A glass in the grass…
June 21st, 2010
Winter in Christchurch. Cold frosty mornings and grey rainy days not pictured.
Posts by Kirk:
I was working in the lab, late one night..
June 14th, 2010
Bottling tomorrow and Im just doing a last final check to make sure the Free SO2 levels are exactly where I want them to be. SO2 as Im sure you are all aware is an age old protectant against bacteria and oxidation. That purple liquid in the ...
Why did the Riesling cross the road ?
June 10th, 2010
Because it was being True and Daring ? Or because it had a flight to catch. Ha!
In London on the 30th this month? Then head down to Lords, where in the Nursery Pavillion you can taste our 2007 Riesling and all the other 2010 IWC Gold medal winners. Tickets are free to members of the wine trade but you will need to register. The Trade ...
The False Friend…
June 4th, 2010
Pinot Gris or, "The False Friend", as Olivier Humbrecht labelled it when he came to New Zealand to speak at the Aromatics symposium a couple of years ago. Certainly the white grape-du-jour of New Zealand in the past few years with a huge increase in plantings and subsequent new wines on the market. However we seem to be heading down the same path that we have with Riesling in that its very difficult to know exactly what style of Gris you are getting ...
But is it Art?…
June 2nd, 2010
Or have I just discovered a new planet? Or could it be a disco ball? What is it?
Despite its 3D effect it is in fact a picture I took today as I was racking some white wine from one tank to another. Close to the bottom of the tank and with only my torchlight to guide me this spherical new world ...
Pressing Matters…
May 27th, 2010
From this picture you can see in a nutshell the process I go through when pressing the Pinot Noir skins here at Sandihurst Winery. The fermenter holds around 1.5 tonnes of grapes. Once fermentation is finished the skins gradually start to sink to the bottom of the vat. With regular tasting I make the call on when the wine ...
Corporate Wine Gift ideas…
May 26th, 2010
What's new in the world of Wine Gift ideas? Not only can you buy wine from our Sandihurst online shop, now you too can have this season's must have gift - your very own pair of Wine Socks. Modelled on our winemakers own feet, they come in two styles - 'CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR' (as seen above) or 'WAIPARA RIESLING'. Wine Socks extend all the way to the knee ...
Gazing into the Sandihurst Crystal ball…
May 21st, 2010
Looking into the future....heres the picture from this coming Sunday afternoon, around 4pm, when the last grapes for the Sandihurst 2010 harvest have been picked. Sadly the weather forecast isnt all that great so the smiles above may not be quite as wide....
Top NZ Riesling wins Gold!
May 18th, 2010
Happy days here at Sandihurst as our 2007 True and Daring Riesling has won GOLD at the International Wine Challenge - the only NZ Riesling to do so. 2007 was a fantastic year all round for NZ vineyards. Our fruit for this wine comes from Nelson. Fermented in multiple lots with different yeasts and differing temperature regimes. Fermentations were all stopped at varying degrees of sweetness. Aged on lees for a period to add texture and complexity before being blended prior to ...
Kirk Bray
A native of Christchurch, and a curious wanderer of distant shores, Kirk’s talent for beautiful wines can, at least in part, be attributed to his dark decade in chartered accountancy. There, amongst the spreadsheets, columns and rows, Kirk is said to have developed the finely-tuned attention to detail he was later to apply to Sandihurst’s advantage.
It was following a culturally eye-opening period in Europe and Asia that Kirk experienced the moment of truth that was to drive him to abandon his pinstripes and retrain. He had tasted life, French pastries and dim sum and now he wanted more. So, roll up his neatly pressed sleeves he did. Enlightened and decidedly un-accountant-like, Kirk then took his new-found talents to California and Germany’s Pfalz where he refined his vinous skills and gained further invaluable experience. And a family. Finally, and after several happy years, the lure of New Zealand proved too strong to resist, and Kirk returned home and into the veritable arms of Sandihurst Winery.
Artist and alchemist, whilst Kirk’s Mr Nice Guy persona belies a dry wit and wicked laugh, his genius knows only modesty. When he declares his wine to be “okay”, it’s time to bank another medal.
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