By Shane T Williams
Matua Valley Chief Winemaker Nikolai St George has teamed up with Becasse head chef Justin North to showcase the very best of New Zealand food and wine, with a trade and celebrity luncheon at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) on Wednesday (Sep 29) during Sydney's New Zealand Food and Wine Month.
Matua Valley Chief Winemaker Nikolai St George speaks at the MCA in Sydney during Sydney's New Zealand Food and Wine Month.
You need Adobe Flash plugin version 9.0.115 or
higher to view the videos on this site
Get it here, it will only take a minute (1 MB)
With summer approaching, Australia's love affair with Sauvignon Blanc is set to keep sales heading north with interesting wines styles like the Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc sparkling. Retailers and on-premise trade should look to capitise on the 'Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc Sparkles as it has an interesting point of difference from traditional sparkling wines that are made from base wines Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
"Australia's love for Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region is one which has remained strong over time due to the area's consistancy for quality, flavour and heritage," said St George. On show were three wines from the Matua stable, matched with light and lifted New Zealand-inspired hapuka, spanner crab and Petuna ocean trout.
While the flagship 2010 Estate Series Paretei Sauvignon Blanc shows greater length and complexity than many Sauvignon Blancs, the 2009 First Frost Sauvignon Blanc is actually one of the few low alcohol, low calorie wines that delivers. St George suggested that Sauvignon Blanc particularly works well in these styles of wine, it's clean, fresh and still allows good flavour.
With a big trading long weekend ahead for pubs, hotels and bottle shops due to the NRL and AFL grand final, TheShout believes St George is on the money.