Misha & Andy with some of the Jebsen team

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!

Private Dining Room at JW Marriott, Shanghai

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!

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!

Misha's tasting stand

The roadshow team relaxes over dinner

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!

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!

Chiu Chow Menu

In conjunction with the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair, Jebsen Fine Wines and Chinese language WineNow magazine hosted an amazing dinner at Lippo Chiuchow restaurant in Central district of Hong Kong. WineNow owner and one of the most influential wine people in Hong Kong Mr Lau Chi Su introduced the food then Gavin Jones, MD of Jebsen Fine Wines welcomed guests and introduced the participating wineries.  A representative of each of the participating wineries was at the dinner to introduce their wines to the guests. Dishes such as Three Treasures of Chiu Chow was paired with Bollinger Special Curvee NV, Braised Sea Cucumber stuffed with Mashed Shrimps was paired with a 2000 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the Deep Fried Crispy Beef Brisket was paired with 2008 Misha’s Vineyard “The High Note” Pinot Noir, a match that delighted the palate. The Whole Duck in Casserole with Chiu Chow Style served with a 2005 Penfolds Grange showed the versatility of pairing very well known wines of a heavier style with Chinese dishes.

For many of the guests it was the first time to have had the opportunity to experience such a wide range of wines with Chinese dishes. The match was at times challenging, but provided some really interesting combinations and certainly had intense discussions developing around the tables. The presenters of the wines included Mark de Vere MW of Robert Mondavi Wines, Vianney Fabre of Bollinger, and Misha Wilkinson presenting for Misha’s Vineyard.

WineNow magazine boasts a circulation of 20,000 readers and provides wine enthusiasts with the opportunity not just to read about, but to taste some of the world’s great wines. It was a delight to have been a part of such an auspicious dinner and to have been able to present our 2008 “The High Note” Pinot Noir to the discerning guests at the event.

Jebsen Brands

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.

Jebsen Booth

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.

Wine Tasting at New Zealand House, London

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

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Misha’s Vineyard ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir 2008 has garnered many accolades from its sneak previews and now with selection into the Pinot Noir category of the Tri Nations Wine Challenge, the wine is proving its winning form. The ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir 2008 is one of three wines from Misha’s Vineyard that has been chosen to represent New Zealand in this prestigious wine challenge with the others being Misha’s Vineyard ‘Limelight’ Riesling 2009 and Misha’s Vineyard ‘Dress Circle’ Pinot Gris 2009.

“We had a wonderful season in Central Otago in 2008 and the ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir is a reflection of that season. It also reflects the distinct characteristics of the Bendigo sub-region with a spice-laden aroma which contains notes of liquorice and dark chocolate. It has a powerful broad spectrum palate which is balanced by a tight structure of supple but dense tannins” said Olly Masters, Winemaker for Misha’s Vineyard.

The 2008 season was noted for having excellent weather at flowering resulting in a great fruit set. After some cooler temperatures initially, the weather warmed to optimum levels of dry and relatively calm conditions. The vines at Misha’s Vineyard were managed down to just one bunch per cane yielding just 3.35 tonnes per hectare across all the Pinot Noir in order to maintain concentration.

Using 300 litre French oak Hogsheads, the Pinot Noir was held in oak barrels for a year. The final selection for Verismo was made by identifying superior ferments and barrels after which the wine was racked once and returned to oak for a further three months and bottled mid-winter without fining or filtration. ‘Verismo’ 2008 has 62% new oak and consists of Clones 5, 115 and 667. Misha’s Vineyard “Verismo” Pinot Noir 2008, of which only 126 cases (of 6) were produced, has been described by critics as “powerful’ and “well-structured” and has been tipped as a Pinot Noir with great aging potential of between 6-12 years.

As with the naming convention across the entire range of Misha’s Vineyard wines, the word ‘Verismo’ comes from Misha Wilkinson’s theatrical past. It was an artistic movement of the late 19th century originating in Italy and especially influential in grand opera where it was often referred to as the ‘golden age’ of opera. Operas of this period were based on contemporary life, including its sordid and violent aspects, and were always noted for having heightened emotions and passion with Puccini acknowledged as one of the period’s greatest exponents.

The retail price of Misha’s Vineyard ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir 2008 is approx. NZ $60. Misha’s Vineyard wines are distributed by Negociants New Zealand.

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For further information please contact:

Misha’s Vineyard Wines Limited
Misha Wilkinson Tel: +65 98285735 (Singapore) or misha@mishasvineyard.com www.mishasvineyard.com

Misha’s Vineyard Wines are distributed in New Zealand by;
Negociants New Zealand
Clive Weston – Managing Director Tel: 021 905 565
Jane Jackson – Sales Director Tel: 021 661 356
Trade Enquiries – Freephone 0800 634 624 Email to ordersnz@negociants.com

* * Tasting Note for Verismo downloadable from: http://www.mishasvineyard.com/indulge/pinot-noir/verismo/
** High resolution bottle shot available on request misha@mishasvineyard.com

About the 2010 Tri-Nations Wine Challenge:
The Tri Nations Wine Challenge is an invitation-only challenge where the best representative wines from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are chosen across 13 varietal categories. These countries’ wines are then judged against one another to determine gold medals, double gold medals and trophies. This year’s Challenge will be judged in Sydney on August 3 and 4 with an awards presentation scheduled on 17 September. After a series of dinners and trade tastings in Sydney, the winning wines will then tour to Hong Kong and Shanghai. www.trinationswine.com

About Misha’s Vineyard Wines Limited:
Misha’s Vineyard is located on one of the most spectacular sites in New Zealand at the edge of Lake Dunstan in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The sun drenched north-west facing terraces of the 57 hectare (140 acres) estate provide the optimal conditions for producing world-class Pinot Noir and a range of aromatic white varieties. The ‘no compromise’ philosophy behind Misha’s Vineyard wines requires an exacting viticulture regime, hand-picking and considerate winemaking methodologies. Under renowned winemaker Olly Masters, the range of Misha’s Vineyard wines has won critical acclaim in New Zealand and across international markets.

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“The range of premium wines from Misha’s Vineyard not only includes some very impressive pinot noir but also aromatic white varieties which we’re sure will have the on-premise trade very excited.”

In November last year, Misha’s Vineyard released commercial volumes of their latest range of wines in New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore through newly appointed distributors and Misha Wilkinson says these wines have earned some of Central Otago’s highest ratings.
Bob Campbell MW, awarded the 2008 Estate and Reserve Pinot Noir, 90 and 93 respectively points and gave the same numbers of points to both styles of the brand’s 2009 rieslings.

He also scored the Central Otago grown sauvignon blanc and pinot gris wines at 92 and 93 points respectively, which Wilkinson says are the highest rankings he has ever given these varieties from the Central Otago region.
www.winetech.co.nz/News