Wines (and Beer) To Drink in New Zealand

New Zealand is a country known for its sheep, dairy products and *drumroll* wine. 

Yes indeed. Wine!

So in a country where you have access to some of the best quality wines from vineyards in Marlborough and Hawke's Bay at very affordable prices, we considered it practically an obligation to taste the wines from all over New Zealand. And of course since Australia is in close geographical proximity, we had to try the wine from there too.

So here's a detailed list of all the wines (and beer) we had purchased, their price and location in the 2 months we spent in NZ. I actually did not make a conscious effort to note this down from the start of our trip but supermarket receipts do come in handy when taking stock of our experience at the very end of it :) Do note it's not a comprehensive list as I'm pretty sure we bought a few more here and there but it gives a good idea of the variety and prices you can get the wines for.

Christchurch Countdown (11 Nov)
- Hardy's Non Vintage Riesling ($7.99)

Greymouth Countdown
- The memory is hazy but yea, something was bought :)

Hokitika New World (17 Nov)
- Five Flax Chardonnay ($7.99)

Hokitika New World (19 Nov)
- Thornbury Pinot Gris ($9.99)

Haast On-The-Spot (21 Nov)
- Mill Road Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris ($13.70)

Wanaka New World (24 Nov)
- Thornbury Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99)

Wanaka New World (26 Nov)
- Montana Winemaker's Series Hawkes Bay Pinot Gris ($9.99)

Queenstown Pak'nSave (28 Nov)
- Jacob's Creek Pinot Noir ($7.79)

Queenstown Four Square (30 Nov)
- White Cliff Marlborough Pinot Gris ($8.99)

Queenstown Pak'nSave (01 Dec)
- Speight's Gold Medal Ale 15 pack ($19.79)

Queenstown Pak'nSave (03 Dec)
- Villa Maria Private Bin East Coast Pinot Gris ($11.89)
- Peter Yealands Pinot Gris ($10.79)

Christchurch Moorhouse Pak'nSave (11 Dec)
- Montana Pinot Gris ($7.79)

Christchurch Riccarton Pak'nSave (14 Dec)
- Thornbury Pinot Gris ($9.99)
- Steinlager Pure 12 pack ($19.79)

Vineyards of Marlborough

Blenheim Pak'nSave (16 Dec)
- Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc ($10.79)

Wellington Lower Hutt Pak'nSave (19 Dec)
- Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Bright Light Sauvignon Blanc ($10.79)

Wellington Petone Pak'nSave (21 Dec)
- Longridge Sauvignon Blanc ($8.99)

Taupo Pak'nSave (24 Dec)
- Jacob's Creek Sparkling Rose ($8.79)
- Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Chardonnay ($10.79)
- Tui Indian Pale Ale 15 pack ($21.99)

Rotorua Pak'nSave (30 Dec)
- Jacob's Creek Sparkling Pinot Grigio ($8.79)
- Montana Classics Riesling ($8.79)

Auckland Royal Oak Pak'nSave (04 Jan 2017)
- Moa Lager 6 pack ($12.99)
- Montana Winemakers Sauvignon Blanc ($9.79) 
- Shingle Peak Pinot Gris

Auckland Sylvia Park Pak'nSave (07 Jan 2017)
- Thornbury Pinot Gris ($10.79)


So what is the take back from 21 bottles of wine from 11 different producers?

While I can't say we are wine connoisseurs, one thing's for sure. White wine was the clear choice for us. We sampled 4 types in general:
1. Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio)
2. Sauvignon Blanc
3. Chardonnay
4. Riesling

Pinot Gris Pinot Gris tasted great and is reflected in the number that we bought. It had a more fruitier, sweeter taste and I especially liked the Thornbury Pinot Gris which we bought on 3 occasions. 

Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling Sauvignon Blanc has a light feel and folks say the wine from Malborough is supposedly the best in the world so no surprise why we chose to try it. We were quite neutral about Chardonnay and Riesling but we had to give it a go. The closest we got to a clear comparison was when we bought 3 types of Saint Clair from 16 to 23 Dec - a Sauvignon Blanc (13%), a light variant (9.5%) and a Chardonnay.

Thornbury Pinot Gris

We are not too fond of red as you can see from the singular selection of Pinot Noir. The reason we chose Pinot Noir was 'cos we learnt from an Otago Wine Map brochure that Otago produces:
75% Pinot Noir - the highest percentage in the world apparently
12% Pinot Gris
4% Riesling
3% Sauvignon Blanc
3% Chardonnay 

Some selections were influenced by the locations we had driven past. Saint Clair was our favorite choice for a while after driving past its vineyards in Marlborough. Tui beer came about after whizzing past the Tui Brewery, Pahiatua on our way northward to Taupo.

Time for a BeerYes, let's talk about the 48 bottles of beer. 
Yea, that ain't too many but good nuff to last the trip.

We took 4 different types, all from NZ - Speight's, Steinlager, Tui and Moa. 

Speight's
It's the lightest of them at 4% alcohol and is definitely a popular choice given its price in the supermarkets. We took quite a few bottles around the beaches and it lasted us from Queenstown to Blenheim. 

Steinlager Pure
I had to ask a chap at Pak'nSave what the difference was between Steinlager and the Pure variant and he answered that the latter was smoother so we gave this a shot and we were quite happy with the great aftertaste. 

Tui Indian Pale Ale
We tried Tui on tap at Fox Glacier and thought the bottled version would mirror it perfectly. It was a little different though it was a good choice for the Christmas period. 

Moa Lager
As for Moa, we knew nothing about it so we gave it a shot. Let's say a lager is a lager in this case. 

All in all, NZ is a great place to get a decent drink. Just be sure to stock up once you hit the supermarkets!