The Event: Flavours of New Zealand Toronto Tasting May 10 2018

The Date and Time:  Thursday May 10, 2018  1:30PM - 5PM

The Event: Flavours of New Zealand Toronto Tasting

The Venue: Glass Factory, 99 Sudbury St

The Target Audience: wine trade

The Availability/Catalogue: wines were listed in the catalogue by winery or group, with suggested retail prices. Some of the logos were inconsistently listed along the booths, with out-of-order wineries. I got a lot of exercise walking around.

The Quote/Background: I did the walk-around tasting, folding them into the results below. The wines were served too cold for an "aromatics discovery" tasting (Albarino, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer), but when I returned to re-try or try for the first time (allowing for some warm up), the bottles had been replaced by other too cold wines. Some wines were supposed to be blind tasted, but I could not find them.

The Wines: Many wines are found online or in-person at the LCBO New Zealand Discovery store 1838 Avenue Road in Toronto. I did not try all the wines in the show.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Rockburn Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Central Otago +468157 $19.95

-Nautilus Chardonnay 2016 Marlborough +331652 $27.95 FAVE WHITE TODAY

-Astrolabe Taihoa Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Kekerengu Coast Marlborough 2016 $39.95

Rogers

-Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017 $35.95 Charton Hobbs

-Cloudy Bay Te Koko Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 $59.95 Charton Hobbs

-Cloudy Bay Te Koko Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $59.95 Charton Hobbs

-Giesen Single Vineyard Selection Clayvin Pinot Noir Marlborough 2014 $99.95

-Greywacke Wild Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2014 $39.95 Connexion Oenophilia

-Greywacke Pinot Noir Marlborough 2015 $50 Connexion Oenophilia

-Loveblock Pinot Noir Bendigo Central Otago 2016 $34.95 Vine Agency

-Te Awanga Estate Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2016 $27.95 Azureau

-Quarter Acre Sauvignon Blanc Hawke's Bay 2016 $34.95 Azureau

-Quarter Acre Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2016 $34.95 Azureau

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Giesen The August Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013 $54.95 Charton Hobbs

-Cloudy Bay Te Wahl Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 $123.95

-Forrest Albarino Marlborough 2017 $22.95  Abcon

-Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Riesling Martinborough 2016 $26 Select Cons

-Waimea Classic Riesling Nelson 2016 $18.95 Churchill Consignment

-Lawson's Dry Hills Gewurztraminer Marlborough 2016 $19.99  Wine Guru

-Lindauer Classic Brut Sparkling Wine North Island NV $19.95  Profile

-Mister Syrah Hawke's Bay 2015 $29.95 Azureau

-Te Awanga Estate Syrah Hawke's Bay 2015 $31.95 Azureau

-Toi Toi Clutha Pinot Noir Central Otago 2016 $29.95  Vonterra

-Villa Maria Cellar Selection Organic Pinot Noir Marlborough 2015 $30.40 P Dandurand

-Vidal Reserve Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2016 $27.95

-Thornbury Pinot Noir Central Otago 2016 $27.95  Airen

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Yealands Land Made Sauvignon Blanc 2017 $15 +425298 Licensee only Trialto

-Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Gris Marlborough 2017 $22.94 Trialto

-Waipara Hills Riesling North Canterbury 2016 $21.99  Southern Glazer's Consignment

-Villa Maria Celler Selection Pinot Gris Marlborough 2017 $21.95 PDandurand

 

The Food: breads and cheeses.

The Downside: I had needlessly rushed to the seminar because the last few seminars were sitdowns. This time the seminar reverted to the past and it was a walkaround, self-pour which I could have joined any time. 

The Upside: So I finished early, marked up the show catalogue, and got into the tasting about a half hour early. So I got home earlier as well, avoiding rush hour.

The Contact Person: events@nzwine.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 85.

Chimo! www.deantudor.com