Bob's Blog: Give it Air
OPINION: “Have a look at this” said a good friend as he passed me a cutout from The Times with the heading “The wine gadget sommeliers say can make your £10 bottle taste better”.
OPINION: Some time ago I was asked to host a corporate wine tasting by a management consulting company.
They gave me a decent budget of $80 a bottle. The guests were mostly CEOs of large companies. After the formalities were over, I was enjoying a glass with three other guests when one of them commented, "I've never tasted a wine as good as this before". He then added, "mind you I never pay more than $15 a bottle". The other guests nodded in agreement. I had a vision of them climbing into their hi-spec Mercedes before driving home to enjoy an exquisitely prepared meal with a glass of $15 Merlot.
Contrast that with a recent major international drug bust involving the Comanchero Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. The South Australian Police seized a large quantity of drugs, cash, luxury cards and... wait for it... "A number of extensive wine collections - including two full sets of Penfolds Grange worth $400,000 each."
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One of Australia's most decorated winemakers will speak at the Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium in Hawke's Bay this September.
Vintage 2026 yielded excellent fruit for most New Zealand wine regions.
The third Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium will be underway in Hastings, Hawke's Bay, on 17-18 September.