Misha's Vineyard

Misha’s update on the recent launch of Misha’s Vineyard Wines in China

Shanghai is the largest city (by population) in China and in fact it’s the largest in the world – and it just became one of my top 3 favourite cities! Misha’s Vineyard wines are now distributed in China through Jebsen Fine Wines – our distribution partner in both Hong Kong and China. Jebsen have the most fabulous teams and they are a company with amazing links into the greater China market having initially started in 1895 as a shipping agency that quickly developed into a trading company. Now the Jebsen Group are a leading marketing and distribution organization for luxury brands and across China representing such brands as Porsche, Bosch, Raymond Weil and Pentax. The wine division also represents leading brands including Frescobaldi, Robert Mondavi, and Laurent-Perrier champagne along with many others, so it’s a great privilege that they are our partner in this important and fast-growing market.

After a day of training the Jebsen Fine Wine team in our wines and visiting some of the most luxurious boutique hotels in Shanghai to introduce them to Misha’s Vineyard wines in order to get them listed in all the right places, we held our first wine dinner on the 1st November in a private dining room at the luxurious JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square. We had 25 guests, comprised of both customers and trade guests invited to attend the sumptuous dinner. We even had some friends from the US who happened to be visiting Shanghai at the time join us for the dinner. (It was great to see you Colleen!). It was a really fun night and we enjoyed the most spectacular views over Shanghai.

In Shanghai, we already have wines listed at M on the Bund, the House of Roosevelt, a few more amazing places with many more hotels about to list our wines. Andy and I look forward to spending more time in this fabulous city and are planning to do education on New Zealand wine with our winemaker Olly as this is a market with plenty of money to spend but just a little more convincing that New Zealand wine is a good alternative to French wine which still dominates the market of course!

Here’s the menu from our special Shanghai dinner.

Raspberry Sangria Sorbet, Lemongrass Jelly and Amaebi with Lime

Green Tea Smoked Bay Oyster and Chanterelles Mushrooms
Misha’s Vineyard Lyric Riesling 2010

Bamboo Clam “a la Plancha “with Citrus Fruits on Spiced Leek Compote
Misha’s Vineyard The Starlet Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Confit Black Cod in Sichuan Pepper, Tomatoes and Fennel with Provencal Olives
Misha’s Vineyard Dress Circle Pinot Gris 2010
Misha’s Vineyard The Gallery Gewurztraminer 2010

Grilled Wagyu Beef Strip loin and Potato in different Textures
Misha’s Vineyard The High Note Pinot Noir 2008
Misha’s Vineyard Verismo Pinot Noir 2008 (Reserve)

Bitter Chocolate Soufflé and Ice Cream with Truffle

Thanks to the wonderful Jebsen team including Sarah, Christine, Stephen, Thomas, Ken, Ryan, Vivian, and Ken for making our first visit so successful. See you all soon!

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, central otago pinot, Central Otago Pinot Noir, Jebsen Fine Wines, JW Marriott, Misha Wilkinson, Misha's Vineyard Wines, mishas vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, The High Note, Wine Distributor

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Misha’s Vineyard Training at Taylor’s Uni, Malaysia

Our activities with our distributor, CK Chew, of Finlux in Malaysia included some training at Taylor’s University – which is now the largest and most established hospitality and tourism management school in South East Asia. They have a state-of-the-art modern campus adjacent to a 5 acre lake and they also have the most amazing facility to conduct wine training! Andy, Olly and I presented for nearly two hours to a group of almost 30 students, starting with an overview of what is New Zealand famous for – including of course the All Blacks and Lord of the Rings – and fantastic wines! We also went into detail why New Zealand uses screw caps, what New Zealand’s key varieties are and where they’re grown, and what makes New Zealand wines unique. Of course Olly also took them through 5 wines from Misha’s Vineyard explaining every aspect of the varietals tasted along with a backdrop of some stunning visuals of New Zealand.

Joaquim Dias Soeiro, is the Programme Director at Taylor’s, and he was delighted to be able to offer his students the opportunity to learn about wine from a real winemaker! Olly did a wonderful job explaining everything from TCA to the benefits of oak barrels and even how to evaluate and score wines.

Talking to the next generation of Asia’s sommeliers and hospitality managers is a great way to influence the trend toward New Zealand’s vibrant wine styles. The group was keenly interested in all aspects of New Zealand wines, and continued to ask many very good questions about the wines, packaging, storing and tasting well after the session finished. We are very confident this group of students will join the Malaysian hospitality industry with a keen knowledge and interest in New Zealand.

And as a result of visiting Taylor’s Uni, Misha has ended up with a lot more friends on Facebook with many of the students wanting to come to New Zealand to help with the next harvest! See you all in Central Otago!

Tags: Andy Wilkinson, CK Chew, Finlux, Misha Wilkinson, mishas vineyard, new zealand wine, Olly Masters, Taylors Uni, Wine Distributor

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Andy and I have just been around New Zealand with the Negociants New Zealand team on their annual trade tour. We think they’re the best distributor in the country – biased? Of course! But they have the most amazing group of wineries in their New Zealand portfolio and on this tour we were also joined by some buddies from across the ditch! On the tour we were travelling with the likes of Two Paddocks (owned by the charming Sam Neill who took some time off Hollywood activities to pour wines on the tour), Rippon, Alpha Domus, Vinoptima, Palliser, Fromm, Greywacke, Nautilus, and Saint Clair to name a few. And from Australia, the wineries joining us this tour were Vasse Felix, Jim Barry Wines, Henschke, Yalumba, D’Arenberg etc. With a stellar line-up like that, it’s no wonder we had an amazing turn out of trade customers in each city!

The trade events were held in some fab places this year – the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron in Auckland, the Otago Golf Club in Dunedin (spectacular views of the golf course), and The George in Christchurch (where he had less of a trade event and more of a group ‘hug-in’ to let our Christchurch friends’ feel the love’ after their traumas.) Andy and I headed back home after Christchurch along with our friends from Two Paddocks and Rippon since flights out of Christchurch were cancelled due to the ash cloud from the erupting Chilean volcano. But Olly, our guru winemaker, was in charge for the Wellington leg of the trip which was held at the InterContinental Hotel and he also did the Pinot Noir Masterclass. (You can read a review from Raymond Chan about that here http://www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz/blog/pinot-noir-masterclass-negociants-nz-roadshow.

What’s really nice about doing these roadshows is the ability to meet with so many of the restaurants and wine retailers that have chosen to serve and sell our wines. It’s also a great opportunity too show our wines and tell the story of Misha’s Vineyard to those who don’t know us yet. We had so many wonderful customers come and say hi – thanks to all of you who did!

The best thing though about being on tour is the feeling of camaraderie that we share as a portfolio of wine brands under the Negociants NZ banner. It really is an organization with a family feel – everyone is just so nice and it’s so much fun being on the road as a team. It’s only our second year on the Negociants national tour but it’s something we love doing and we’re already looking forward to next year’s tour!

After a week like that, it just makes me think…I really love my job!

Tags: central otago, central otago pinot, Misha, mishas vineyard, Negociants New Zealand, Wine Distributor

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Misha’s Vineyard Wines – Wine dinner at “The Cliff “ Restaurant sells out.

The Cliff restaurant at the Sentosa Resort & Spa on beautiful Sentosa Island in Singapore hosted a sell-out wine dinner featuring a menu of sensational delicacies from the chefs at The Cliff kitchen paired with the range of Misha’s Vineyard Wines. Guests from The Cliff, Rubicon Reserve Wines and Misha’s Vineyard were treated to some amazing pre-dinner hors d’oeuvres including cherry tomatoes on a small balloon of basil oil which when squeezed gave a burst of fragrant oil into the tomato! The setting – despite the rain – was very special and somewhere that everyone visiting Singapore should put on their list of places to dine.

The menu – simply put – was sensational!

MISHA’S Vineyard WINES @ THE CLIFF
2ND DECEMBER 2010

OYSTER,
lemon granite, tabasco jelly, seawater foam
Misha’s Vineyard “The Starlet”, 2009, Sauvignon Blanc

FOIE GRAS & APPLES
fizzy lemonade, apple espuma
Misha’s Vineyard “Limelight”, 2009, Riesling

TUNA
hot miso-lemon vinaigrette,
Japanese sweet potato and yuzu purée
Misha’s Vineyard “Dress Circle”, 2009, Pinot Gris

LAMB
loin and shank, fava beans, artichoke and
Sardinian fagiolo salad, yogurt textures
Misha’s Vineyard “The High Note”, 2009, Pinot Noir

CHEESE
selection of Frech cheese with preserves
Misha’s Vineyard “The Gallery”,2009, Gewurztraminer

Thank you to Restaurant Manager Kim Drew, F & B Director Adam Haywood, the whole team at The Cliff, and to Rubicon Reserve Wines for organizing such a wonderful event. We’re looking forward to going back!

Tags: central otago pinot, Food and Wine, Gewurztraminer, Limelight Riesling, Misha, mishas vineyard, Pinot Gris, pinot noir, Riesling, Rubicon Reserve, Sauvignon Blanc, Sentosa Resort & Spa, The Gallery, The High Note, Wine Distributor

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Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair

Misha’s Vineyard Wines was placed with some amazing company at the Hong Kong Wine & Spirit Fair held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from November 4th to November 6th. Our Hong Kong distributor – Jebsen Fine Wines – had secured a prime hall-entry location for their stunning booth which featured just 8 brands including Bollinger, Robert Mondavi, Marchesi de’ Frescabaldi, Penfolds, Chateau d’Esclans and of course Misha’s Vineyard.

The event attracted over 700 exhibitors with the many thousands of attendees on the two trade days and one public day coming from across the globe. Many of the visitors were from mainland China where wine consumption and education in both old world and new world wines is on a rapid rise. The very high level of interest in the range of Misha’s Vineyard wines kept the Jebsen team and ourselves pouring wines and talking about our vineyard throughout the three days and resulted in quite a number of future placements with fine dining restaurants.

In conjunction with the fair, Jebsen Fine Wines had arranged several wine dinners and special customer tastings of the wines. Our special dinner with the WineNow magazine guests hosted by well known Hong Kong wine personality Mr Lau Chi Su, paired Bollinger Special Curvee, Chateau d’Esclans Rosé, Misha’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, Luce Toscana IGT and Penfolds Grange with an array of Chinese dishes. (See our Food and Wine blog for the menu)

Thanks to the wonderful team from Jebsen Fine Wines. Such professional organization and support made this event a real success for Misha’s Vineyard Wines.

Tags: Bollinger, Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair, Jebsen Fine Wines, Misha Wilkinson, mishas vineyard, pinot noir, Wine Distributor, WineNow

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Establishing a Misha’s Vineyard footprint in key parts of the world is the top priority this year for the sales and marketing department (aka Andy and me!). We have just announced our second distributor in Australia, Estate Wine Distributors. We’re absolutely delighted because Peter Papanikitas has an experienced team who are focussed on the restaurant sector in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, and Cairns. And we have completed our first shipment to South Korea through our agent there and the wine will go into restaurants. We’re happy to have been able appoint seven distributors in seven markets and hoping to increase that number by the end of the year.

We have just spent a week in the UK and attended the New Zealand Summer New Release Tasting at NZ House on the Haymarket. The two consecutive trade tasting days were held in the Penthouse of New Zealand house which had panoramic views across London. It was a spectacular place for a wine tasting and our wines received lots of positive comments. We also met with potential distributors and visited a few great dining spots including The Providores (www.theprovidores.co.uk/ and The Modern Pantry www.themodernpantry.co.uk/)
– and oddly enough they both have NZ-focussed wine lists! Also went to a very fab restaurant that’s casual but cool just near Charring Cross called Terroirs (www.terroirswinebar.com/). I had an amazing dish of braised rabbit on polenta and washed it down with 2007 Barbera ‘Ronco Malo’ produced by Vittorio Bera from Piemonte – fab!

Some really exciting news is that three of our wines have been selected for the 2010 Tri Nations Wine Challenge this year: Misha’s Vineyard Limelight Riesling 2009, Misha’s Vineyard Dress Circle Pinot Gris 2009 and Misha’s Vineyard Verismo Pinot Noir 2008. The latter is our Reserve Pinot which we have just released so it’s very flattering that it’s been chosen as one of the top Pinot Noirs to represent New Zealand competing against the best of Australia and South Africa.

Early in July I’m off to Tokyo for just a few days for the NZ Trade Tasting event at the Ritz Carlton along with some trade activities including a wine tasting at the glamorous Isetan store in Shinjuku which has the most beautiful fine wine section that includes a gated cellar! And then we’re off to the US to attend a fantastic event called the International Pinot Noir Celebration and to hopefully find a distributor for our wines there. Will keep you posted!

Misha

Tags: Estate Wine Distributors, Misha, Misha Wilkinson, mishas vineyard, new zealand wine, Pinot Gris, pinot noir, The Modern Pantry, The Providores, Tri Nations Wine, Verismo, Wine Distributor

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An update from Rich
We have been hard at work ensuring the vines are looking happy and healthy as véraison has been coming on fast in the last few weeks due to a bout of warm sunny weather – finally!

Some of the work done on the vineyard include opening up the canopy on the ‘darker side’ of the Sauvignon Blanc and taking fruit off on the small shoots. We also dropped some weight out of the Abel clone Pinot Noir vines and opened the canopy there as well and moved through the Lakefront block removing any green fruit or green shoulders that we saw.

We’re now in the Top Block of the Pinot Noir and moving the wires up whilst also ensuring the vines are in balance and doing some leaf plucking where necessary to ensure adequate light penetration. We are getting some good consistency in the vineyard véraison is almost finished.

Interestingly, we our two Riesling blocks are showing quite marked differences with one block having bunches that range from small to large and quite advanced, whereas the other block has much smaller bunches but a bigger yield – it’s amazing how different the blocks are given their close proximity.

Highlights over the last few weeks was our visit from Masumoto-san, the President of our distribution company in Japan along with a group of 22 Japanese comprising wine trade and sommeliers – they were quite a fun bunch. We also had Garry King visit from Tonnellerie Saint Martin who provide some of our French oak barrels. We really enjoyed his laid-back style and it is always great to meet people that have a part to play in the production of our wines. It was great to have Eddie and Christine from Rathdowne Cellars in Melbourne come up to the vineyard and sit for an enjoyable tasting of wines in the afternoon sun at Ah Foo’s House. I always enjoy a break from the vineyard work to enjoy some of our wines with customers.

We have said goodbye to our German friends who had been working with us for 6 weeks and sadly Sai has now left our permanent team so we wish him all the best.

My lastest yield estimates look like we’ll have over 100 tonnes of fruit with Pinot Noir about 70% of that total. Now we play the waiting game until harvest. Looking forward to it!

(In this update I have included two charts below to show the difference a week can make on the vineyard in terms of véraison and also what our bunch sizes look like across the vineyard)

Clonal Selection 25th February

Just 10 days after the photo above – the development has been quite outstanding!

Clonal selection 5th March

Tags: Ah Foo, Aprevu, Apurevu, misha's, mishas vineyard, Rathdowne Cellars, Rich Williams, Tonnellerie Saint Martin, Wine Distributor

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