The Region: Located on the country's most easterly tip and closest to the international dateline, Gisborne boasts the world' s most easterly vineyards and the first vines to see the sun each day. The region receives high sunshine hours on coastal plains that are sheltered from the west by a range of mountains. Well-drained alluvial loams over sandy or volcanic subsoils help moderate fertility, and produce grapes of intense character and aroma.
 

The Wine: Dry and medium bodied with a soft, supple fruity palate of boysenberry, plums, redcurrant and ripe black cherries, this Merlot has a wonderful spicy aroma, accentuated with light warm oak and a rich, round mouthfeel, leading to a long, elegant finish.

 

With it's initial palate of soft, moderate tannins and bright fruit, it's tempting to drink this Merlot immediately, to savour the rich, concentrated plummy flavours. However, the tiers of red currant, raspberry and black cherry notes won't show until six months and they'll eventually evolve into a deeply flavoured and majestic wine, building in depth for two to four more years of age, and holding for several more, gaining a lithe character of melded fruit and lushness from the soft tannins.

 

The Region: When the first Marlborough vines were planted in 1973 few people predicted that the region would become New Zealand's largest and best known winegrowing area in little more than 20 years. Abundant sunshine, cool nights and a long growing season helps to build and maintain the vibrant fruit flavours for which Marlborough is now famous.

The Wine: The 2008 Limited Edition Gewürztraminer grapes came from the internationally renowned Allan Scott Wines and Estates. An early harvest protected the grapes from the extreme heat of the Marlborough summer allowing them to develop the intense aromatic spiciness typical of this variety, named from the German word for 'perfumed', Gewürz. The berries range in colour from amber-gold to rose to purple-tinged, and produce a gently golden-coloured wine, unmistakable in its heady, aromatic intensity, with a pungent fragrance of lychee, tropical fruit and rose petals. Its flavours are ample, lusciously fruity and spicy rather than complex.

The Food: The sweetness of Gewurztraminer draws out strong fruit characteristics and has good acidity to stand up to spicy food such as Thai or Szechuan cuisine, strong cheeses and fresh fruits. It also does well with more savoury dishes likes herbed grilled chicken and barbecued salmon. The intense purity of the fruit character will be apparent immediately in this rich wine, and the hint of sweetness that balances it makes it a tempting sipper right away, but the deeper floral characters of rose petal and lichee will become much more apparent after six months to a year.

Sweetness Code: 2 (Off-dry)

 

The Region: North of Cape town, Swartland is one of the newest growing regions in South Africa. Swartland vines are dry-farmed and trained as bushvines. Without irrigation the grapes pick up all their character from local conditions, strongly focusing the effects of regional terroir. Bushvine training reduces vigour and moderates the intense heat of the South African sun, giving the grapes time to mature slowly and fully.
 

The Wine: Cabernet from this region is dense, heavy and concentrated with deep blackberry notes, pepper spiciness, delicate mint and herbal aromas, along with abundant tannins that blend wonderfully with many different cuisines.
 

The Food: Grilled steaks, roasts and other hearty meat-based dishes which can balance the robust character-but try it with dark chocolate for an astonishing taste sensation. Typical of South African Cabernet, the bold, densely layered tannins will dominate for the first six months, overshadowing the blackcurrant and blackberry aromas. After this the herbal/mint character will being to emerge, and will evolve into a deeply complex red wine, with dark cherry and cedar notes. With a year (or more) of ageing, the peppery character of the grapes will emerge, counterpointing the concentration and power of the wine, and it will continue to improve for three years-or even longer.
 

The Region: Nestled between Switzerland, France and Germany, Alsace has a complex history, but can always count on being rooted in excellent food and wine. It has a semi-continental climate with cold and dry winters and hot summers, with little rain because of the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains in the west. This ideal climate makes for some of the most impressive and powerful white wines in the world.
 

The Wine: Alsatian Riesling has a finesse and a bracing vividness that most wines can't match. Medium bodied, crisp and steely, it has coy aromas of white fruits, juicy apple and the perfume of May blossoms. Wonderfully drinkable, it shows an amazing depth of flavour with minerals, acidity and structure.
 

The Food: Alsatian Riesling can hold its own in food pairing like no other white wine, especially with savoury dishes or with fruit-roast pork loin stuffed with apricots or classic Duck à loran are delightful pairings. The sweet flesh of shellfish like crab, shrimp and lobster is echoed and enhanced by the balanced sweetness. Salty, smoky foods like salmon or smoked, grilled quail are wonderfully accentuated by the crisp, ripe fruit. While crisply fresh and bright when young, it will develop more of its floral/mineral aromas after six months, and after a year will begin to show honey and citrus notes, and continue to deepen in flavour two years or more-if you can wait that long!

 

 The Region: Piedmont is the most outstanding and distinctive wine region in Italy. Situated in the northwest corner of Italy, next to Switzerland and France, distinctive chalky soils show the best growing areas on the hillsides running down from the Alps ('Piedmont' means 'foot of the mountain') where the climate produces enough summer heat to ripen Italy's most delightful grape, Dolcetto.
 

The Wine: Winexpert Limited Edition Italian Piedmont Dolcetto has black cherry and licorice flavours with some prunes and a characteristic hint of bitter almond, a perception enhanced by the completely dry finish. The dense, inky purple hue belies its easy drinking character and smooth tannins.
 

The Food: Dolcetto is a light and easy to drink wine that pairs wonderfully with dishes like pasta, pizza, grilled Portobello mushrooms and is particularly splendid with a tomato and mozzarella salad. Medium-bodied, the unique tannin profile of the Dolcetto grape produces a wine that is best described as 'lush', rather than gripping or powerful, which enchances the reputation of Dolcetto for gulpability. It is often served lightly chilled, in the manner of Beaujolais Nouveau, 13-18°C, 55-65°F. Served cool this way it shows crisper and more fruity than when warm, and is excellent with lighter dishes, much like a rosé. Tempting to drink immediately when it will show some bright red fruit characters, it opens up to more intense flavours of black cherry and licorice after three months, and will evolve steadily for several years.