There are about 99 reasons to head to Waiheke but no one can deny one of its (very main) alter egos is Wine-heke. Yes siree, while there’s loads to keep you busy that doesn’t involve drinking wine, it’s fair to say the island is Tāmaki Makaurau’s lush capital enjoyed by many, present company absolutely included.
It’s no surprises then, that a visit to a winery—but more often not, multiple wineries—is an essential part of The Good Life on the island. But with about 30 boutique wineries you’re hard-pressed (yes, that was a grape joke) to decide which one to delve into and once you have settled what’s the right way of doing a wine tasting? Does a ‘right way’ even exist?
Earlier in the year we dropped into Tantalus for their inaugural Wine and Senses Masterclass (aka wine tasting 101). Set in their Decanter Room—their luxe private dining room that seats 20—we were in for an absolute treat.
Image credit: Tantalus | Johnny Scott
The 90-minute wine tasting workshop was led by Head Winemaker, Alex Perez, and the Senior Cellar Door team. We arrived to a flute each of Tantalus Méthode Traditonnelle on arrival and a snack platter whipped up by the Tantalus kitchen including homemade bread (and gluten-free rosemary and linseed crackers), butter, and roasted estate macadamia nuts with fermented honey and lavender salt. Why these particular highlights? Because our bubbles had buttery, nutty notes which the pairing emphasised. The more you know.
Next Perez talked us through a wheel of tasting notes and imparted four essential steps to actually tasting wine and, as it turns out, we’d been doing it wrong this whole time.
If you, like us, have been swirling the wine as soon as it appears in your goblet, you’ve been skipping a step. Wine-swirling introduces air into the glass, oxygenating the wine and changing the flavour. Perez suggests sniffing and tasting the wine as it is first, then swirl and repeat as step two. The third step is to hold the wine in your mouth and notice its texture and the way it makes your mouth feel. The final step is to notice how your mouth feels and any aftertaste once you’ve knocked back that holy nectar. Astonished? Consider us both empowered.
Image credit: Tantalus | Instagram
Tantalus’ Wine and Senses Masterclass isn’t a regular offering but we highly recommend keeping your eyes peeled for their next iteration. In the meantime, flex your newly-honed wine tasting skills at one of their regular tastings. Available 7 days a week, 11am-5pm at their Cellar Door, they clock in at $20, $30 or $50 per person depending on how fancy you’re feeling. Top tip: summon a cheeseboard (because, cheese) and do ask the team for the full rundown on each cheese because, heck, cheese is just as deserving as your vino.
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Main image credit: Tantalus | Instagram