not serious wine chats

Hi I’m Morven, and today on Not Serious Wine Chats, I have the privilege of spending an hour or so with winemaker, Louisa Rose from Yalumba. It was a right old flash back for me as not only was I sharing a mighty fine glass of Virgilius Viognier – a wine I used to sell, but I was imbibing it while sat in the Negociants NZ boardroom - a place where I used to work and have had the good fortune to taste wine with Louisa on previous occasions. Listening to this vigneron wax ly...

Today on not serious wine chats, Pete and I have the pleasure getting down with two deeply motivated mates who started a wine brand, fittingly called Deep Down. Clive Dougall and Peter Lorimer united over the shared love of the same style of wines and the desire to make something that spoke a little differently about what Marlborough might have to say. Both these chaps bring a breadth of experience to the partnership, and one carefully and perfectly complements the other. Clive’s ...

For this Not Serious Wine Chats, I sat down with two generations and three Gilmour Girls — a family synonymous with service and who have helped pour more than their share of fine wine. Emerald Gilmour, the Madre of this magnificent trio, shares stories from her #hospolife when she straddled her roles as Air New Zealand flight attendant one minute and Clichy and Club Mirage owner the next. Emerald, precious gem by name, should be declared a precious gem and OG of our restaurant scene as she op...

When I first met Katie – it was at Hello Beasty — I was with one of my favourite lunching sidekicks, Courteney Peters and we both felt sure we’d met her before. Turns out we hadn’t but instead, had just witnessed what true hospitality looks like. That sort of soft but confident, personable service that makes you feel right at home and cared for in an absolute instant. Sort of like if your Mum has grabbed your onesie from the dryer and popped you into a bed made of freshly cleaned flannel shee...

For this chat, Pete and I had the distinct pleasure of sitting across the table from wine folk Pen Naish and Nicholas Brown of Black Estate. The monochrome cool of black and white might underpin this winery but colour oozes from every corner. Neither of these two started out destined for a job in wine but, like most vignerons in Aotearoa, wine found them. When Pen’s Dad stood in a paddock in North Canterbury, the vibes felt right and a deep, honest discussion ensued around establi...