BLEND YOUR OWN BARREL

Fancy owning your own barrel blend of pinot noir? How about being able to trace your blend right from the bunches that were harvested, through to when it’s bottled with your name on it? Mount Michael in Central Otago can make that happen. It’s the brainchild of owner Anna Robbie, who says it’s about offering wine-lovers a transparent service. “We’ll handle the harvesting, crushing, ageing and barrel-racking while barrel buyers will be able to then work with winemaker James Mcelrea to curate their own custom blend of the Mount Michael 2018 vintage.” Great pinot doesn’t happen overnight, so you’ll need to wait for 14 month’s post-harvest to enjoy the fruits of your investment. But you’ll be provided current vintage wines along the way and be given private barrel tastings by James, too. The two options are: “The Enthusiast” one-year ($18,000pa) and “The Committed” three-year ($14,000pa). So rally round, get your chums to chip in and embark on a personal pinodyssey. mountmichaelwines.com