New Zealand Uncorked: From Marlborough to Central Otago
Wine Wednesday with Jeremy Reimann & Foley Family Wines & Spirits
Wednesday, August 26 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Our Wine Wednesday world tour continues tomorrow with a trip to New Zealand, a country that has built an extraordinary international reputation for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir in a remarkably short period of time.
We are excited to welcome Jeremy Reimann of Foley Family Wines & Spirits for an exploration of four wines that illustrate just how much regional diversity exists within New Zealand. We'll begin in Marlborough, comparing Sauvignon Blanc from the warmer Wairau Valley with an expression from the cooler, windier Awatere Valley. We'll then turn to Pinot Noir, first from Marlborough before traveling nearly 500 miles south to the dramatic landscape of Bannockburn in Central Otago.
Four wines, two varieties, and a fascinating opportunity to taste how dramatically place matters.
New Zealand: Much More Than Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand's isolated location, maritime influences, intense sunlight, and generally cool growing conditions provide an extraordinary environment for producing wines with vivid fruit and naturally refreshing acidity.
Marlborough, at the northeastern end of the South Island, put New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on the international map. But even within Marlborough, important differences exist. The relatively warmer Wairau Valley tends toward generous tropical and citrus fruit, while the Awatere Valley to the south is cooler, drier, windier, and stonier, often giving Sauvignon Blanc greater herbal character, minerality, and restraint. Foley itself highlights this contrast as one of the keys to understanding its New Zealand portfolio.
Travel south to Central Otago and the landscape changes dramatically. One of the world's southernmost wine regions, Central Otago has New Zealand's most continental climate. Its rugged mountains, dramatic temperature swings, and dry conditions have made it one of the Southern Hemisphere's great homes for Pinot Noir.
Featured Partner: Foley Family Wines & Spirits
Foley Family Wines & Spirits brings together an extensive collection of wineries, but its commitment to New Zealand is particularly interesting. Foley's New Zealand portfolio spans several of the country's most important regions, including Marlborough, Martinborough, and Central Otago. Grove Mill, Vavasour, Dashwood, and Mt Difficulty are all part of this collection.
Rather than presenting New Zealand as a single style, these wineries allow us to explore the country's regional personalities. That's exactly what makes tomorrow's lineup so much fun.
Featured Wines & Producers
2025 Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc
Wairau Valley, Marlborough
Grove Mill has been making wine in Marlborough for more than 30 years and has placed environmental stewardship at the center of its identity. Its winery sits among vineyards in the Wairau Valley, and the estate has been particularly active in protecting the wetlands surrounding the winery.
The Wairau is the warmer and more generous side of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and this 2025 bottling captures that personality beautifully. Look for passionfruit and other tropical fruit, citrus, and a fresh green edge, carried by crisp acidity through a long, focused finish.
Why We're Pouring It: This gives us our benchmark for classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: exuberant, juicy, aromatic, and wonderfully refreshing.
2024 Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc
Awatere Valley, Marlborough
Vavasour tells a very different Marlborough story. The Vavasour family planted the Awatere Valley's first vineyards in 1986, helping establish what was then considered an extremely challenging location for grape growing. Today, Vavasour remains one of the defining producers of the subregion.
Compared with Wairau, Awatere is cooler, drier, windier, and considerably stonier. Those conditions translate into a Sauvignon Blanc with greater restraint and mineral intensity. Expect green tropical fruit, citrus zest, fresh herbs, snow pea, blackcurrant, and Vavasour's distinctive oyster-shell minerality.
Why We're Pouring It: Taste this directly after Grove Mill. Both are Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but the comparison beautifully demonstrates why subregional terroir matters.
2022 Dashwood Pinot Noir
Marlborough
Dashwood takes its name from the road connecting Marlborough's Wairau and Awatere Valleys, and the wines are designed to capture the broader personality of the region.
Marlborough's long growing season and cool nights aren't only suited to Sauvignon Blanc. Pinot Noir thrives here as well, producing a particularly bright and aromatic expression of the grape. Expect red cherry, raspberry, plum, and subtle floral notes, complemented by gentle spice, fine tannins, and refreshing acidity.
Why We're Pouring It: Dashwood provides the bridge in our tasting. We stay in Marlborough but change varieties, allowing us to see how the same cool-climate environment that creates vibrant Sauvignon Blanc can also produce elegant, energetic Pinot Noir.
2022 Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir
Bannockburn, Central Otago
Mt Difficulty takes us into an entirely different landscape. Established in 1992, Mt Difficulty was one of the pioneering producers of Bannockburn and among the first to plant vineyards on the south bank of the Kawarau River. Today it works with 187 acres of some of Bannockburn's oldest and best-sited vineyards.
Central Otago's continental climate, intense sunlight, cold nights, rugged terrain, and complex soils create Pinot Noir with greater concentration and structure than we typically find in Marlborough. Bannockburn has become particularly renowned for wines that combine ripe dark fruit with savory complexity and impressive depth.
The 2022 Mt Difficulty gives us a chance to experience Central Otago Pinot Noir at a serious level, with layers of cherry and dark berry fruit, violet, dried herbs, spice, and earthy complexity supported by fine tannins and vibrant acidity.
Why We're Pouring It: Taste this alongside the Dashwood and the regional contrast becomes clear. The Marlborough Pinot emphasizes brightness and accessibility; the Bannockburn wine brings greater concentration, structure, and a distinctly rugged sense of place.
A Tale of Two Valleys, Then Two Pinots
This week's lineup gives us a particularly fun way to understand New Zealand wine.
We begin with two Sauvignon Blancs from neighboring Marlborough valleys: the warmer, more tropical personality of Wairau versus the cooler, windier, mineral-driven character of Awatere.
Then we make the same exploration through Pinot Noir, contrasting Marlborough's freshness and bright fruit with the greater depth and structure of Bannockburn in Central Otago.
It's a reminder that New Zealand isn't simply a country that makes great Sauvignon Blanc. It is a collection of distinctive terroirs capable of producing some of the most exciting cool-climate wines in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wine Wednesday
Wednesday, August 26
5:00–7:00 PM
Featuring Jeremy Reimann of Foley Family Wines & Spirits
Explore. Taste. Learn. Discover New Zealand from north to south.