I'm heading over to NZ in a few weeks time and will be staying on Waiheke Island for four days for a wedding before heading down to my folks place near Waikari.
I'll probably only get a day to look at some wineries there....any ones I just shouldn't miss?....there will probably be a small crew of us (Aussie and U.S. winemakers and wine importers mainly) so it's highly likely we'll get booted out of every cellar door we go into
Also where is the best coffee on Waiheke?....that is very important!
Also have a Saturday day & night in Auckland so any tips on wine bars and restaurants would be greatly appreciated.
The first and still IMO the best producer on the island is Stonyridge. They have an excellent restaurant for lunch. Try and get to try the Larose. If there is a bunch of travelling winemakers, email the vineyard and see if Stephen Whyte is around for lunch. He is the original partyboy with infamous parties such as his Fallen Angels. After that I am sure Sue and Craig will give you an update on more recent additions thou Te Motu next door to Stephen's is also one of the originals.
As for wine bars in Auckland, the bestI have seen is Didas, 54 Jervois Road. They have over 100 wines by the glass. For a night out, the only place really is Ponsonby and Jervois Road. All up there are close to 80 or so licensed bars and restaurants on a road about the length of Oxford St. Other icons to dine at include SPQR, still one of the best late night bars in Australasia. If you start at the new Long Room on Ponsonby Rd and walk down to Jervois, you will find something that takes your fancy.
The viaduct is also worth a visit, if you are totally new to town. The Spy bar downstairs is probably the best all night club if you can get in. Try around 3am.
Enjoy Mark
Last edited by rooman on Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
YOu might consider making the trip to the back of the island. You will find Awaroa Vineyards, 324 Waiheke Island, Onetangi East, which are making some excellent syrah (very small producer), and also Passage Rock, which are also making excellent syrah (Right at the end of the Island).
You'll find more about Waiheke wines on wineoftheweek.com
I found these cellar door hours from that site;
Awaroa;Open for wine tasting & sales on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays from 11am-4pm during January and February. Open Sundays only from 11am-4pm the rest of the year.
Passage ROck;Wine tasting, sales, cafe, tours by appointments ($7). Ph. 372 7257. Open from Labour Weekend to end of March, weekends only, from 11am to 4.30pm. Jan: Open from 11am - 4.30pm, 7 days a week. Feb: Open from 11am - 4.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
good time to tour, current on sale 08 vintage is excellent
stonyridge, te whau and passage rock are my suggestions
be prepared to spend some coin and you will have a great time. it is an expensive day out so if you are ok with that you will have a good time. waiheke seems to be on the comeback trail
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Finally for the best recovery breakfast around Ponsonby and excellent coffee, head to Dizengoff on Ponsonby Rd opposite the Tonga Episcopal Church. Their mushrooms on toast was worth the wait.
Mark
Last edited by rooman on Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I can wholeheartedly second Ponsonby Road as the best place to go out. There is nothing worth looking at in the city at night unless you like third rate strip joints and the bottom end of the backpacker bar market (and if that is your thing then good luck to you). For the price of a $15 cab ride or, if you're adventurous, a half hour walk (uphill) Ponsonby is in a different league. The road is pretty stretched out but there's probably double figures of venues that can be worthwhile in the right circumstances. I'd like to give some names but my best moments up that way have not come at times that I am readily able to recall such minor details as where I actually was. SPQR is good, however.
Awaroa - some beautiful wines - also recommend Passage Rock, Man o' War (you will need to jack up a private tasting - but OMG what a setting), Mudbrick, Obsidian and Stonyridge if you can get some Larose opened for you.
As others have said, the 2008 vintage is oustanding.
It goes like this: Taste and buy the world class 2008 MAN O'WAR Ironclad Bordeaux blend. Astonishingly great Cabernet! Bypass the ordinary 2007 and buy this at cellar door for NZD $41.39 Ps: It's time to quit coffe Dave B otherwise you'll become an addict.
"(Wine) information is only as valuable as its source" DB
Attila wrote:It goes like this: Taste and buy the world class 2008 MAN O'WAR Ironclad Bordeaux blend. Astonishingly great Cabernet! Bypass the ordinary 2007 and buy this at cellar door for NZD $41.39 Ps: It's time to quit coffe Dave B otherwise you'll become an addict.
Coffee is the only thing holding me together Attila...
Thanks again for all your help everyone....looking forward to my visit very much...I haven't been to Auckland for about 15 years so it should be a bit of an eyeopener
SueNZ wrote:Awaroa - some beautiful wines - also recommend Passage Rock, Man o' War (you will need to jack up a private tasting - but OMG what a setting), Mudbrick, Obsidian and Stonyridge if you can get some Larose opened for you.
As others have said, the 2008 vintage is oustanding.
Cheers, Sue
Cheers Sue,
The wedding is on the Friday at Mudbrick so I'll get to try their wines on the day. I think Saturday is recovery and beach cricket so on Sunday I'll try and organise Stonyridge, Passage Rock, Man o'war and possibly Awaroa....that sounds like a plan!!
DaveB wrote:The wedding is on the Friday at Mudbrick so I'll get to try their wines on the day. I think Saturday is recovery and beach cricket so on Sunday I'll try and organise Stonyridge, Passage Rock, Man o'war and possibly Awaroa....that sounds like a plan!!
Mudbrick - what a beauitful setting. Good choice. See if you can get to try this.
DaveB wrote:The wedding is on the Friday at Mudbrick so I'll get to try their wines on the day. I think Saturday is recovery and beach cricket so on Sunday I'll try and organise Stonyridge, Passage Rock, Man o'war and possibly Awaroa....that sounds like a plan!!
Mudbrick - what a beauitful setting. Good choice. See if you can get to try this.
(Actually I think the heading should be "Another Waiheke produces a $100 corker")
Cheers, Sue
Eeeeekkkk!.....It's not my wedding
A Kiwi winemaker mate of mine and his lovely lass who live here in the Barossa....Mudbrick looks like a lovely venue....I presume they will be splashing the $100 Velvet around liberally on the day
Attila wrote:It goes like this: Taste and buy the world class 2008 MAN O'WAR Ironclad Bordeaux blend. Astonishingly great Cabernet! Bypass the ordinary 2007 and buy this at cellar door for NZD $41.39
I had a sniff, swirl and spit of the Man 'o War bdx blend at the recent Wine (NZ) show and was underwhelmed to say the least. Just checked my notes from the day to find it was the '07. Since the Waiheke Wine festival struck a reef, tasting wine from the far eastern end of the island requires a bit of effort. Not sure that I'll see the opportunity to try the '08.
08 looks a great auckland vintage. i even got in on the the whau point en prem after being impressed with the 07 which is a lesser year on paper. Looks worthy of a trip this summer. Need to take up the invite we got to tasting at stonyridge too
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Maximus wrote:I like Te Whau, and I would add Destiny Bay to the list (will need appointment).
At the moment it looks like it will be Man'o'War, Awaroa, Passage Rock & Stonyridge.....I'll be around Waikari for a week afterwards if you are in the area....catching up with Mike for dinner at his joint on the 27th
I forget sometimes just how good his reviews are. I have never really understood why he is have never broken through into the same ranks as Bob Campbell and Michael Cooper.
I think Geoff's reviews are just so extensive and time consuming that it is hard to present them in a commercial format in NZ these days. The mainstream reviewers need to look at many wines as quickly as possible. Geoff's reviews also would be over the head of a large part of the potential readership and therefore have a limited market.
Loztralia wrote:I can wholeheartedly second Ponsonby Road as the best place to go out. ... For the price of a $15 cab ride or, if you're adventurous, a half hour walk (uphill)
Or the Link bus - $1.60.
Also recommended - Prohibition on Ponsonby Road. Cellar-aged BYOW wine allowed for a price.
Looks like the crew from Man-o-war are putting on a lunch for us on the Sunday and I'll see if we can get in at Stonyridge....so maybe just the two visits...I'm figuring we'll have a solid hangover
Very nice four days in Waiheke.....staying in a big 7 bedroom waterfront villa in Oneroa.
Best coffee was at Lure in Oneroa....food at Mudbrick and Stonyridge was excellent......super pizza's at Stephano's in Surfdale......even got a feed of pipis at Little Oneroa and cooked them on the BBQ at the beach.....
I still think Stonyridge is one of the most over-rated producers in NZ....had a few Larose and they were either bretty as all buggery or lean and thin....2008 should be more like $90 at cellar door instead of the $220 they are asking for.
Spent the morning with Bronwyn and Duncan the winemaker for Man'o'war....amazingly beautiful contour planted vineyards in a fantastic setting next to the ocean....had a bit of a vineyard tour and then a tasting of the range at the winery....a new winery and cellar door is just about to be built in Man'O'War bay. Super wines....excellent whites , Bordeaux blends and Syrah.
Off to the South Island for 5 days now before heading back to Auckland for a day then back to the Barossa.
I still think Stonyridge is one of the most over-rated producers in NZ....had a few Larose and they were either bretty as all buggery or lean and thin....2008 should be more like $90 at cellar door instead of the $220 they are asking for.
I can't argue with the $220 at the cellar door being the worst palce to buy the stuff (especially when it can still be had for $85 on the mainland if you know where to look) but I can't agree that stonyridge larose is over rated. There are scarce few vintages I have not tried. Only a couple of them have been disappointing and a good half dozen of them rate amongst my list of the finest bordeaux blends i have ever tried from NZ eg 94,96,99,05,07. The vertical tasting I attended earlier in the year is arguably the highest quality tasting I have ever attended - certainly it is right up there. I buy only a bottle here and a bottle there as it is expensive next to wines such as Colereine, but to me it is always a treat and I absolutely love opening a bottle.
As for brett, don't get me started. In fact I wont start, I havent the energy
At least you found a good coffee for your palate. Lure does Allpress doesn't it? I do remember wandering up to get some after a hard night over in Oneroa a while back. In my opinion the finest coffee available in NZ....its the stuff i use at home in my machine.
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
$85 is a fair price....had a couple that nayed at me though and I'm pretty tolerant of brett but these were way over the top. Liked the direction the new winemaker at man'o'war was taking the wines
I thought the 00 was bretty at our vertical, even though i didnt have an issue with it on release. The others seemed fine to my palate. each to their own i guess. i think if i was too intolerant id just give up wine. so many people can't taste half a doz wines without the word having to suface from their mouth. Current buzz word I guess, VA was getting too boring
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
DaveB wrote:...I'm pretty tolerant of brett but these were way over the top.
I'd say this suggests you're pretty intolerant, to be honest, Dave. At the vertical tasting of 12 vintages Craig mentioned, with 13 tasters of varying sensitivity - and most with considerable tasting experience - only one or two vintages was remarked upon as bretty at all, and those not badly so. So, if you're finding them very bretty, I'd say you're more sensitive than the 13 of us. Stephen White runs a pretty clean set-up I think (he can certainly afford to!). I'm aware brett has been an issue on Waiheke in the past - and probably still in some wineries - but its cleaned up its act in recent years according to Geoff Kelly, and I'm not sure SRL was ever classed among the 'dirty' wineries in any case. Shame you didn't take to it - the 94 and 99 would be among the top wines I've ever had.
DaveB wrote:...I'm pretty tolerant of brett but these were way over the top.
I'd say this suggests you're pretty intolerant, to be honest, Dave. At the vertical tasting of 12 vintages Craig mentioned, with 13 tasters of varying sensitivity - and most with considerable tasting experience - only one or two vintages was remarked upon as bretty at all, and those not badly so. So, if you're finding them very bretty, I'd say you're more sensitive than the 13 of us. Stephen White runs a pretty clean set-up I think (he can certainly afford to!). I'm aware brett has been an issue on Waiheke in the past - and probably still in some wineries - but its cleaned up its act in recent years according to Geoff Kelly, and I'm not sure SRL was ever classed among the 'dirty' wineries in any case. Shame you didn't take to it - the 94 and 99 would be among the top wines I've ever had.
It would be interesting to hear what Geoff Kelly says about brett in the Larose (I can't find much on his web site) because he does seem, at least comparing wines we have both tasted (not together), to be pretty sensitive to it himself.
DaveB wrote:...I'm pretty tolerant of brett but these were way over the top.
I'd say this suggests you're pretty intolerant, to be honest, Dave. At the vertical tasting of 12 vintages Craig mentioned, with 13 tasters of varying sensitivity - and most with considerable tasting experience - only one or two vintages was remarked upon as bretty at all, and those not badly so. So, if you're finding them very bretty, I'd say you're more sensitive than the 13 of us. Stephen White runs a pretty clean set-up I think (he can certainly afford to!). I'm aware brett has been an issue on Waiheke in the past - and probably still in some wineries - but its cleaned up its act in recent years according to Geoff Kelly, and I'm not sure SRL was ever classed among the 'dirty' wineries in any case. Shame you didn't take to it - the 94 and 99 would be among the top wines I've ever had.
I reckon I've drunk enough bretty wines to know where my tolerance level lies and the '02 Larose smelt like a horse with a bandaid on its back eating a plum in a chicken coop....4 winemakers, 2 wine importers and myself purchased it along with a '02 Ch Angelus to try against each other and all were in agreeance that the Larose was pretty dire and faulty.....and Craig if brett is the new buzz-word in NZ you guys really are 10 years behind Oz
I would like to try the '94 & '99 though...they sound like the goods.....someone should remind the guy who runs the floor at Stonyridge that he works in hospitality and maybe remind him of the words definition....he was a #@%!er.
