Now sometimes as wine folk it's very easy to forget that spending $60 on a bottle of wine is not a bargain to a lot of people. It's also quite easy to forget that some people don't know where Rioja is, or that Montepulciano is both place and grape. It's also really easy to forget to be nice to people.
The scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts is still dressed like a hooker and she walks into the dress shop in order to get herself into some decent garb and is soundly rebuffed is a little too common in the wine world sadly.
As I don't look like the sparkling wine goddess that I am, I have been into a few wine merchants and been looked up and down and then ignored because I don't look like I'm going to buy the good stuff. The problem with that is, you're a shop and I spend my money on wine, books and dresses that's about it and in that order.
Luckily Wineseeker in Wellington isn't like that at all, they cover the two essential factors a wine shop should have, after nice wine of course, they are intelligent and nice.
I stumbled across their shop after about a day or so in Wellington and the manager Rebecca was friendly and passionate about wine even before she found out I was also a wine nerd. They have several tastings at the store and on the Friday before Valentines Day they did the decent thing and held a sparkling tasting.
The two sparklers on tasting were Daniel Le Brun Blanc de Blancs 2002 and Jean-Marc Vigreux-Frere NV Champagne.
The Daniel Le Brun was a sneaky little wine whose youthful freshness belied its almost 9 years ageing. Sprightly and full of fresh lemons, baked bread and dairy notes on the nose the palate followed through with some baked and fresh apple flavours and a lot less maturity than I expected particularly considering it has spent 6 years on the lees.
I was reliably informed that the Huia Blanc de Blancs 2004 that they tried at a tasting earlier in the week is far closer to what one would expect from a B de B with a little age on it.
The Jean-Marc Vigreux-Frere was actually the first champagne that I have had in a little while as I'm trying to stick to my New Years resolution of drinking local. Produced by a family who have been a going concern since the mid-80's it was a tasty treat.
The wine showed nougat, candied fruits, baked apple and hints of ground almonds with a creamy mousse and a very pleasant finish.
Wineseeker have a great selection of wines and are truly passionate about their wines in the way good wine merchants should be. Wine isn't only for us chosen few, it is for everyone to enjoy and if there were more places like Wineseeker then the wine buying public would be a little bit happier and less likely to buy mass marketed tat than they are now.
Contact them for future tasting details and general wine purchasing at...
Wineseeker, 86-96 Victoria Street, Wellington, 04 473 0228
www.wineseeker.co.nz
