Russell's Wine Recommendations to accompany the Perfect Pizza!

I have just had the incredible privilege to have tried out a new gadget at home last night, which created something of a life changing moment. I recently was bestowed of a house warming gift of an incredible new barbecue (proper charcoal, no gas nonsense here) with a pizza oven attachment! Now, I have wanted to build or buy a pizza oven for years, I love al fresco dining and I love the infinite variations of meals that can be created from dough, tomato and cheese!  So to learn that an even more sensible option was available for your favourite kettle barbecue was genuinely wonderful.  

Last night, with the parents visiting, we decided it was the right time to take this incredible machine on its intrepid first outing. So a basic bread recipe was whirled up in the bread machine (dough only and replace bread flour with type 00 pasta flour) for the best base you can imagine. Once that is fully risen get the coals going and after 20 minutes get the pizza attachment on to preheat. While that is going get the dough rolled out with the tomato sauce toppings and cheeses of choice (we also did a giant bruschetta, garlicy, cheesy bread), dust some flour on the now hot stone so it doesn’t stick and cook away. The result is almost as incredible as the wine we had.  

Our aperitif was a beautiful little Chardonnay (it is now officially my top white grape), unoaked from Dowie Doole in their Spitting Spider 2013, a fabulous crisp summery and quite intensely flavoured little number. There was an element of minerality here that left me surprised and feeling a little guilty that we had just popped this open for an aperitif as it would have been great with the pizza too. Coming in at pennies just over £8 this is really quite wonderful value, the label fools you into thinking that it might be yet another Aussie gimmick wine designed to sell itself on appearance not content, do not be fooled this is a serious wine lovers bottle.  

With dinner we first opted for the second life changing moment, Paddy Borthwick’s Wairarapa Pinot Noir to quote someone from an Essex based TV show OMG! I honestly do not have enough superlatives for this wine. Rich in flavour and body with an effortless oak balanced beauty that would knock the socks of any Burgundy ever conceived. At a smidge over £15 per bottle this is peanuts for the quality or when you compare it to a competitor in the aforementioned region in Burgundy.  Well done Mr Borthwick and I cannot wait to see what you can do with a Sauvignon Blanc!  

Last up and paired simply with chat and perhaps a little gluttony was the Dowie Doole Chardonnay’s red brother in the form of the Spitting Spider Shiraz.  At first after the Pinot Noir the change in style took a while to get used to but once the pallet had adapted it was rewarded.  By contrast this is a smooth and surprisingly delicate Shiraz, to be honest I was surprised to learn that the Aussies were aware of the more delicate side of a Shiraz, but I am glad they have come to recognise it at last. It is the delicate tannins that are a pleasure, no teeth clinging, lip staining here just fresh fruit, and a liveliness that really grips you. Priced at the same as the Chardonnay, I can see these becoming firm Exel House favourites.

Babich

The Babich legacy was born in New Zealand around the time of the First World War. The family originating in Croatia, began emigrating to seek new opportunities to improve their outlook in life away from their peasant farming origins. One-by-one the family's children on reaching the age of 16 completed the 6-month journey by sea to the pioneering frontier land of New Zealand. After several years collecting money from various farming jobs in New Zealand's swamplands, they acquired their own land in Auckland and completed their first vintage in 1916.

The wines of today are, thankfully, a far cry from the poor vines used at the time and the resulting mostly sherry and port style wines. We were guided through the wines of this multi-site winery by Dinah Kinnear, UK Sales Manager, in the tranquil surroundings of the bookkeepers office at the Exel Wines warehouse, quite probably this office's best use to date!

First up was a real punchy little number in the form of the Pinot Gris from Marlborough, or to be more precise from several regions within Marlborough. It is an important aspect in most of the Babich wines, that they have such a variety of parcels of land to call upon which lend uniqueness to the particular wine. In this case it is the cooler Awatere region that lends a richer, almost buttery side, to the wine with hints of pears, whilst the cooler Wairau side gives the crisp more classic NZ minerality. The end result is an incredible balance.

Then it was off to a Hawkes Bay Chardonnay, unoaked and from the gimblett gravels. Again, terroir and regionality is key in this wine, lending the soft supple freshness to the wine. I really enjoyed this Chardonnay. I am still trying to figure out in my head when and where I would enjoy it best, but I guess that is the strength of a wine like this, flexibility.

Then it was in to the Sauvignon Blanc. With seven different Sauvignon Blanc, Babich is one of the few companies that could offer an entire tasting around the varietal and showcase unique characteristics in each one. First was the Black Label Sauvignon Blanc, created in essence for food and to add a layer of diversity in how and when you can enjoy a NZ Sauvignon. The first thing you notice is the incredible light pale colour of this wine, so it was a surprise to learn that there is just the tiniest hint of oak in here too. Now, do not let oak-phobes be put off (it is just around 7% of the wine that is very lightly oaked), all it does is add body to the wine, you will not detect it on the flavour. Elderflowers, tropical & citrus fruits are abound here.

The second Sauvignon we would get to try was the Wakefield Down Sauvignon. While the Black Label was tinkered with to get the desired result, the Wakefield is a simple single vineyard expression from Awatere. I found a very light nose on this which followed through in to a very subtle light palate full in fresh crisp flavours and complexity with a finish that just evolves forever if given the chance.

Last up was a couple of Pinot Noir. Now I am an avid Pinot fan, but all too often I feel a little let down by the typical New Zealand version. Just too light and not enough depth on the palate I find in some cases, sound familiar?  However, Babich do not fall into this trap. In appearance you get the usual light colour, almost rose! The East Coast is predominantly Marlborough fruit, but with a little from their original plots in Auckland. It is these Auckland grapes that add a really unique twist giving an earthy woodland texture to the wine. The end result could genuinely pass, in my eyes as being Burgundy, genuinely wonderful. Last up was the Marlborough Pinot Noir, which had a tough act to follow. What really shone through here was the red fruits, the strawberries and raspberries. This is often used as a descriptive though not usually that accurate, but here it was bang on. Given this fruity nature, pair this up with your favourite game and you will be laughing.