Central Otago production stable
Central Otago’s total vineyard area and production has stabilised at of around 2,000 hectares with Pinot Noir production being 77% of the total tonnage. Wine production from Central Otago cannot significantly increase until at least 2020 because of the lag time between planting and wine reaching the market. For Pinot Noir grape production, the time […]
2015 NZ Pinot Noir harvest down 29%
2015 Pinot Noir tonnages are down based on New Zealand Winegrowers statistics. Overall Pinot Noir is down 29% but some regions have been affected worse than this by the cool spring of 2014. Total Pinot Noir production is down from 36,499 T to 25,763 T. With Marlborough accounting for around 50% of NZ Pinot Noir […]
Grasshopper Rock helping define new Riedel glassware
Riedel launches new Central Otago Pinot Noir Glass Here is a brief update on my original article written in June 2013. The original article, unchanged below, includes links to interesting video and articles from the development period. Two years on from the first comparative tasting, Central Otago Pinot Noir now has its own unique glassware […]
2014 vintage season (full report)
By September, last year’s canes were pruned and a single cane tied down for the 2014 vintage. Apart from some early winter frosts and the odd snowfall, winter was relatively mild and pleasant for pruning. Soil temperatures were ahead of average leading into what looked like being a very early bud burst. A cooler period […]
UK Decanter names Grasshopper Rock in Top 20 Pinots
Influential UK Decanter Magazine has named Grasshopper Rock 2012 one of New Zealand’s Top 20 Pinots. Written by Bob Campbell MW the September 2014 feature highlights the stylistic differences between each of the country’s five main regions, and the key estates and wines to watch including Grasshopper Rock. Of his Top 20 Kiwi Pinots, he stated “I selected every New […]
How cool was January 2014?
We are not sure why but the weather patterns in January really did not perform as we expected. The anticylcones which usually bring warm weather either crossed NZ further north or were simply too weak to keep the cooler southerly fronts away. January 2014 was the coolest January we have ever experienced in the vineyard. […]
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, tasting of 2008 to 2012 vintages
Sam Kim, wine writer and wine judge, visited Grasshopper Rock in September 2013 and has recently released his tasting notes below. Vertical tastings, like this, are the best and most interesting way to capture the quality of a vineyard. The wines below span five years from our third vintage to our latest release in 2014. […]
Awards and reviews – 2012 Grasshopper Rock
Awards ELITE GOLD – Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2013 BLUE-GOLD and TOP1OO – Sydney International Wine Competition 2014 GOLD – Spiegelau International Wine Competition 2013 Reviews Michael Cooper – Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines – 5 STARS, February 2014 Estate-grown in Alexandra, this is typically a wonderful buy. Retasted in February 2014, the 2012 vintage […]
Awards and reviews – 2011 Grasshopper Rock
2011 was a warm vintage and produced an elegant and refined expression of Grasshopper Rock.AwardsGOLD – International Wine Challenge 2013BLUE-GOLD and TOP100wine – Sydney International Wine Competition 2013SILVER – Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2013SILVER – Spiegelau International Wine Competition 2013Reviews Bob Campbell MW – Gourmet Traveller Wine, Oct 2013 – 95/100 & 5 STARSDeeply scented pinot noir with floral, […]
Awards and reviews – 2010 Grasshopper Rock
AwardsChampion Wine of the Show Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2012Champion Pinot Noir Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2012Cuisine magazine Top New Zealand Pinot Noir 2012GOLD (Elite) – Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2012GOLD – Bragato Wine Awards 2012GOLD – NZ International Wine Show 2012GOLD – Spiegelau Internationa Wine Competition 2012ReviewsAir New Zealand Wine Awards 2012 – GOLDConfident and […]