The First harvest of Lindauer was in 1980, In 1981 Montana launched Lindauer in time for Xmas celebrations.
SupermarketNews spoke to head winemaker, Jane De Witt, about the winery and its award-winning top drops.
What characteristics of your wine are influenced by the physical landscape of your winery?
“Lindauer Special Reserve Vintage 2017 Brut and Rose grapes are from Gisborne, the wine is predominantly made with Chardonnay grapes.
The difference with Rose is that I add a touch of Pinotage to add the amazing Rose colour of this wine. The Pinotage is grown in Gisborne and undergoes secondary fermentation in bottle, it adds a depth to the wine, as well as amazing yet delicate berry flavours.”
What is one of the most rewarding things about winemaking?
“I find the evolution and intricacies of creating a sparkling wine exciting and deeply rewarding. The blending process is both time consuming and satisfying. I get to use both science and my creative side, which I love, ticks both boxes. It takes time and patience to reap the rewards of a sparkling wine in bottle. How Sparkling wine evolves and the impact that the time in bottle on yeast lees has on the taste of the wine, never fails to amaze me, and being able to capture this under cork at the right time is key.”
TASTING NOTES
“An enticing delicate pink colour, this Rose has a depth of flavour being berries and cream. Refined and elegant the creamy palate lingers.”
What was important in making this award-winning wine?
“Sparkling wine takes time to evolve. The wine undergoes secondary fermentation in bottle and is then left to age and develop on yeast lees. Over time the wine changes.
I had to decide what wines to blend together, what vintage, the proportions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the amount of Pinotage that gave the Rose the depth of flavour and resulting appropriate ‘Pink’. This meant tasting numerous samples to ascertain what was going to be the best blend.
Being a Vintage differentiates from the other sparkling’s that I do, which are Non-Vintage being a blend of a number of vintages with the aim being, consistency of style.
Being vintaged I was looking for the best vintaged sparkling rose that I could make, very exciting.”
Food Pairing?
“A great dessert match is Shortbread, mascarpone and fresh raspberries.
However, the depth of flavour of the Rose will match with many red meats and is great with an Antipasti meat platter.”
How long can you shelf your winning bottle of wine for?
“It is made to drink now, however will develop more toasty characters over time, if stored correctly.”
Who would your wine appeal to?
“Anyone who enjoys a glass of off dry rose sparkling wine.”
How would you describe this wine to someone who's never had this grape varietal/blend before?
“This is an elegant Sparkling Rose underpinned with Chardonnay which gives a nice citrus, creamy finesse. The Pinot Noir adds subtle berry nuances, complexity and structure. The Pinotage adds depth, and delightful colour.
For Sparkling wine, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are picked earlier than they would be for a Chardonnay or Pinot Noir Wine. The Chardonnay grapes are harvested so the fruit flavours and aromas are in the yellow citrus to green apple fruit spectrum. The Pinot Noir harvest is timed to capture the fresh red strawberry spectrum of the grapes. The essence of Sparkling wine is to maintain great acidity.”
If you could do a wine bottle swap with any winery in NZ or the world, which winery and wine would it be with?
“Champagne Mailly Grand Cru – many years ago when I was in Champagne, I visited this (at the time) lesser known Champagne house. I was in between visits of some of the better-known Champagne Houses and just popped in, not really the thing to do in Champagne, however they were very welcoming. I walked away with some really lovely bottles of Champagne, and good memories.”
