I was impressed with this enticing, delicious and impeccably balanced sparkling wine from New Zealand!
This month, the Wine Pairing Weekend group of wine and food writers are exploring “Biodynamic Wines of the World”. Gwen of Wine Predator is our host. You can read her invitation here.
What Is Biodynamic Winemaking?
The official definition of biodynamic farming according to the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association is “a spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, gardens, food production and nutrition.”
In other words, biodynamic farming view ecosystem functions in a wholistic manner.
It can be a complex, confusing (and controversial) topic, especially when these days it seems to compete for mind share with organic, and sustainable wine growing practices.
Each is different, but in my mind, if wine growers are willing to invest time and resources in biodynamic,organic,or sustainable viticulture, then wines elaborated from those grapes are more interesting to me, and I want to support those efforts.
If you would like to learn more about biodynamic wine making, I thought this article entitled Biodynamic Wine Explained offered a good overview of biodynamic wine.
The Wine
Fruit for this wine was sourced from Quartz Reef’s BioGro certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic estate vineyard located in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago.
The Bendigo has a reputation for producing some of the most intensely flavored wines in Central Otago.
After careful site selection, the vineyard was planted in 1998. The soils are Waenga fine sandy loam planted on the beautiful north facing slope at an elevation of 217 – 264 meters
The grapes were hand-picked, then bottled fermented and aged on lees for a minimum of 24 months. It was riddled and disgorged by hand.
My tasting notes follow:
Color – Pale golden-yellow
Aromas – Aromatic buttered toast, apple, lime and lemon curd with a hint of hazelnut
Body – Medium-bodied with fresh, zesty acidity and a delicate creamy mousse.
Taste – Bright and pure ripe Honeycrisp apple, pear, raspberry, honey, and lemon cream flavors
Finish – Medium
Blend of 63% Pinot Noir/37% Chardonnay|12.5%|SRP – $25
I was impressed with this enticing, delicious and impeccably balanced sparkling wine from New Zealand! Wonderful value at $25 too. Highly recommended!
It was the perfect partner for takeout Seafood Wellington!
About Quartz Reef
Founded in 1996, Quartz Reef was named after New Zealand’s largest quartz deposit that lies beneath their vineyards at Bendigo Station, in the eastern part of Central Otago.
Their 30 hectare estate vineyard is is BioGro certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic. Their grapes are hand-harvested and vinified with a respectful and non-intervention philosophy.
General Manager/Winemaker/Viticulturist, Rudi Bauer’s mission to make wines that capture the essence, a sense of place, of Central Otago. Rudi earned degrees in viticulture and winemaking in his native Austria before moving to New Zealand in 1985 as assistant wine maker at Mission Estate in Hawkes Bay. Since then, Rudi has been honing his craft in many of New Zealand’s regions as well as Oregon and Burgundy. As one of Rippon Vineyard’s pioneer winemaker’s, Rudi won Central Otago’s first gold medal for Pinot Noir in 1991. And now, as owner/winemaker of Quartz Reef, Rudi is making the best wines of his career, being named 2010 New Zealand Wine Maker of the Year at the NZ Agricultural Society Royal Easter Show as well as the first New Zealander to be nominated for Der Feinschmecker Wine Awards in Germany as International Wine Maker of the Year.
If you’re looking for more Biodynamic Wines of the World paired with delicious food check out these posts!
- Jeff of FoodWineClick!: Biodynamics in the Dolomites with Azienda Agricola Foradori
- Nancy of Pull That Cork: Celebrating Biodynamic Viticulture with Montinore Estate Pinot Noir
- Nicole of Somm’s Table: Organic/Biodynamic/Natural: WTF Does It All Mean?????
- David of Cooking Chat: Beef and Lamb Tagine with a Special Wine from Lebanon
- Pinny of Chinese Food and Wine Pairing: A Wine Lover’s Game Plan in Drinking Well – Biodynamic/Organic/Vegan Wines & Supplements
- Lauren of The Swirling Dervish: A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White: Biodynamic Wines from Montinore Estate with Dinner Tonight
- Linda of My Full Wine Glass: What’s in a Label? Separating the Certified Biodynamic Wine from the Wannabees
- Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm: Wine to Celebrate Earth Day
- Gwendolyn of Wine Predator: Go Biodynamic this Earth Month with Syrah from Narrow Gate and Cab from Beaver Creek
- Jill of L’Occasion: Bodegas Krontiras: A Biodynamic Expression of Mendoza
- Jennifer of Vino Travels: Biodynamic Wines of the Alto Adige with Alois Lageder
- Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Seabass Agli Agrumi + Wine from America’s First Demeter-Certified Biodynamic Winery
If you’re reading this early enough, join us on Twitter for a live chat – Saturday, April 13th at 8am Pacific. Follow and use #WinePW.
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The Seafood Wellington looks so delicious…I can imagine how juicy it is and layers of seafood of different texture mingle together – pairing with this New Zealand Quartz Reef Sparkler Brut is a treat!
The Quartz Reef sparkling sounds delicious and so affordable! I can imagine it was perfect with the seafood wellington!
Love Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle, especially with NZ seafood. Great review 🥂
What a perfect celebratory meal…seafood wellington and bubbly….let the party commence.
We’ve been fascinated by Biodynamic farming in wine as we’re coming across it more frequently throughout our travels. A recent trip to Oregon had us visiting 4 wineries, all of which happened to be biodynamic but we didn’t plan it that way!
I always love a sparkler with a healthy dose of Pinot Noir! Sounds like it was a hit with the seafood wellington which, by the way, looks delicious. And I really love the name Quartz Reef – at once exotic, serene, and beautiful!
What an interesting wine! Sounds wonderful. And takeout seafood wellington? That is some fancy takeout!
The wines sounds really beautiful and the seafood wellington sounds delicious! Must say that’s impressive looking takeout.
I definitely haven’t had enough NZ bubbly and biodynamic NZ bubbly in particular. This is so cool, Martin!
Love the name of this wine and the pairing looks scrumptious! Nice to see a feature from New Zealand.
Thanks Jen! I really enjoyed this wine. They have a Rose I’m looking forward to trying!
I was lucky enough to visit this producer in 2012 and visit the vineyards and winery when I was a Southern Hemisphere wine buyer for a high-end retail store in the Los Angeles area. Tremendously beautiful area to visit, with a plethora of outstanding wineries. Quartz Reef also make a vintage sparkling wine that is outstanding and can benefit from time in the cellar – as well as clean, pure and honest Pinot Noir worth all the wonderful typicity of the region. All of their wines are made in an old world, food friendly style.