New Zealand yields a stunning selection of Bordeaux varietals, including world-class Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay.
NZ wines and B.C., a heavenly cultural marriage
Spectacular alpine glaciers, massive mountain ranges, rolling green farmland and long sandy beaches. If you think this sounds like an excerpt from a Tourism B.C. brochure, guess again. In fact, these descriptors are from www.newzealand.com, an official website promoting travel to New Zealand – that friendly island nation that, surprisingly, has a lot in common with British Columbia, including a penchant for healthy living and the production of fine food and wines.
While New Zealand wines go back over 100 years, it wasn’t until the 1980s that viticulture really began to take off here. Today, from Central Otago – the world’s most southerly wine region – to Hawkes Bay on the sunny North Island, New Zealand yields a stunning selection of Bordeaux varietals, including world-class Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. Without question though, the country’s flagship wine is Sauvignon Blanc, and 60 per cent of it is produced in Marlborough on the nation’s South Island.
Here, a maritime climate and long ripening season yield aromatic wines that burst with fruit flavours, yet also convey the crispness of balanced acidity, a characteristic due, in part, to warm sunny days and cool nights during ripening season.
Nina Stojnic, export development manager for Constellation Wines New Zealand, says the success of high-end labels such as Kim Crawford and Cloudy Bay have helped New Zealand become a sizeable player in the world luxury wine market.
These days, while New Zealand remains a boutique wine growing region – and always will be by virtue of its relatively compact geography – brands such as Nobilo and Monkey Bay are helping increase the accessibility to New Zealand vino by offering reasonably priced, approachable selections ideal for summertime grilling.
Stojnic describes Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc as a “fun brand known for its tropical fruit-driven style, with a clean, crisp finish and lightly lingering flavours.”
Nobilo – the largest selling New Zealand Sauv Blanc in the U.S. – has a “more serious, complex flavour profile and herbaceous notes,” she says. “Nobilo is produced from fruit sourced from the best parcels across Marlborough.”
At the Fairmont Waterfront hotel in Vancouver, executive chef Shannon Wrightson knows more than a thing or two about pairing fine cuisine with New Zealand wines. You might say it’s in his blood.
While he has lived in Canada for years, working with Fairmont hotels in Ottawa and in Vancouver, Wrightson was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. At the Fairmont Waterfront, he and his culinary team take advantage of assets such as a 2,500-squarefoot rooftop garden complete with beehives that will soon produce fresh honey, to create dishes that would make even Wrightson’s mom proud.
“My mother was a great cook,” recalls Wrightson, recalling traditional Sunday roasts and dinners of fresh fish and other seafoods he grew up with. “It was always healthy, clean food. Salads made with avocados, blood oranges, seeds and nuts were always a big part of it.”
While the cuisine Wrightson and his team prepare at the Fairmont is decidedly gourmet, he maintains, “You need to let the food speak for itself, not mask those flavours. It’s hard to beat fresh sockeye salmon garnished with lemon and served with a good salad.”
Of course, Wrightson’s idea of simplicity is tastefully elegant. After lightly seasoning the sockeye, he bottom sears the salmon to medium rare with its skin on, helping retain the fish’s natural moisture and flavours. Wrightson then tops the salmon with a soft herb salad of microgreens finished with shaved fennel poached in apple juice. Imagine that dished up with local chargrilled fingerling potatoes and yellow beans from the Okangan. Divine.
A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect match says Wrightson, adding, “A little citrus in the dish will complement the wine’s fruit flavour and crispness.”
Stojnic says, “At their hearts, New Zealand wines convey the Kiwi lifestyle – clean, fresh, lively, energetic and youthful.” Sounds like a cultural marriage made in heaven, and an ideal complement to a Beautiful B.C. summertime gathering.
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