With dark, plummy fruit, smoke and spice, this is rich and concentrated, finishing with a satisfying savouriness. Usually grown in the region of Abruzzo, it seems the Italian variety Montepulciano has found a happy home in Chris and Jill’s Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay vineyard.

Beach House is a family-owned Hawke’s Bay winery founded by Chris and Jill Harrison in 1996. The couple met studying winemaking at Roseworthy College in Adelaide and moved to New Zealand. They established the brewery Roosters, where we and many others in Hawkes Bay’s wine industry have sunk many a pint. Chris and Jill produce small-batch wines from their own vineyard in Gimblett Gravels, as well as maintaining a long-standing relationship with growers in the Ohiti Valley. Alongside Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Chardonnay, they have championed more alternative varieties like Montepulciano, Chenin Blanc and Arneis.