THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

This selection of wines is best perused online as they won’t all be readily available in your local wine store. The effort will be worth it, as they are from high-quality producers who are pushing the envelope in terms of flavour and texture.

Buying wine online? Try our MiNDFOOD Master Sommelier’s recommendations. 13 FAVOURITE WINES

For a while now, shopping online instead of heading to a store has been a viable and popular option, but buying wine online has been slower to catch on. Since NZ entered lockdown in March, the opportunity to purchase our ‘essential’ local beverages remotely has provided wineries with an important outlet. The key to success in this area is spreading the word about which New Zealand wineries are selling online – being able to explore their range and vintages, cross-checking prices and having available insights into the brand and history. It can be a fun and interesting way to shop from your desk. Your horizons may be increased and, of course, there’s no pressure to spend if you don’t wish to.

It provides the chance to discover wine brands not easily available from your local wine specialist. Some that you may not have heard of before may pique your interest and perhaps rekindle your interest in others you have enjoyed in the past. I now have a section on my website for direct-to-consumer sales (camdouglasms.com). Now, more than ever, we need to give support to local brands, particularly those high-quality, smaller ones who don’t have access to sizeable marketing budgets.

With the cooler winter weather now here, our food choices seasonally adjust and our wine selections often change towards fuller-bodied or more complex styles. Take the road less travelled and discover some mid-year wine opportunities. Don’t forget to have a look at regions you may be less familiar with.

VISIT MiNDFOOD.COM

Cameron Douglas selects six excellent New Zealand pinot noirs that should offer enough fruit power, freshness and panache to pique your interest. mindfood.com/pinot-noir-picks

“NOW MOR E THAN EVER, WE NEED TO SUPPORT LOCAL BRANDS.”