Happy Easter…
April 1st, 2010
Posts by Kirk:
Waipara update…
March 31st, 2010
A few shots from the Georges Road and Williams Hill vineyards in Waipara yesterday. The Pinot Gris is sitting around 21 Brix and the Pinot Noir is around 22 on average so I will be waiting just a little longer before deciding to harvest. Flavours are very good and acidity is bright still. Seeds are quite bitter though and perhaps still not as developed as ...
The Great Domaines of Burgundy…
March 30th, 2010
Practically essential reading for anyone remotely interested in Burgundy, Pinot Noir or wine generally.
For a decent compact review check out the WineAnorak website here.
Or you can order your own, as I did, from Amazon UK. Door to door here in New Zealand for only 30 pounds.
From Amazon...
Subdivided into hundreds of domaines, often family-run and sometimes covering no more than a few hectares, Burgundy can be off-puttingly fragmented even to wine experts. In ...
Hitchcocks ‘The Birds’, a sequel…
March 29th, 2010
A little hard to make out but the vineyard next door to Sandihurst has a set of power lines running through it. Not so much power lines perhaps as the perfect perch for the birds to eye up a little snack in the Pinot Gris vines below. They stated having a nibble when the Brix levels were only around 10 and, in an vineyard which is ...
Julie Biuso at the Christchurch Food Show…
March 29th, 2010
Not only was Julie Biuso cooking at the Christchurch Food Show, she was using our Sandihurst Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007. An absolutely delicious dish pairing Porcini with Pinot. Heres one of the recipes used...
Pork Schnitzel with Porcini and Pinot
20g dried Porcini, 300ml hot water, 4 tbsp butter, 1 med onion, 500g pork, 4 tbsp flour mixed with 1/4 tsp salt, 1.5tbsp olive oil, 1/4cup pinot noir, 1 tbsp thyme, 1/4cup cream.
rinse & soak ...
Olly Smiths Drink Tank…
March 23rd, 2010
Olly Smiths Drink Tank - promoted as a "light-hearted, funny wine show" - make of it what you will.
The ripenening of Syrah…
March 22nd, 2010
A few weeks ago now but always interesting to see the Syrah come on through the season. Its a vigorous vine with big open bunches. Here it is during the veraison as the berries begin to change colour and soften as they accumulate sugar. Syrah is a real varietal to watch in New Zealand - expect to see a lot more of it over the next few years as ...
Riesling 101 – Part One
March 17th, 2010
Well done to Pacific Rim for going over and beyond the call in promoting the worlds finest white grape. Heres the first of 2 videos which introduce the grape, describe its history as well as going into the wines varying taste and style, food options and even viticultural and winemaking aspects which help define excatly what Riesling is. ENJOY!
If it sounds too good to be true…..
March 15th, 2010
Be the envy of all your friends. Pack your job in, start a winery, enjoy a dream lifestyle, drinking wine and getting rich. It all seems too easy...
Birdproof in Waipara…
March 14th, 2010
Safe and secure - the view from the Georges Road Vineyard in Waipara where the vines have been netted so the birds wont eat all the grapes. They will still try of course. The nets cover 6 rows at a time so that the vineyard workers can still carry on underneath with crop thinning etc.
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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