You might associate Gewurztraminer with opulence, richness and sweetness. This example however is a delicate but dry and driven example of a variety otherwise most at home in Alsace. It still shows floral varietal character, but it’s understated and elegant.

Rippon, on the shore of Lake Wanaka, has both a tremendous past and future. Percy Sargood bought the station in 1912, and his great grandson Nick Mills and family continue a legacy of, in Nick’s words, “listening to the land to decide what to grow”. Their ethos is inspiring; biodynamic practices nurture their relationship with the land where they now focus on growing 6 varieties, with vines as many as 40 years old. As we mature as a wine growing country, our wine styles are evolving past being about immediate factors like primary fruit flavour, colour and alcohol. Rippon demonstrates this evolution with wines that are about beautiful texture and shape.