The history of Pasqua begins in 1925 when the first generation of the Pasqua brothers came to Verona and established a new business selling wine from their homeland, Apulia. After a few years they decided to to become a real winery. Initially starting out in Verona area, Pasqua has progressively built up their holdings and have succeeded in becoming one of Italy's most recognised brands. We are very excited to have Cecilia Pasqua here to guide us through some of their amazing wines, which will include the two fabulous Mai dire Mai wines. We will be tasting...

Even though there is a cold southerly blowing through as I write this, it does cheer me up to know that the warm weather and Christmas is just around the corner. It has become the tradition here that when we do the NV Champagne tasting, we taste them blind and we will continue that tradition this year. This process allows you to taste with no preconceptions, a great way to figure out what you like. This is always the most relaxed of all the Champagne tastings, so if you are looking for a fun night drinking Champagne this is it!

Next in our line up of Champagne tastings is our Vintage Champagne tasting. Whereas Non vinatge Champagne is an unadorned beautifully put together wine, it is more for everyday drinking. Vintage Champagne is far more complex and requires and even demands more thought. Vinatge Champagne is not as common and is generally only made about three-four times in a decade, the style of the house does shine through and it generally follows that if you enjoy a certain NV you will certainly enjoy the Vintage. I have put together an intriguing array of producers with a variety of vintages.

The third tasting in my lead up to Christmas Champagne tastings is of course the best of the best. For a strictly controlled region such as Champagne it is surprising that there very few regulations regading Prestige Champagne. However it is clearly in each Houses best interest to make sure that these wines are the very best that they can produce. A typical Prestige Champagne is made entirely from Grand Cru grapes from the oldest vines. These wines are also aged a lot longer in the cellars and there are numerous examples of late disgorged wines. There is also more thought out in to the bottle and the presentation to make it as luxurious and special as possible. I have a stellar line up and look forward to trying them with you.

For centuries, dry rosé wine has been a staple in the south of France, where it is has long been considered the best wine to enjoy day and night beside the sea. Provence is the heart of the world’s rose production, and also home to one of it's finest examples in Château Léoube. Their organic and biodynamic vineyard is set by the sea, and are made by 4th generation Rosé winemaker Romain Ott. The Domaine and château are owned by Lord and Lady Bamford who famously founded Daylesford Organic – one of the UK’s most sustainable farms – over forty years ago. These are some of the finest pink wines in the world, and we are very proud to represent them here in New Zealand. This tasting will be presented by their Sales manager Wilfried Sentex, and will cover a full range of four Cotes du Provence Rosé, from a sparkling through to the special $60 Collector Lalonde Rosé. We will also taste their three exemplary red wines that are new to the country.

Glengarry Head Honcho Jak Jakicevich and GM Liz Wheadon both have their fixation. Jak is a committed fan of Single Malt whiskies, while Liz is a champagne fiend from way back. They are teaming up to take their respective obseesions on the road, perhaps in an attempt to justify them to the rest of NZ, or maybe they just want to share some gems they know about with those of you who don’t. Anyhow, there they both are, out on the road, taking it to the streets. Each of them will be flourishing the attributes of six of their favourites. Is it a duel? A face-off? We don’t know. Will it be entertaining and enlightening? Absolutely.

For many serious wine loves, the top Malbec in the world is made by Achaval-Ferrer. Situated in the best hilltop viineyards of Mendoza, they are very much the first family of Argentinean wine. Their vines are pre-phylloxera with an average age of 107 years! Very high density planting with very low yields.The vineyard is irrigated the traditional way, with water channels. In the winery there are no addtions or interventions, these are extremely pure. The style of Achaval-Ferrer wines is a balance of ripeness and natural acidity for freshness. These are much more elegant and refined Malbecs than you might have tried previously, a bridge between the old world and the new world. We have their director Julio Lasmartres here to present these incredible wines. We will be tasting Achaval-Ferrer Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, Cabernet Franc 2016, Malbec 2017, Quimera 2014. We will finish with their three legendary single vineyard Malbecs, where it takes 3 vines to produce just one bottle. Finca Mirador 2013, Finca Bella Vista 2013 and Finca Altamira 2014.