Mark Henderson

As time goes along and vineyards, wine-makers and the industry mature, there is growing understanding and confidence as to what each vineyard will express.

There can be a perception that great vintages are always the hot, sun-kissed years but this isn't necessarily the case, particularly when it comes to pinot noir.

The changing of the seasons marks a changing of the guard for wines too, as reds overtake whites and roses in popularity.

Many years ago, I attended a trade tasting hosted by John Hancock, then chief winemaker for Trinity Hill in Hawke's Bay.

Today's assortment eschews the concept of single variety wines in favour of embracing the blend.

After a string of pinot noir tastings, the dynamic duo of Collins and McLaren sat down with me for a tasting of sauvignon blanc, highlighting a number of value offerings.

The 2017 vintage reports I received from Misha's Vineyard, Grasshopper Rock and others provided sobering reading: a warm early spring shifted to a cold, wet December and very cool January,...

I've recently had the opportunity to taste my way through a swathe of 2017 pinot noirs from Otago.

During the recent grape harvest, a small window of opportunity allowed me to scamper up the hill to the Prophet's Rock Vineyard in Bendigo, where I met Paul Pujol and Francois Millet.

Regular readers will know I try to taste (and report back on) wines in flights of comparable wines.

The 2016 growing season in Hawke's Bay was cooler early, but a warmer January, February and March saw growing degree days catch up to the long-term average.

I'm often approached by people celebrating a significant event - a wedding, a birth, the founding of a new business - wishing to buy wines from that same year to open in the future.

My tasting amigos, Collins and McLaren, joined me once again to taste this collection.

As many of you will know, I taste the wines for this column “single blind”.