10/16/07 – Marlborough, New Zealand
People,
Jason was so upset about missing last week’s Australia meeting that he’s opted to feature the next best thing at his place this week: New Zealand’s biggest wine region, Marlborough. New Zealand is an interesting wine destination. It’s a country about 900 miles long, but it features only 22,000 acres of vineyards — that’s half of the wine acreage in Napa, a region only 30 miles long (these figures as of the printing of the Bible, 2001). Nevertheless, New Zealand‘s output has grown exponentially, both in terms of quantity and quality, within the last 25 years. It’s now considered one of the world’s premiere regions for a number of wines, particularly:
Sauvignon Blanc — New Zealand, despite its tiny size in terms of the global wine market, is fast becoming one of the top locations for Sauvignon Blanc, the best of which “evoke a spectrum of greens: fresh limes, wild herbs, watercress, gooseberries, cardoons, green olives, green figs, and green tea.” Anyone who brings a cardoon for us to try gets reimbursed with Young Winos funds. But wait, there’s more: “New Zealand sauvignons also have an exotic tropical backdrop. They often hint at mango or passion fruit. The combination can be dynamite, making for untamed, unruly, unleashed wines…that possess a clarity, crispness, and razor-sharp focus for which they are rightly loved.” Wow.
Sauvignon Blanc is definitely the star, but Marlborough also features some excellent Chardonnays, a few very good Rieslings, and some reds as well, particularly Cabernet blends and some of the most exciting new Pinot Noirs to be found anywhere. Please bring any of the above, red or white, and we’ll taste the whites first in order to prevent complications to our hangovers.
Also, if you get a chance, please make an effort to find an article or tasting notes about your wine. I feel like we’re getting collectively dumber and expecting less and less from meetings. Prove me wrong, people — convince me that you still believe in the cause! Learning about wine is an important part of our process of collective intoxication!
We’re back at Jason’s house in Brentwood. Bring a bottle of Marlborough goodness (and some literature about it) or a crisp $10 bill (and some literature about something else). We’ll see you on Tuesday at 9pm.
Jesse