Latest News and Reviews http://www.hancocks.co.nz http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:07:36 GMT Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:07:36 GMT Grape Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Growing Region: 4 selected sites in Marlborough, New Zealand

Owner/ Winemaker: Chris Gambitsis

TASTING NOTE:
Like a number of established wineries in Marlborough - Lake Chalice crafts their 'estate' Sauvignon Blanc not just from one site, harvested on one day. But from a number of carefully selected sites that add unique personality to the wine, while at the same time drinkability in its youth. The fruit for his wine was sourced from the Talon Vineyard in Grovetown which this vintage made up approx 50% of the blend. The balance coming from three other vineyards in the Grovetown and Rapaura districts of Marlborough's Wairau Plain.
Because of this attention to detail - all of the grapes were harvested in peak condition. Then transported promptly to the winery and pressed without delay to enable minimal skin contact. Cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks using selected aromatic yeasts. From a total of 13 different vineyard/tank parcels, this particular blend is from seven carefully selected tanks to make up this 2011 Lake Chalice 'Black Label' Sauvignon Blanc.
In the glass in find a straw gold with green hints around the edge. The bouquet in dominated by the aromas of blackcurrant and grapefruit. The wine is crisp, with a medium bodied mouth feel, dry, refreshing and elegant palate. Mouth-watering acidity is balanced by a subtle mineral note on the lingering finish. Best served between 8-10C.

CELLARING POTENTIAL:
Drinking perfectly well this coming summer; and throughout 2012.

SUGGESTED FOOD MATCHES:
Perfect wine match with fresh fish, Asian & Vegetarian cuisine and summer salads, enjoy.

Pure Elite Gold - Air NZ Wine Awards 2011. ]]> http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=934&feature=WOW Grape Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Growing Region: 4 selected sites in Marlborough, New Zealand

Owner/ Winemaker: Chris Gambitsis

TASTING NOTE:
Like a number of established wineries in Marlborough - Lake Chalice crafts their 'estate' Sauvignon Blanc not just from one site, harvested on one day. But from a number of carefully selected sites that add unique personality to the wine, while at the same time drinkability in its youth. The fruit for his wine was sourced from the Talon Vineyard in Grovetown which this vintage made up approx 50% of the blend. The balance coming from three other vineyards in the Grovetown and Rapaura districts of Marlborough's Wairau Plain.
Because of this attention to detail - all of the grapes were harvested in peak condition. Then transported promptly to the winery and pressed without delay to enable minimal skin contact. Cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks using selected aromatic yeasts. From a total of 13 different vineyard/tank parcels, this particular blend is from seven carefully selected tanks to make up this 2011 Lake Chalice 'Black Label' Sauvignon Blanc.
In the glass in find a straw gold with green hints around the edge. The bouquet in dominated by the aromas of blackcurrant and grapefruit. The wine is crisp, with a medium bodied mouth feel, dry, refreshing and elegant palate. Mouth-watering acidity is balanced by a subtle mineral note on the lingering finish. Best served between 8-10C.

CELLARING POTENTIAL:
Drinking perfectly well this coming summer; and throughout 2012.

SUGGESTED FOOD MATCHES:
Perfect wine match with fresh fish, Asian & Vegetarian cuisine and summer salads, enjoy.

Pure Elite Gold - Air NZ Wine Awards 2011. ]]> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:17:29 GMT http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=934 Everyone has a friend that has a perfect backyard or patio throughout the warm summer months, which is great for sitting back and sipping on cocktails. So what do you serve to your friends this summer who've tried all of your signature punches and cocktails more than a dozen times?
Tea cocktails are making a big splash around the world. This is nothing new - in fact, tea has been used in punches since the 16th century, but the options are now endless as tea aficionados and mixologists alike roll out recipes for summer tea-infused concoctions!
I whipped this cocktail up for some friends last weekend - and it was so popular they requested another recipe this coming weekend.

Ingredients:
60ml Asian Green Mint & Mandarin Tea
30ml Woodford Reserve Bourbon
30ml Fresh soda
Oranges, cherries and mint sprigs

Method:
Mix Tea (cooled), with the Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fruit and mint, making sure to muddle the cherries and mint sprigs so they release all their natural oils. Pour over ice in a tumbler and top with soda!

Garnish:
Garnish with a mint sprig. ]]> http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=936&feature=COW Everyone has a friend that has a perfect backyard or patio throughout the warm summer months, which is great for sitting back and sipping on cocktails. So what do you serve to your friends this summer who've tried all of your signature punches and cocktails more than a dozen times?
Tea cocktails are making a big splash around the world. This is nothing new - in fact, tea has been used in punches since the 16th century, but the options are now endless as tea aficionados and mixologists alike roll out recipes for summer tea-infused concoctions!
I whipped this cocktail up for some friends last weekend - and it was so popular they requested another recipe this coming weekend.

Ingredients:
60ml Asian Green Mint & Mandarin Tea
30ml Woodford Reserve Bourbon
30ml Fresh soda
Oranges, cherries and mint sprigs

Method:
Mix Tea (cooled), with the Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fruit and mint, making sure to muddle the cherries and mint sprigs so they release all their natural oils. Pour over ice in a tumbler and top with soda!

Garnish:
Garnish with a mint sprig. ]]> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:17:29 GMT http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=936 Vieilles Vignes is a French term (meaning 'old vines') - commonly used on wine labels to indicate that a wine is the product of grape vines that are particularly old. The practice of displaying it stems from the general belief that older vines, when properly cared for, will produce a better wine. However, in France, Italy, Spain and most wine countries, there is no generally agreed upon definition on what constitutes the best old vines, as a wine might or might not show any specific characteristics related to vine age.
Grape vines can grow for over 120 years, though after about 20 years vines start to produce smaller crops, and average yields decrease, which can lead to more concentrated, intense wines. Diseases such as 'dead arm' can afflict old vines, in some cases further concentrating the juice. The term 'old vines' might apply to an entire estate, or it might mean only a certain parcel, rows planted before others.
Some of the oldest commercially active grape producing vineyards are planted in the Barossa Valley in Australia, one of the oldest being the Langmeil vineyard which has Shiraz grapes planted in 1843, now being 169 years old. The Barossa Old Vine Charter was established to protect the older vines in the region and prevent them from being removed. The oldest known grape producing vine grows in Maribor in Slovenia and was planted over 400 years ago, a wonderful exhibit of nature's resilience surviving a number of revolutions and two world wars.
Typically Vieilles Vignes 'VV' - often means a wine whose vines are greater than 30-40 years old. Some winemakers around the world insist the vines should be older. In newly-established wine regions, 20 years might be considered old, and the definition is further complicated by the fact that certain varieties simply do not have economically viable yields when they get truly old. Generally, the more reputable the producer, the more likely it is to mean something, more likely to represent a perceptible difference in character, if not so in quality. ]]> http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=935&feature=DYK Vieilles Vignes is a French term (meaning 'old vines') - commonly used on wine labels to indicate that a wine is the product of grape vines that are particularly old. The practice of displaying it stems from the general belief that older vines, when properly cared for, will produce a better wine. However, in France, Italy, Spain and most wine countries, there is no generally agreed upon definition on what constitutes the best old vines, as a wine might or might not show any specific characteristics related to vine age.
Grape vines can grow for over 120 years, though after about 20 years vines start to produce smaller crops, and average yields decrease, which can lead to more concentrated, intense wines. Diseases such as 'dead arm' can afflict old vines, in some cases further concentrating the juice. The term 'old vines' might apply to an entire estate, or it might mean only a certain parcel, rows planted before others.
Some of the oldest commercially active grape producing vineyards are planted in the Barossa Valley in Australia, one of the oldest being the Langmeil vineyard which has Shiraz grapes planted in 1843, now being 169 years old. The Barossa Old Vine Charter was established to protect the older vines in the region and prevent them from being removed. The oldest known grape producing vine grows in Maribor in Slovenia and was planted over 400 years ago, a wonderful exhibit of nature's resilience surviving a number of revolutions and two world wars.
Typically Vieilles Vignes 'VV' - often means a wine whose vines are greater than 30-40 years old. Some winemakers around the world insist the vines should be older. In newly-established wine regions, 20 years might be considered old, and the definition is further complicated by the fact that certain varieties simply do not have economically viable yields when they get truly old. Generally, the more reputable the producer, the more likely it is to mean something, more likely to represent a perceptible difference in character, if not so in quality. ]]> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:17:29 GMT http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=935 The debate highlights the rise of craft beers as a force in New Zealand's liquor market, as discerning drinkers opt for the quality offered by smaller labels ahead of quantity and value.
According to the Brewers Association in the United States, a genuine craft beer-maker must be "small, independent and traditional".
Less than 25 per cent of a craft brewery should be owned or controlled by a company which is not itself a craft brewer, the association says.
Brewers Guild of New Zealand president Ralph Bungard says Kiwi beer consumers are rapidly getting a taste for a better-quality drop, and losing the "buying a 12-pack and glugging it down" mentality. "People are now realising that you can sit down and have a meal and have a beer that suits the style of that food." Bungard says the Brewers Guild, which counts 50 individual New Zealand breweries as members, is in the process of conducting a survey that will gather some solid statistics on craft's share of the market.
The bars in the capital, Wellington that are successful and growing are the ones that stock craft beer, he says, while the ones that still serve only mainstream beers are becoming less popular with the punters.
The freedom on-premise operators have to stock new beer brands will have an impact on the extent to which craft brewers will break into the Auckland market..
The big breweries sometimes have arrangements with bars and pubs that restrict the entrance of new beer brands. "It's anti-competitive," - "It's pretty much bribing the bars to not allow other beers in." Running a craft brewery might sound like a fun lifestyle, but Bungard says it's a relatively tough way to make a buck. "There aren't many brewers around that have really cracked it," he says. "But if you are good at what you do and you can keep your costs down then you can be quite successful."

Full Article: Click Here: ]]> http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=930&feature=RCE The debate highlights the rise of craft beers as a force in New Zealand's liquor market, as discerning drinkers opt for the quality offered by smaller labels ahead of quantity and value.
According to the Brewers Association in the United States, a genuine craft beer-maker must be "small, independent and traditional".
Less than 25 per cent of a craft brewery should be owned or controlled by a company which is not itself a craft brewer, the association says.
Brewers Guild of New Zealand president Ralph Bungard says Kiwi beer consumers are rapidly getting a taste for a better-quality drop, and losing the "buying a 12-pack and glugging it down" mentality. "People are now realising that you can sit down and have a meal and have a beer that suits the style of that food." Bungard says the Brewers Guild, which counts 50 individual New Zealand breweries as members, is in the process of conducting a survey that will gather some solid statistics on craft's share of the market.
The bars in the capital, Wellington that are successful and growing are the ones that stock craft beer, he says, while the ones that still serve only mainstream beers are becoming less popular with the punters.
The freedom on-premise operators have to stock new beer brands will have an impact on the extent to which craft brewers will break into the Auckland market..
The big breweries sometimes have arrangements with bars and pubs that restrict the entrance of new beer brands. "It's anti-competitive," - "It's pretty much bribing the bars to not allow other beers in." Running a craft brewery might sound like a fun lifestyle, but Bungard says it's a relatively tough way to make a buck. "There aren't many brewers around that have really cracked it," he says. "But if you are good at what you do and you can keep your costs down then you can be quite successful."

Full Article: Click Here: ]]> Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:17:29 GMT http://www.hancocks.co.nz/article.jsp?id=930