Judges Comments:

Here is the single partner to an Italian style dinner – start with bruschetta, follow with pasta tossed with a roast tomato and fresh herb sauce, then chicken cacciatore, and this one wine will pair with them all! Too easy. Produced in Waipara, just north of Christchurch, ripe red fruits with an exotic hint of pepper and an attractive tension between fruit and tannins. Layers of really spicy fruit and a rounded textural mouthfeel, topped with an engaging long finish.

Pairing Recommendation:

Complementing a wide range of dishes from reasonably robust to restrained and elegant. Great with salmon or the Sunday roast, burger and ribs or steak, sausages, chicken, lamb, pork belly and game, take to a pot-luck dinner or BBQ. Versatile enough for antipasti, cheeses like brie, camembert, feta and mozzarella, pizza and pasta.