Last night, we were joined by special guest winemaker, Richard Painter of Te Awa Wines, helping us pair food with New Zealand wines. Click the arrow on the video above to watch our chat.
P.S. Want to know when we go live next Sunday with our special guest?
Tune in here for our Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting:
Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this page to get notified when we go live.
We’ll be simultaneously broadcasting on Facebook Live, YouTube Live Stream and Twitter Live Video via Periscope.
You’ll find upcoming and past Live Tasting Videos here.
If you’d like to read the comments for this tasting, or make a comment yourself, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10155074643654845/
Here’s a sampling of our lively discussion from our tasting…
You’ll find all of the wines we taste here, along with tasting notes, scores, food pairings and available stock in your closest liquor store.
Richard Painter
Winemaker, Te Awa
Richard studied a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geography at Otago. Whilst living in Dunedin, he spent four years managing the legendary Bath St. Nightclub.
During this stint in hospitality Richard began attending wine clubs and tastings. He soon realised that not only did he really enjoy drinking wine, but also that the process of making wine was intrinsically linked to soil science and climatology and therefore appeared to be a practical application of what he studied in Physical Geography. This burgeoning interest in wine took him to Lincoln University in 2006, to complete a Graduate Diploma in Winemaking and Viticulture.
Te Awa Left Field Rosé 2016
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Richard started off his career in the wine industry working in vineyards in Central Otago, Canterbury and Nelson.
During a year working at Neudorf Vineyard’s in Nelson, he discovered an interest with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and wanted to learn more about these wines. This lead him to travel to Oregon to work for Owen Roe Winery and as fate would have it, ended up working in their facility in Washington State.
Te Awa Winery Left Field Sauvignon Blanc 2016
Nelson, New Zealand
Again his curiosity with different varietals was piqued and he fell in love with making (and naturally drinking) bold red wines, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot blends and Syrah.
This love of red wine is what brought Richard to Hawkes Bay as he wanted to work with fruit from the famous Gimblett Gravels sub-region. He joined Vidal Estate for the 2008 vintage and then stayed on to become the Assistant Winemaker in 2011.
Te Awa Left Field Merlot 2015
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Working at Vidal also rekindled his passion for Chardonnay and reaffirmed his view that Hawkes Bay produces world class wines from this variety, the finest white wine of them all.
“I am really excited to take on the winemaking reins at Te Awa. It is a special site that has produced fine wine for many years now, as well as having a fantastic Restaurant and Cellar door.
Te Awa Left Field Syrah 2015
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
The soil composition of the different zones of the vineyard, ranging from very gravelly to more sand and silt loam, allow us to produce a range of varieties all on the one Estate, that always display both finesse and a wonderful depth of flavour.”
Te Awa Left Field Pinot Gris 2016
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Te Awa Left Field Albariño 2016
Gisborne, New Zealand
Te Awa Winery Left Field Pinot Noir 2016
Marlborough, New Zealand
Te Awa Winery Left Field Chardonnay 2016
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Te Awa Winery Left Field Malbec 2015
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
