Top 5 New Zealand Red Wines

New Zealand may be at the opposite side of the world from where you are right now but there is no reason not to taste its wines because there are wine stores that specializes in their best wines. New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc is among the best in the world which means that it is worth the effort to travel to New Zealand for wine tourism. New wineries are sprouting everywhere and they are frequently offering wine tasting to wines that you have never explored before.

While relatively new to the United States, New Zealand wines are catching on great in Asia. Singapore’s online wine delivery portal Asher BWS carries a large variety.

New Zealand as the home of some of the world’s best wines

Hawke’s Bay can be found on the North Island and it is the home to New Zealand’s Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots. These wines can be enjoyed in most restaurants while you watch the setting sun on some of the best vineyards. On the South Island which is more known for skiing than good wines is where you can find the country’s best Pinot Noir vineyards. If there is one word used to describe New Zealand wines it is “superb” and there is nothing quite like visiting the vineyards yourself at watch the grapes grow before they are harvested to be made into wine.

Top 5 New Zealand wines

2006 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay – has gained a strong foothold as a world class wine. The Brajkovich’s are well known as the founding family of New Zealand’s wine industry and the current generation is recognized for its Chardonnay. Grapes continue to be harvested from Kumeu and with qualified and skilled wine makers; one of the best wines in the world is produced.

2006 Vinoptima Ormond Gewurztraminer – the wine which is made by Nick Nobilo in Gisborne is a best example of the wines produced in New Zealand. It is fresh and fragrant with spice of pepper and the fruity taste of lychees. The wine smells like violets that grow in the Osmond area near Gisborne. Maturity and aging are represented in every bottle of wine including traditional practices in wine making.

2005 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Viognier – this is a New Zealand wine that came from the best vineyards in Hawkes Bay. Its aroma is reminiscent of the citrus blossoms, fresh apricot and jasmine with the endearing features of full rich and slippery texture. The exotic and sensual characteristics of this wine make it a perfect substitute to Chardonnay. This wine work well when matched with Asian cuisine.

2006 Clearview Enigma – is made from the traditional Bordeaux mixture of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine has the key flavors of plum, cherry and blackcurrant with a hint of spearmint. It matches well when you want to have something classy to match the meals.

2005 Te Mata Estate Coleraine – Te Mata is one of the oldest wineries in New Zealand with a track record of wines with age. Although the wine is a Bordeaux lookalike it keeps its plum and blackcurrant flavors to mellow. The wine is a great match for a sophisticated and classy dinner.

Why Drink Beer if you can Drink Wine?

If you can have wine, why will you still drink beer? The common belief is that a glass of wine is healthier than a bottle of beer. According to health experts, wine has health benefits due its antioxidants that reduce the risks of a coronary heart disease. This must be true because France which is prominently known all over the world for its wine has the lowest rates of heart disease. Resveratrol which is the antioxidant found in wine is known to benefit the brain and lessen psychological distress that is usually associated with depression.

What wines contain the most antioxidants?

According to the researchers of the University of California, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Pinot Syrah are the wines that have the highest concentrations of flavonoid, the antioxidant that increases the levels of good cholesterol and protects against damage to the arteries. Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most recognizable wines because it is grown in a wide range of climates and regions with different blending varieties. Pinot Noir is a type of lighter medium-bodied, fruity red wine that is loved as a Red Burgundy. However, the stringent requirements for its growth results into smaller quantities of supply. While Pinot Noir cannot compete with Cabernet Sauvignon, it also makes for the age-worthy wine. Pinot Syrah is heavier with more tannin than Pinot Noir. Syrah is used to increase Pinot Noir’s alcoholic strength and add depth of color.

Beer in moderation has its benefits

Similar to wine, beer has its share of antioxidants and the important B vitamins like niacin and folic acid. According to a Finnish study, beer is good for the kidneys and it reduces the risks of developing kidney stones by 40%. This is possibly due to beer’s high water content and diuretic effects. Drinking a single 12-ounce bottle of beer can provide 12.5% of the recommended Vitamin B6 that ensures health for the cells and the heart. Drinking moderate amounts of beer (also wine) is found to be related to greater bone density on men and women who are above 60. However, bone density is significantly lower on men who were found to be drinking more than two servings of liquor daily. For the best protection, it is suggested to keep the daily consumption to only one pint with 5% alcohol content.

Beer or wine?

Both beer and wine have health benefits but it depends on the amount that is drunk every day. Everything in excess is bad for the health. Based on a 2010 study of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, non-drinkers have higher mortality rates at 59% than moderate alcohol drinkers who consumed little or no wine at 50%. Moderate drinkers who limited themselves to wine had 32% mortality rates. Latest polls show that there is a shift from beer to wine in almost all age groups except for those who are in their 50’s and above who are diehard beer drinkers. One of the reasons for the shift is the improved quality of cheap wine that makes it more attractive to people.

If you prefer going for a high-end wine and wants some advice along the way, check out the previous post on wine shops in Singapore.

Where to Get the Best Wine Supplies in Singapore?

When it comes to buying wine, what matters is quality and not quantity; however, it does not necessarily mean that you have to pick the most expensive wines in the world from the first growth grape vines in Bordeaux, France. Wine can be a great gift for a friend and it is the most surefire thing that can add class to a dinner. If you want to impress, here are some of good wine shops in Singapore that will spare you the stress and efforts.

Your sources for the best wine in Singapore

1855 The Bottle Shop – is the place if you are looking for some of the world’s greatest wine like Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon or the Pinot Noirs from New Zealand. 1855 stocks more than 800 wines that include most of everything from the casual 2010 Pierre Henri Merlot at $23.50/bottle to the sophisticated 2003 Chateau Brane Catenac at $125/bottle and the highly extraordinary 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild at an outstanding $16,888 a bottle. Chateau Mouton Rothschild is considered as one of the great vintages of the last century.

Artisan Cellar – is the wine shop for the connoisseurs who understand all about the greatest wines that have been made all over the world. As the name implies, the wine shop has in stock artisanal wines from France’s prominent regions as well as the best wines from New Zealand, America, Austria and Germany. You can check their champagne list if you some bubbly for a celebration. Their Benoit Lahaye Blanc de Noirs Prestige which is made from Pinot Noir grapes sell at $87.74 while De Sousa Cuvee des Caudalies Blanc de Blancs is available at $130.54.

Magma German Wine Bistro & Shop – has a wide collection of wines from Germany’s wine regions. The wine shops account for some of the best wines that have been produced in Germany from the fruity Riesling to the well known Fritz Haag at $132 and Prinz von Hessen at $52. A German wine list can be pretty intimating with their long foreign sounding names but their wines come from select bunches of grapes from Germany’s wine regions.

Merchant’s Wine Cellar & Store – is where you can find wines that are known all over the world. You can have your pick from Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Jacob’s Creek or from 150 other options. Penfolds is a prominent Australian wine producer that has been recently awarded with the 2013 “New World Winery of the Year”, Wolf Bass and Jacob’s Creek are also famous names in the Australian wine industry

Top Wines (Momento del Tesoro) – has over 300 labels from all over the world where the grape varieties range from the familiar to the highly exotic. They have wines from Chile (Anakena Single Vineyard Carmenere at $44), wines from South Africa (Doolhof Signatures Pinotage at $52) or wines from Japan (2009 Magrez-Aruga Koshu at $206). Frequent wine tastings are organized so that you can match the wine to your dinner menu. There is no better way to enhance the taste of food than to pair it with a good wine.

Essentials of Matching Wine to Meals

There are no essential rules that will guide you in matching wine to your meals but wine will definitely enhance the taste of your food. The choice of wine is usually based on personal choice but there are wines that can be considered as the perfect complement of some meals. For example, delicate food will often require a delicate wine while richly flavored food will find its perfect match with heavy fully flavored wines. If the flavor of food is too complex, it may be difficult to find a matching wine because the food can be quite dominant.

Know how wine and food will taste together

  • Taste your wine by rolling it around your mouth.
  • After you have swallowed your wine, ask yourself if there is something familiar with its taste like fruit flavor.
  • Decide whether you find the wine to be light or heavy
  • What characteristics of wine are similar to your food? Do they share the same sweetness, flavor or texture?
  • Try your food and determine its taste as well as its aftertaste. If tasting has been a pleasant experience, then you have managed to find a winner but it if the food and wine do not match, try again.

How to determine different tastes

Food has different tastes. It can be bitter, salty, acidy, sweet or umami like Japanese food. Since cooking is an art, all these tastes will be combined together which makes it more difficult to choose the matching wine.

  • If the food is salty, it will bring out the sweetness of food but increases its bitterness. Salty food has a perfect match in sweet dessert wines or very fruity reds.
  • Foods with high acidity do not match with wines because it dominates over the wine’s flavor. If you plan to pair off your food with wine, use vinegars, vinaigrettes and dressings sparingly. Add a little sugar to take the edge off the vinaigrette.
  • Bitterness outlasts all other tastes but it can cover up acidity in wine and bring out its sweetness. Bitter greens and olives can be matched with young red wines.
  • Sweetness can minimize the bitterness and acidity of wine which means that sweet wine should not be used to match with overly sweet food otherwise it will cancel the taste of your wine.
  • Umami – is a characteristic of Japanese food like miso, roast meat and mushrooms that takes off the edge of tannins and brings out the sweetness of wine. A good choice of wine is one that is rich in tannin.

When matching food and wine, it is important to rely on your palate since guidelines are often generalized. If you are serving red wine with beef or lamb, choose Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir but for chicken, white wine like Chardonnay is best. If the chicken has been cooked in rich sauce, it can match with Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz. Fish and seafood goes well with white wine like Chardonnay, Riesling or Pinot Grigio. For dessert, make sure that the wine you choose is not as sweet as your cake.

What gives Red Wine its Red Color?

Have you ever wondered why red wine is red? Perhaps, the restaurant was dimly lit that you hardly noticed the color of your wine but if you will look closely, you will notice that there is a substantial difference in color between one red wine to another. By learning to identify red wine through its color, you will be able to choose based on age, grape variety, density of flavor or acidity.

How the color of red wine varies

Intensity of color – the more intense and bolder the color means that your red wine has more tannin. Tannins are the protector of plants from predators. It causes the dry and puckery feeling in your mouth after you have consumed red wine. Too much tannin can make the wine bitter and dry. The longer that the skins of grapes come into contact with the juice in the preparation of red wine, the more intense will the color. Along with the skins that causes red wine to darken, grape seeds and stems tend to add more tannin which you will notice through the hints of blue at the edge of your wine glass.

Opacity – the opacity of red wine will tell you from what kind of grape it has been made from. You will also identify the age of your wine through its opacity. If the wine is opaque and hazy, it is a sign that it is unfiltered meaning that the winemaker has intentionally refused to filter the wine so that its rich texture and dynamic flavor will be retained. Cabernet is opaque and it varies in color intensity based on climate and winemaking. In a colder climate, cabernet sauvignon tends to look pale because it contains less pigment. An opaque cabernet indicates that the grapes have been grown in Italy or California.

Color – red wine is red but commercial value red wine will lose color pigmentation in 2 to 4 years whereas wines that have been designed to age will take 10 to 14 years to change their color. The longer it is for wine to change color, the better it will taste since it has been developed for years while stored in the cellar. However, expect this type of wine to be significantly expensive. Winemakers can manipulate the color of red wine by soaking the skin of grapes longer on the juice to gain a deeper and richer color. Pinot noir is one of the wines that can be easily identified because of its pale translucent color.

Secondary colors – red wine has hints of secondary colors like orange, brown, magenta or brick which you will notice at the rim at of the wine while it goes toward the edge of your wine glass. Older wine has wider rim variation whereas a very tight rim variation indicates a very young wine. If there is a bluish tinge on the rim of your red wine, it means high pH level. Merlots tend to have a slightly lighter color than cabernet sauvignon but it has the orange tones on the rim.