October Monthly Blind Tasting - Bee’s Knees - A wine that inspires you

Our tasting this month had a few of the best discussions we’ve seen at the NZWTS and showed us yet again why we do this. Perhaps one of the most important topics we touched on was wine quality, pricing, and the psychology of consumer preference. Hugely important, this topic surrounds everything we do as Sommeliers, Business Owners, Importers, Marketing Gurus, Salespeople and Winemakers.

We also touched on our varied approaches to blind tasting. Some of us have a very academic approach to figuring out what the wine is while others go fully by gut feel and experiential sensory input. There’s yet another camp, who uses academics as a framework while relying on gut feel to give further guidance.

The wines were great, and we had the rare opportunity (unplanned) to end with a ten year vertical of Te Mata Awatea (2000-2010) - A huge thank you to Michael for supplying those.

The wines, in order.

David - Elephant Hill "The Sea" Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Te Awanga, Hawke's Bay - NZ

James - Domaine de la Borde "Foudre Canon Nature" Savagnin 2022, Arbois, Jura - FR

Aleks - Tahbilk Marsanne 2018, Nagambe Lakes, Victoria - AU

Max - Rippon Pinot Noir 2016, Wanaka, Central Otago - NZ

Miguel - Black Estate "Netherwood" Pinot Noir 2024, Waipara, North Canterbury - NZ

Ronald - Villa Maria "Sedon Vineyard" Pinot Noir 2021, Awatere Valley, Marlborough - NZ

Tonight’s line up, in order