Martina Doglio Cotto, Global Brand Ambassador for Riccadonna, visits New Zealand

Last week Martina Doglio Cotto, Sommelier and Riccadonna Ambassador, visited New Zealand for the first time hosting an intimate Italian lunch in Auckland. The event started with a Campari aperitif, followed by  delicious dishes matched to the Riccadonna range and accompanied by Martina’s stories about the famous sparkling wines from Asti. Riccadonna is part of the Campari Group and it is distributed in New Zealand by Lion.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Best of Central Otago: Akitu Pinot Noir

Akitu A2

Great to see Akitu wine in Viva Magazine this morning. I know the vineyard in Wanaka, Central Otago, and it is spectacular, surrounded by a stunning landscape! And lots of work is required to produce wine, top wine, here. I like wine that requires lots of work, and tastes like the landscape and the weather. I have tried both the Akitu black label (A1) and the white label (A2, pictured) and they are excellent. If you need to do a proper reading I leave you with this article by Ryan Woodhouse, while I go and see if I still have one bottle in the cellar .

The vineyard in Wanaka, Central Otago

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Wonderful Italian cheese in New Zealand

Mature cheeses from Emilio's cheese

I had a lovely dinner in Christchurch with Italian friends, and met local cheesemonger Emilio Festa of Emilio's cheese. I love cheese and this was a fantastic opportunity for me to try some NZ made Italian style cheese with a glass of Cracroft Chase Pinot Gris (my favourite Pinot Gris made in NZ by Italian Wilma and Alessandro Laryn). 

Emilio and Adriana

Fresh cheeses from Emilio's cheese

I cannot say which was my favourite cheese, they were all so delicious that it was too hard to decide, but I was moved when Emilio took out the crescenza, something so difficult to find here in New Zealand! I took some home for the family and everybody loved it!

Crescenza from Emilio's cheese

Pity that Emilio's cheese is only sold locally and doesn't make it to Auckland, but if you go to Canterbury check out the local Farmers' Markets around Chch, and Emilio's FB Page to find out where his cheeses are sold.
Only by supporting good local artisan cheesemongers we can truly develop great cheeses in New Zealand.

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

We love Hawke's Bay, plus Napier, Hasting and Mission Estate Winery

We spent three wonderful days in Hawke's Bay

The sea is wonderful to look at, but a bit too scary for me to swim.

One of the best things for me was to be able to eat all the wonderful stone fruit that they grow here.

A must-see is the lovely city of Napier with its Art Deco buildings. Most of the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1931, and rebuilt in the Art Deco style popular at the time.

The symbol of the city is the statue of Pania of the Reef

For veggies eating in Napier I recommend the Wholefood Kitchen, next to the Chantal organic food store.

Next to Napier there is Hasting, also with lovely Art Deco buildings, and the funkiest lamp posts in NZ.

 Hawke's Bay is famous for its wineries, one of the most famous is Mission Estate Winery. It was established by French missionaries in 1851, making it New Zealand's very first Winery.

We also had a really enjoyable restaurant experience in Hawke's Bay, but this deserves a post on its now, so I will talk about it next time (and the photos of some of the dishes will amaze you!!)

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Lunch at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant, Waiheke Island

Lunch at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant, Waiheke Island
Photos by Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling ©

The Riesling Challenge 2010 Tasting Vineyard v Winemaker

Copied and pasted from the Slow Food Waitakere site, this wine tasting event is a real gem, so if you are in Auckland on the 8th of July, and you would like to learn more about tasting and comparing wines, come and join us! 

 

Presents  The Riesling Challenge 2010 Tasting Vineyard v Winemaker

Sunday 8 July 2012 Time: 2:00pm Address:  5 Waima Cresent, Titirangi

Cost:  Members $20.00, Non-Members $25.00

(limited numbers)

A Little Bit of the History of "The Riesling Challenge:

How It Began:  Neil Charles-Jones came up with the idea for the New Zealand Riesling Challenge

at an awards dinner.  It struck him that for all the talk of good wines being made in the vineyard, it

was the winemaker who always picked up the awards.

How it Worked:  Twelve winemakers were each given 4 tonnes grapes from one vineyard namely the

Mud House "The Mount" vineyard in Waipara Valley.  Each winemaker made 250 cases of wine,

processing the grapes and making the wine in the manner they saw fit.  Resulting in twelve very different

wines, varying from dry through to sweet.

The Tasting:

We will be tasting the resulting 12 wines under the guidance of Mark Compton, who is a well respected

winemaker and educator, with a particular interest in aromatic wines - Riesling being his favourite.

After the Tasting:  We thought it would be nice way to finish the afternnon if you would like to

bring a plate of finger food to share after the conclusion of the tasting, either to be enjoyed with rest

of the wine (if any is left) or a cup of tea or coffee.

RSVP

Laurel McAlpine

Email:  travelbug@connected.net.nz

Ph: 817 5859

N.B.  There will be limited numbers so please book early