Situated just 5 kilometres east of Martinborough village, Escarpment’s 24 hectares of distinctive alluvial gravel, terraced land stretches out along the banks of the Huangarua River.

Overlooking the vineyard are the Aorangi Ranges, the very hills made famous by Kupe the great Polynesian voyager who discovered New Zealand, according to Maori legend. Kupe left his three canoes, Nga Waka, on top of the range, giving rise to the now familiar landmark of the district, the three flat-topped hills on top of the range, which resemble unturned canoes. This warrior and his story provide the inspiration for the vineyard’s distinctive brand and logo.

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Must-Have Wines Best of the Lunar Drinking Year Tiger 2010

Its six years since I first visited Schubert winery and I have been an avid follower of their wines ever since. Indeed, I would go as far to say Kai Schubert and Marion Deimling make some of the most profound pinot noir on this planet from their tiny vineyards in Martinborough and the Wairarapa, literally only a cupful relative to most wineries.

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Stephanie Rigourd – Hilton Hotel, Singapore

I was first introduced to Stephanie Rigourd by Jean-Luc Fourrier, Vice President Restaurant Concepts for the Hilton in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, who is based here in Singapore. A veteran of the hotel and hospitality industry with a good eye for talent Fourier impressed upon me that Stephanie had a great feel and aptitude for wine and would go a long way in the industry.

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With the vintage in New Zealand drawing closer, Sam Weaver at Churton in Marlborough reported in correspondence to me, “The vineyard is looking great (see picture), we had a very good fruit set which was then followed by a much wetter, earlier summer than normal.

This has led to very healthy looking vines and vineyards. Very good fruit set and potentially very good bunch size in Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. We’ve just finished our first round of crop thinning so will be on target with good but controlled yields. For us this means 40hl/ha for Pinot and about 55hl/ha for Sauvignon Blanc.”

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Whipping up a quick salad and reaching for a bottle of Felton Road Block 1 Riesling from Wine Fridge. And a little nibble of Tetsuya Wakuda’s Petuna Lightly Smoked Ocean Trout.

This is one of those impromptu kitchen inspirations where a salad dishes builds itself purely from ingredients in the fridge at the time. I had been shopping earlier in the week at the Singapore delicatessen, Culina at Dempsey Hill, stocking up on what looked good, and the Prosciutto di Parma caught my eye, a sheet of thinly sliced rashes vacuum packed with its dark red-brown colour and streaks of creamy fat most enticing.

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Most Auspicious Wine for Chinese New Year 2011 Year of the Rabbit!

The Wandering Palate has gone lunar! Notwithstanding I reside in Asia, the nucleus of my ideologies revolve around a back to nature approach with wine, food and the environment – sustainable, organic and biodynamic principals that revolve around the lunar calendar, its roots in ancient feng shui and Chinese gardening that have evolved over the eons yet pivotal today.

As the Year of the Tiger comes to an end, Chinese New Year is fast approaching and a significant proportion of the world starts searching for the answers to 2011, the Year of the Rabbit. Being a Tiger/Scorpion, I was searching all last year for the answers and whilst there were plenty of highlights it was a challenging year, to say the least.

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Over the past few years, both in our own vineyards and with the support of our growers, Nautilus Estate has continued to expand and develop its vineyards with 2006 seeing the introduction of the Nautilus VSP pruning system – a world first.

Ongoing research into the best combination of the preference of different clones for different sites continues to improve the fruit characters and aroma intensity of our fruit. For example, we now have over twenty-four hectares of Pinot Noir planted in vineyards throughout the Marlborough region, in a variety of clones including AM10/5, the Pommard clones 5 and 6 and the Dijon clones 114, 115, 667 and 777.

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New Zealand pinot noir is joining the fame game with vineyards being name-dropped in the most glamorous of circles.

There is a compelling association between Hollywood and the meteoric ascent in popularity of wines from New Zealand, now juxtaposed as a chic destination for the eco-conscious avant-garde.

New Zealand born actor Sam Neill, with his exemplary Central Otago vineyards and auteurist pinot noir Two Paddocks is spreading his wine liberally among Hollywood friends, as well a luring the cognoscenti to Queenstown, the picturesque epicentre of viticulture in the far- South Island.

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Conventional wisdom would point to chardonnay as a logical choice, ideally with some bottle age.

Roast turkey certainly calls for a white wine with texture and richness or even opulence, which is why this year, my perfect match is Seresin Pinot Gris 2008.

One of my personal favourites in Seresin portfolio their pinot gris is made in style that one associates with the Alsace region in France with a textural richness and complexity yet has very little oak influence.

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Australia and New Zealand both produce first class pinot noir but Curtis Marsh is swayed by a Wellington street party in its honor.

Having recently listed the merits of pinot noir from Victoria, Australia’s stronghold of the variety, it would be remiss not to address the antipodean challenger of New World pinot greatness, New Zealand.

Despite mutual British ancestry and a Commonwealth bond, the two countries are culturally disassociated and intense rivals. To quote the late New Zealand prime minister David Lange “The best thing between New Zealand and Australia is the Tasman Sea.”

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