaller crops of malvasia, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot spread across the original family land.

The original vineyards are located 500 to 700m above sea level, the cooler air allowing for a longer ripening season. In the latter part of the year, when harvest takes place, fog is a common occurrence. This is when wild boar (source of the famous local cingiale sausage) and deer roam the vineyards in search of sugary ripe grapes. The remaining 115ha consists mostly of olive groves and forests.

Tenuta Riseccoli is one of just a handful in the Chianti Classico region that also produce the highest quality extra-virgin olive oil, harvested solely from their own groves and farmed with traditional organic methods.

But back to the wine – while sangiovese provides the backbone to Riseccoli’s Chianti Classico and also to their range of Tuscan red Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) wines, the family’s connections to Bordeaux (through Arnaud) influenced them to use French grape varieties with easy confidence, resulting in appealing blends.

Yields for the sangiovese grapes are kept at the lowest level (40 to 45hl/ha) in the Chianti Classico area, enhancing the complexity of fruit. The well-drained soils, consisting essentially of galestro and clay sediment, add distinctive terroir characteristics.

Five red and a dessert wine

Riseccoli’s full range presently comprises five reds, from the entry level fruit-forward Rinascita through to their cult Super Tuscan Saeculum, and a dessert wine, Vin Santo.

Three members of another local family, the Barbieris, also play an integral part in the business. Highly respected agronomist Valerio has planted the majority of the Riseccoli vineyards. His daughter, Elisabetta, is the consulting winemaker, and niece Serena is responsible for administration and shipping, as well as the tasting room.

Cellarmaster Simone Franconi is from the nearby hilltop village of Montefioralle, where he produces miniscule parcels of his own excellent wines. The team at Tenuta di Riseccoli is an extension of my own family. I travel there regularly, my wider family has visited to celebrate significant birthdays and friends of mine have also been introduced to the heart and splendour of true Chianti Classico.

Check out their wines in New Zealand and/or (hopefully in 2021) head over to the Tuscan countryside and sample their wines and olive oil in situ.

Now let me step back 8000 years: this is when Georgia (Eastern Europe, not US Coca-Cola country) started producing wine naturally. Georgian wines have always (and still are to a large extent) been made using natural yeasts occurring in the vineyard, and without chemical sprays or the addition of SO2.

In 2017, an invitation from a school friend to join him on his hunt for his father’s ancestral home in the Ukraine had me poring over maps of the Black Sea and beyond. Immediately, my tendrils were out, feeling for wine connections in Georgia and Armenia.

After a week in the Ukraine, including a day-trip exploring Chernobyl, I landed in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Despite a midnight arrival, the suited driver of the Ararat Cognac Factory was there to greet me, guiding me to the large black Mercedes and my rather tacky AirBnB accommodation with raised eyebrows.The following day, we drove to the ‘factory’.

Fifty year old Ararat Cognac in hand

While the facilities, with views of Mount Ararat in Turkey, were certainly outdated (read: dilapidated), their very valuable assets are the multitude of barrels of liquid they have in stock. Armenian ‘cognac’ is highly regarded around the world and especially in Russia.

The tasting was held in a large wood-paneled room with high ceilings and naïve paintings of the owner leading worker brothers to shore. ‘Rustic’ would be a good descriptor for the surroundings, as well as the ageing chocolates that were proffered.

As the sun set with Mt.Ararat in the distance, a gifted bottle of 50-year-old Ararat cognac in my hand, I resolved to import some of their products. Good products, good people.

That evening, back in the capital Yerevan, I went in search of a wine bar called Wine Republic. It turned out to be a Thai restaurant with an excellent wine list and cellar. The young staff were friendly and led me through an interesting array of Armenian wines made of indigenous and ‘Georgian’ grape varieties such as areni noir, saperavi, and kisi. 

Yerevan to Tbilisi by marshrutka to meet the qvevri

And now to Georgia, the country where wine has been made for 8,000 years! I travelled from Yerevan to Tbilisi in a marshrutka, a small bus certified to carry up to 16 passengers.

After being stopped for a speeding offence, we arrived in the hilly capital of Tbilisi, which is much more focused on tourism than Yerevan. Wine is the engine of this country, and every fourth store is a wine shop, wine bar or restaurant. After a night of walking and enjoying a large steak and some local red wine, I was picked up in the morning by my translator Salomé, and a driver. This was the beginning of a 4.5 day, 22-winery whirlwind tour of Georgian wineries that had been arranged by the Georgian wine marketing agency.

Day one ended with visits to the residential wineries of three brothers, each trying to outdo the other. I remember much food, many toasts and some singing, but no dancing.Very friendly and hospitable people, the Georgians!The following days were a blur of wineries, qvevri and vineyards. Wineries ranged from small to foreign-owned and large corporates. Most of the wineries work with autochthonous varieties like mtsvane, rkatsiteli, saperavi, kisi, chinuri and 500+ others.

More qvevri and some chacha

Of the 22 wineries I visited, having tasted around 150 wines, I will eventually work with 4 to 6. As in any other winemaking country, vintners are usually driven by passion.The winemakers I like to work with are those who love what they do and who will give up much to achieve their dream.

A prime example of this kind of winemaker is John Wurdeman of Pheasant’s Tears winery, named after a Georgian fable in which only the best wines will make a Pheasant cry. John grew up with hippy parents in California, and then decided to study painting in Moscow. He visited Georgia in 1996, met and married his wife, Gela, from a winemaking family, and stayed.

His wines are the most well known from Georgia, possibly because of his western roots and connections. They are all made in qvevri. The skin contact varies with each grape variety.

The skin and stalks floating on top of the wine are called chacha, also the name for Georgian grappa. John was kind enough to devote an entire afternoon and evening to our small team and I am pleased to say that I have a wide range of his wines available via the Planet Wine website.

Planet Wine offers the widest range of Georgian wines in NZ

Kahka from Tchotiashvili Winery

More recently, I have added the wines of Iago Bitarishvili and his wife Marina, as well as Tchotiashvili. Planet Wine has by far the widest range of premium Georgian wines available in New Zealand now.

While proponents of the natural wine movement may jump at the chance to taste Georgian wines, I am interested in a broader assessment from wine connoisseurs who have honed their senses on more traditionally-made wines. My experience in Georgia proved to me that many vintners producing natural wines in the New World still have a way to go, although improvements in recent years have been rapid.

I have met makers of natural wines around the world whose products I really appreciated. Planet Wine is already representing the Testalonga wines from South Africa, Dave Geyer’s products from the Barossa Valley, and a few wines from our long-term suppliers and friends, Mas Candí in Penedès in Spain.