Welcome to International Wine Region Ping-pong. Alsace has been bounced back and forth between France and Germany numerous times, and currently lives in France. Consequently, some of the wines in Alsace are made from the same grapes you find just over the border in Germany: Riesling and Gewürztraminer, which both account for about 20% of Alsace grapes. Other important Alsace varieties are Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. If we’ve given you the impression that Alsace is white wine central, then let us just say this: it is. 90% of Alsace wines are white wines. Moreover, 22% of all Alsace wine is Crém ..read more

Picture the scene. It’s the early 1990s. Ireland has made it to the World Cup football finals, the Soviet Union has collapsed and it seems like Britpop might take over the world. A young Auckland couple have a dream. Not a dream to live in the Big City and make big bucks. No, they want a life full of hope, wine and passion. Okay, less of the movie trailer introduction… Andrew Greenhough (pronounced ‘green-hoff’) and Jenny Wheeler started their new life when they bought a four-hectare plot in Nelson, aptly named ‘Hope’. Nelson is located at the very top tip of South Island and lies west of Marl ..read more

Racking is part of the production process in wine, but maybe isn’t what you think it is. The word racking itself originated from the Old English term ‘rakken’, which means skins, pips and stalks of the grape. Once the juicy grapes are ripe for the picking, they are harvested and placed in a large press or barrel. They are either destemmed and crushed (white wines), or just crushed (red wines, though it depends on the grape variety). At this point, the grapes are left to ferment with yeast, along with other additives. The skins and pips are left in red wines, while the white-wine grapes are sep ..read more

Château Moulin de Peyronin is a refreshing take on the many, MANY Bordeaux wineries. Aged only 25, Franck and Véronique Terral bought the winery in 2006 with the desire to farm organically, while using their combined backgrounds in viticulture, oenology and commercial wine studies to create a business. Since then, they have been pouring their passion into every last grape, developed 20 hectares of land (14 of which are planted with vines) and started a family. Located in Entre-deux-Mers, east of Saint-Émilion in the Dordogne valley, the winery has been growing organically since 1975 and was ce ..read more

Remember that über-popular, good-looking kid at school who was really good at everything, and we mean e-ve-ry-thing? Well, that’s Chardonnay. Chardonnay probably originated in France as a cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. It’s the dominant white wine grape in Burgundy, where in Côte de Beaune and Mâconnais, for example, it is used in wines all the way up to Grand Cru level; and in Chablis, it is used to make some of the greatest white wines of anywhere, full stop. Elsewhere, it’s one of the main three grapes used in the most regal wine of them all: Champagne. Because Chardonnay is inc ..read more

Sauvignon Blanc is the original wild child of wine. It makes for herbaceous, green, citrusy and minerally wines that are instantly recognisable on the nose and grab hold of your tongue in an acidic embrace that literally leaves you salivating for more. Befitting such an assertive grape, Sauvignon Blanc literally means ‘wild white’. ‘Wild’ because it is a native grape to France and grew in the wild, or as the French say, ‘au sauvage’. ‘White’ (‘blanc’), because the grape is er… green. Really, it should be called Sauvignon Vert, but that name is already taken by three other grapes. So Sauvignon ..read more

The Douro Valley is the world’s largest mountainous vineyard. Carving through the north of Portugal, the Douro River, also known as ‘The River of Gold’, has been a winemaking hub since the 3rd century AD, rising in prominence as a exporter of wine in the late 17th century. The terroir of the valley is a natural amphitheatre for vineyards, a place where vines perform at their best—similar to the Mosel region in Germany. With three divisions (Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo, and Douro Superior), each with their own distinct characteristics, there are multiple microclimates along the Douro river. And thi ..read more

Poor Merlot. Imagine being one of the greats of the winemaking industry, but nearly always being talked about in the context of either a) another grape or b) worse still, a movie. First, let’s acknowledge Merlot for what it is: a grape used by winemakers globally to produce deep-red wines that are low on tannin and high on cherry/plummy/red-fruity notes on the nose and the tongue. You’ll taste some vanilla too if the wine has been aged in oak barrels. Well-made Merlots balance their acidity, tannins and fruitiness perfectly. The big-name Merlots are from Bordeaux’s Right Bank, but you can get ..read more

Known for its distinctive Sauvignon Blanc wines that practically shout “Kia ora!” (Hello!) from the glass, New Zealand’s Marlborough region is tucked up on the northeast corner of the country’s South Island. Spanning an impressive 68,700 acres, Marlborough is responsible for producing over 60% of the country’s grape production. The maritime climate and the free-draining, sandy alluvial soils work hand in hand to give the zingy acidity and complex flavours of tropical fruits, such as grapefruit with an underlying dash of herbaceous peppery notes. While Sauvignon Blanc takes much of the limeligh ..read more

Ask nearly anyone in France where the best wines in the world are made and they will say, “France.” Except for two groups of people who will give you a different answer. 1. Visiting winemakers from overseas. 2. People from Bordeaux. In fact, people from Bordeaux won’t even answer. They’ll just look at you like you’re an idiot. For them, this is a pointless question. The answer is evident to anyone with taste buds. And to be fair, many wine drinkers, regardless of where they’re from, will agree with them. Bordeaux is the epitome of winemaking. But what’s its secret? How did it achieve its statu ..read more