A Seat at the Table: Voyage Through Wine

Thistles and Kiwis,

As lunch time approached on Saturday, we headed over to Noble Rot Wine Bar for a wine tasting which had been postponed due to the August lockdown. Entitled Voyage Through Wine, the event gave us the opportunity to taste six wines from around the world, while enjoying some charcuterie and cheese, and hearing about each of the wines and their backgrounds. As Josh who was one of our guides of the day said, we can’t travel just now so let’s tour the world with wine.

When we entered, we were welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine and took our seats at a long table, piled with glasses, food and bread. It all looked so lovely and tempting and really set the scene.

Josh and Jessica, two of the wine bar’s sommeliers, took us through the wines and explained the importance of place as much as the grapes used in the wines. If you take a wine like the Riesling we tasted (which I really liked), the resulting product depends on which side of the Rhine the vines are grown, if they are in shade or sun, the direction of the wind and so on. We also learned how in Italy the grapes are names after the region – the one we tasted came from the Campania region where ancient, native varietals, Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico can be found.

As we tasted and listened, we ate. There was the most delicious chicken liver parfait along with bresaola, saucisson sec, prosciutto, chorizo picante and cornichons on the charcuterie platter, and a selection of five different cheeses, including an amazing Tomme de Chèvre, on the cheese platter. The other cheeses were a Vintage Waikato from New Zealand, camembert,  Moliterno al Tartufo from Sardinia, and a roquefort.

We tasted three reds – one from South Africa that we had actually tasted before and really like, a Côtes du Rhône made by a family who have been growing grapes since 1481, and finally, a lovely full bodied red from the Bekka Valley in Lebanon. 80% of wines from the Lebanon come from this region, using mostly traditional French grape varieties.

All in all, it was a great experience, with some interesting new wines, welcoming hosts and delicious food. We were so glad the event could take place, and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in wine should it happen again next year as part of Wellington on a Plate.

The wines we tasted were:

  • NV Roederer Estate Brut
  • 2019 Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling
  • 2019 Mastroberadino Fiano di Avelino
  • 2018 Kaapzicht ‘Skuinsberg’ Cinsault
  • 2019 Jean-Louis Chave ‘Mon Coeue’ CDR
  • 2013 Chateau Marsyas Rouge

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com

Also entered into The Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie The Explorer. Well, wine may be your beverage of choice on this Sunday evening!

Published by Thistles and Kiwis

25 Comments

  1. I like the idea of tasting wines from different countries instead of actually travelling.. very good! Wellington seems to be a city with a real focus on good food. Many of my favourite wines come from New Zealand.

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  7. I love this idea. Travelling in a glass. It’s something that I’d like to do – learn more about wine and appreciating it and the influences of the terroir rather than just liking what I taste.

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  9. Jo expresses this experience so well: Travelling in a glass! I am pleased you tasted a South African wine too – our wine industry has taken some very hard knocks thanks to the pandemic.

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  10. Since we could not travel for a long time, I would get by by going to an ethnic grocery store to buy some treats you would not find in a U.S. market Drinking wine from different parts of the world is also another great way to armchair travel.

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  14. How interesting. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but am always fascinated by facts. We went with some friends to a vineyard/winery a few months ago and it was interesting to learn that the fact that these particular grapes were grown in rocky ground really impacted how the wine turned out….or something like that. My aunt and her husband live on an island on Lake Erie off of the northern shores of Ohio and they have a vineyard and winery. So fascinating to watch their process of making their own wine.

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