I recently attended a wine tasting at the 4th Wall Theatre in New Plymouth. This group of wine lovers previously met at Decanta in New Plymouth which has since closed, so now hold the occasional wine evening at the new venue. Wines from Terrace Edge and Osawa Wines were on offer for tasting.
Thanks to Jane and Raewyn for organising the event, the theatre is a brilliant space in which to taste, with excellent acoustics. The catering was also most excellent. Many thanks to Ian Isaacs who came and presented for us. Ian is an independent distributor for several NZ wine and spirit brands. Based in Taupo and previous owner of Scenic Cellars, Ian has many years experience in the wine trade including judging at wine awards and competitions.
Tonight we tasted wines from both Terrace Edge in Waipara, North Canterbury and Osawa Wines in the Hawke’s Bay. Ian talked us through each wine as we tasted, providing snippets of history, regions grape growing practices, wine-making and the characteristics of each wine.
Terrace Edge Wines
Terrace Edge is an Organic family vineyard overlooking the Waipara River in North Canterbury – The Chapman family, Bruce and Jill, purchased the property in 1999. Originally a sheep farm, the Chapman family began their land conversion by planting 2000 Olive trees on the lower terrace. The trees were being regularly frosted, so the Grove had to be completely replanted in a more suitable location.
Grape vines came next. Over the years that followed they have planted and now grow a range of grape varieties including Albarino, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, St Laurent and Syrah. Pete Chapman, one of their 3 sons is now the viticulturist & manages the day to day operations in the vineyard, as well as bit of sales and marketing also produces 27 Seconds Wine with his partner Alanna. Sadly Jill Chapman passed away recently after a sudden illness.
The Terrace Edge wines we tasted were: 2022 Albarino, 2022 Pinot Gris, 2021 Liquid Geography Riesling, 2019 St Laurent, 2019 Pinot Noir and 2020 Syrah. All exceptionally well made wines with character and most certainly a sense of place.
Visit https://terraceedge.co.nz/ for more information.
Osawa Wines
We also had the pleasure of trying two wines from another label Ian represents, Osawa Wines in the Hawke’s Bay – Mr. Taizo Osawa, a Japanese wine lover, decided to go traveling with the intention of starting a vineyard and making his own wines. He selected America, Australia and New Zealand as potential areas of interest.
A year and many miles later, Mr. Osawa arrived in New Zealand and decided that this is where he would like to make his wine. He now produces Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon and even Sangiovese under three labels – Winemakers Collection, Prestige Collection and the Flying Sheep range.
We tasted 2 wines from his Prestige Collection – The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and 2016 Chardonnay both very interesting aged and complex wines which seemed to be enjoyed by all attending.
For more information visit: https://www.osawawines.co.nz/
The 30 plus attendees enjoyed the evening which closed with a raffle draw for two bottles of wine and time to put in orders for wine at special prices. Thanks again for a lovely evening, Cheers, JB