wineinsights

As I mentioned in A Wine Lover’s Progress, my return to New Zealand in 2015 after years in Asia marked the beginning of a much deeper engagement with the world of wine than I could ever have predicted. Among the many influences that shaped that journey, none proved more pivotal than my encounter with Michael Hutton, owner with his wife Katie, of Wineseeker — the specialist wine shop on the corner of Wakefield and Victoria Streets that I happened to pass one May afternoon.

Every week I spend time with people who come to wine not for intoxication, but for flavour, connection, and culture. They come because wine gives them a way to explore the world through their senses — to taste landscapes, histories, and decisions. They want to understand why a vineyard faces a certain way, why a family grows the grapes they do, why a wine tastes like the landscape it comes from. They lean in when I pour something unfamiliar. They compare aromas, search for words, and discover that flavour isn’t just chemistry; it’s farming, climate, soil, people, and time. And every week, while I watch people open themselves to that richness, I also watch the public conversation about alcohol become more distorted, more absolutist, and more hostile. What makes me mad is not that public‑health agencies warn about risk — they should. What makes me mad is when they ignore newer evidence, flatten nuance, and cling to outdated conclusions because they fit a narrative. I wrote more generally about this a few weeks ago, but the latest barrage of headlines inspired this closer look behind them.

From tropical monsoon vineyards to frozen northern plateaus, wine is now being grown in places once thought impossible. This article explores how climate, ambition and adaptation are reshaping the edges of the wine world — and what that means for the regions caught between expansion and retreat.

An exploration of Western Sicily centred on Planeta’s Ulmo estate — its landscape, history, biodiversity and cultural depth — culminating in a tasting that spans the island from Etna to Noto, Vittoria to Capo Milazzo. It offers a reflective introduction to Sicily’s complexity and lays the foundation for deeper study in the future.

The 2019 season gave New Zealand winemakers the rare luxury of clean fruit and calm conditions, and the resulting Chardonnays reflect that ease: poised, expressive, and regionally distinct. This tasting brought together a small group of local winemakers alongside both Martinborough and Wellington enthusiasts, offering a balanced mix of professional insight and keen consumer perspective as we explored how the vintage played out in the glass.

The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail is one of the country’s most rewarding journeys for travellers who want to experience New Zealand through its vineyards, landscapes, food culture, and small towns. Linking three key wine regions — Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa (including Martinborough), and Marlborough — with the capital city of Wellington, the trail offers a rare combination of diversity and continuity: coastal Chardonnay and Syrah, benchmark Pinot Noir, vibrant Sauvignon Blanc, and a string of cellar doors ranging from historic estates to small, family‑run producers.