RESTAURANT + WINE

Ambler Cafe & Bistro Rush for gold

MADAM SASS CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR ROSÉ 2018 $25 The romantic marketing guff accompanying this wine says that it’s made in tribute to the “risk-taking, gutsy heroines” of the Central Otago Gold Rush era like they’re some sort of swashbuckling sauce-pots, female Lord Flashhearts, if you will. But I surmise any woman trying to survive back then in such a severe environment, surrounded by crusty, stinky, whiskery, gold-crazy menfolk, definitely deserves their own wine. Ballet-shoe pink and bursting with raspberry, cherry and nectarine niceness, the Madam is crisp, crunchy and floweth over with fruit. Sip with: prawn salad with creamy lemon dressing. madamsass.co.nz

QUARTZ REEF CENTRAL OTAGO METHODE TRADITIONNELLE ROSÉ BRUT NV $35 Rudi Bauer is Central Otago’s fizz master. His new-release brut rosé is crafted from 100 per cent hand-picked, organically-grown pinot noir, bottle fermented and aged on its lees (spent yeast cells) for at least 18 months. Prepare for a whiff of rhubarb custard, cashew creaminess and a whisper of cherry. It’s supremely stylish and sort of rebellious, a little like the Meghan Markle of methode I think. Delicately structured and deliciously dry, it’s pillowy perfection on the palate. Sip with: salmon yakitori. quartzreef.co.nz

AKARUA CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT ROUGE 2018 $POA You’ll find this wine almost exclusively at restaurants, so be on the alert next time you’re out dining somewhere snazzy. On January 31 a lunar event occurred for the first time in 152 years — a super, blue, blood moon. It signalled an eye-poppingly good Central Otago harvest, so the team at Akarua created something celestial to acknowledge the moon’s influence. This “rouge” is like a rosé after seven short blacks, or a slightly lighter version of pinot noir. It’s frisky, frolicsome, loaded with spice and black guava goodness. Sip with: black bean, beetroot and mushroom burgers. akarua.com