I met Jules Taylor on a buyers' trip to New Zealand many (err...many) years back when she was making wines for Kim Crawford Wines. An MW Candidate at the time, I was in heaven learning all sorts of technical winemaking details from her. I didn't know then, but she was just about to launch full-time into her side winemaking project with her husband, George Elworthy.
Read MoreNanny Goat 2015 Pinot Noir Central Otago: This is classic Otago. Rich in body but refreshingly acidic, it is packed with blueberries and mulberries. And, it’s all about the fruit - an abundance of fresh, zingy, super-pure fruit. No doubt that, with its elegantly lacy palate and fine, talc-like tannins, this is Pinot Noir, but there’s none of the earthiness or forest-floor one often finds.
Read MoreTo meet Sir George was a great honor. This Kiwi legend comes across as a genuinely inquisitive, down-to-earth gentleman. Sir George’s venture into wine began more as a hobby than a career. He started in 1961 by leasing an acre of land from his father. Begun as a family venture, it remains so – in spite of the fact that Villa Maria is one of New Zealand’s three largest wineries and exports to over fifty countries!
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