Spring 2011 - Land of the Long White Cloud
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Sandie and I flew to New Zealand in March to celebrate our 40th anniversary, and we tossed in a slightly belated 25th anniversary commemorative for Salamandre, too. As you can see, The Land of the Long White Cloud simply takes your breath away with contrasts. The mountains stand raw and fierce, while the valleys relax with pastoral calm…and the ocean looks South all the way to Antarctica. A traveler drifts through a 360 degree rotogravure of grandeur and greenery, granite and gravel, grazers and glaciers. We saw no Orcs, but did spot a couple sheep…and a flourishing young wine industry.
As justly heralded, NZ's Sauvignon blancs were consistently well made, varietally true, and perfect with green lipped mussels. What tickled me more was the quality and consistency of NZ Pinot Noirs, many of which bore an uncanny resemblance to our Meadowridge Pinots, making me suspect that the Dijon clones are as popular in new plantings there as they are here.
As justly heralded, NZ's Sauvignon blancs were consistently well made, varietally true, and perfect with green lipped mussels. What tickled me more was the quality and consistency of NZ Pinot Noirs, many of which bore an uncanny resemblance to our Meadowridge Pinots, making me suspect that the Dijon clones are as popular in new plantings there as they are here.
Some people waste time arguing about who makes the “best” wine in the world. These chauvinists are missing the point. Wine and civilization have intertwined graciously for at least 8000 years…long before any of our modern languages, religions, or political structures existed. The high standards of contemporary winemaking in such diverse parts of the world demonstrate that pride and mischief transcend cultures, translate languages, and span oceans like few other human endeavors. Our leaders could use some of that. However, instead of a Tea Party embracing ignorance, oversimplification, and vitriol, I think we should rise up and start a new political party called the Wine Tasting. Uphold respect, laughter, curiosity, ambition, patience, and occasionally forgiveness.
The first caucus will be April 30 in Aptos. Bring grins.
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
A personal postscript: The Christchurch earthquake struck shortly before we arrived…and we could viscerally feel the grim reminders of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which was centered barely 3 miles from our winery. The courage and compassion of the New Zealand people, echoed poignantly in Japan soon after, left us feeling proud of the resiliency of human beings and proud, specifically, of the people in our local community who came together in the time of our own crisis. It's probably not our last, and let's not wait until then to remember kindness, tolerance, and generosity.
The first caucus will be April 30 in Aptos. Bring grins.
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
A personal postscript: The Christchurch earthquake struck shortly before we arrived…and we could viscerally feel the grim reminders of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which was centered barely 3 miles from our winery. The courage and compassion of the New Zealand people, echoed poignantly in Japan soon after, left us feeling proud of the resiliency of human beings and proud, specifically, of the people in our local community who came together in the time of our own crisis. It's probably not our last, and let's not wait until then to remember kindness, tolerance, and generosity.