Holiday wines, cookbooks and last minute gourmet gifts

Packing wines for a relaxed trip to the bach or the picnic hamper for al fresco summer sipping? Wine editor Jo Burzynska’s selection of fresh, fun and versatile styles should ensure you’ve got it covered when it comes to all kinds of holiday imbibing.

Auntsfield Methode Ancestrale Southern Valleys Marlborough Muscat 2020

$32

With its perfumed floral characters, this newly launched sparkling wine tastes like a summer garden. Notes of honeysuckle and elderflower combine with apple and lemon curd in a light, crisp and dry frizzante style made using the historic bottled- fermented method, “ancestrale”. It’s further steeped in tradition, hailing from the near- 150year- old site of Marlborough’s first commercial vineyard using the same clone of muscat grape originally planted there.

Organised Chaos Hawke’s Bay Gamay Noir 2020

$30

This is a red you can serve chilled, from minimal intervention Hawke’s Bay winemaker Hayden Penny. Made with the same grape and method as beaujolais, it’s light and fresh with bright cherry, plum and mandarin, plus a twist of nettle and bitters for ultra-refreshing summer drinking, with a softness that should appeal to even diehard white wine drinkers at the party.

Greystone Organic Waipara Valley Rosé 2020

$25

While rosés can be enjoyed all year round, they come into their own in the warmer months. This is a fabulous example with its ripe, pretty strawberry and fresh citrus and green apple dusted with a hint of baking spice. It possesses more complexity and depth than many rosés too, with its silken texture and elegant mineral edge.

Casillero del Diablo Reserva Carmenere Valle Central Chile 2018

$20

Made from Chile’s flagship grape variety, which was once confused with merlot, the Casillero del Diablo Reserva boasts plenty of robust, ripe dark fruit laced with sweet spice and a dash of cocoa. A great value, sweetly fruited red that’s rich and supple and suited to barbecued foods, from grilled meats to charred veges.

Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Riesling 2019

$30

If you only have room to take one wine away, a great dry riesling like this will cover most bases: as a fresh aperitif; a partner to delicate seafood or spicy fare; and from informal moments to special occasions. This is a seriously good singlevineyard organic riesling, with wonderful intensity to its palate that layers vibrant apple infused with blossom and ginger, over a powerful foundation of rocky minerality and pink grapefruit acidity.