The name Wairau River probably indicates to most readers that this is not California wine. OK, the next hint is that Wairau is Maori for “many waters”. By now you geography geniuses are getting it. Terlato Wines International sent me their New Zealand Wairau River Wines brand 08 Sauvignon Blanc and 06 Pinot Noir to try. I decided to take them sailing in San Francisco Bay with a little crowd of 9 aboard Gil McCoy’s 30 foot Catalina.

I believe that wines should be tasted in the real world, not a sterile tasting lab or judge’s tent at a county fair. The real test for wine is how much ordinary people enjoy it. A sailing trip would be a decent test.

A couple of our crew got seasick early into the sail and didn’t taste the wines but that left plenty of hearty sailors as our lab rats. Besides being out in the Bay we paired the wines with an assortment of munchies including meat loaf on focaccia bread, shrimp, and pasta salads.

Dean and Ed salivate over empty Wairau River bottles, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco.

We used real wine glasses, not plastic, and because we are mostly going with the wind we were able to get full nose. Both bottles emptied all too fast but I did get about a 4 oz pour. I found the wines to be excellent and robust enough that even in salty sea air I could enjoy a full aroma and taste adventure. Everyone (except the sickos) loved the wine. This group had very diverse wine experience so it was a good test.

One sailor mentioned that the Pinot had the body of a Northern California Pinot but seemed to taste a little different. So we opened a bottle of a favorite wine, San Jose’s Coterie Cellars 07 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir for comparison. That bottle didn’t last long either but we came to the consensus that the Kiwi Pinot was every bit as excellent but did taste different.

Wairau River Wines is a family owned winery and recently was awarded CarbonZero certification by the NZ government. Of course that benefit is reduced when it travels to the US.  Terlato distributes their wines.

I’ve long respected New Zealand Sauv Blancs and Pinot Noirs. They are on top of those varietals as well as Oregon and California. For a delightful taste adventure I would recommend these.

- jim