VERDEJO “Bodegas Menade” (Spain)

Tasting Note: An intriguing New Zealand blend of richness and flavour, combining poached pears, melon and ginger, with happy results. Food Matching: Beautifully matched with all Asian cuisine, seafood, chicken and pork dishes. Vineyard: The Seaview Vineyard, in the Awatere Valley, is exposed to some of the toughest growing conditions in Marlborough; high sunshine and wind, cool nights and low rainfall which produces a smaller, thicker skinned berry with intense fruit flavours. The cool site regularly commences harvest up to one week later than other sub regions of Marlborough. All three aromatic varieties sit on sheltered, north facing slopes. The soil is predominantly wind blown loess. Vinification: Three aromatic parcels; Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer, were selected and harvested together. The fruit was crushed, de-stemmed then gently pressed, with the free run juice going to a stainless tank and the pressings portion going to a 1000L French oak oval and a selection of old French oak barriques. The free run juice in the stainless steel tank was settled for 72hrs and then the clear juice was then racked off to another stainless tank for a long cool fermentation to enhance the pure fruit flavours. The pressings portion in oak went through a natural fermentation and the french oak oval and barrels were stirred twice weekly post fermentation to develop structure and texture. Upon achieving a finely balanced blend, the wine was stabilised and filtered prior to bottling. ** VEGAN WINE **