A touch of CLASS

When it comes to festive drinks, we like to raise the bar. So here’s our pick for the big day: three top-quality New Zealand wines and an exceptional homegrown gin to mark the occasion in style

TE KAIRANGA ESTATE PINOT NOIR

Martinborough accounts for less than 2 per cent of New Zealand’s wine production, but its pinot noirs leave a lasting impression. From one of the original wineries in the region, this wine captures the hallmarks of Martinborough; pure, bright red fruit and silky, savoury spice. Perfect with a lovely piece of lamb or beef, or a well curated cheeseboard.

$29.99

(Fine Wine

Delivery

Company)

ROARING MEG PINOT GRIS

This off-dry pinot gris is crafted by Central Otago icon Mt Difficulty. Named after a colourful character from the gold mining era, this stylish wine is full of succulent peach, lush rock melon and fragrant red apple blossom. Smooth in finish, it can be paired with a variety of dishes. $19.99 (Countdown)

VAVASOUR SAUVIGNON BLANC

From Marlborough’s smaller, cooler Awatere Valley, this sauvignon blanc has an elegant oyster shell minerality that speaks of its coastal provenance. A sauvignon blanc to make you rethink sauvignon blanc, this wine is textural, perfumed, and will have you going back for another sip. Unsurprisingly, it’s perfect with freshly shucked oysters. $22.99 (New World)

LIGHTHOUSE GIN

Inspired by the spectacular Cape Palliser Lighthouse on the southernmost tip of the North Island, Lighthouse is one of New Zealand’s oldest craft gins. Distiller Rachel Hall is the custodian of a recipe perfected over many years that includes nine botanicals twice distilled then perfectly blended with water filtering from high in the Remutaka Ranges and emerging in a spring at Palliser Bay. The result is a pure, complex gin with magnificent citrus, a finely spiced creamy palate and a lingering finish. Perfect as a martini or a classic gin and tonic. $69.95 (Super Liquor and Bottle-o)