Te Awanga, with its sea views and breezes, coastal loams and salty air, is the main line for us. The vineyards, the people, the winemaking, the tinkering, the thinking, the planning and dreaming – these moving parts all eventually arrive at the one point – Te Awanga. It’s where it all comes together.
Rod McDonald spent nine years as winemaker at Vidal Estate in Hawke’s Bay and was awarded New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2006. He left later that year with a few ideas about what Hawke’s Bay wines could be like, where the great wines would come from, and started Rod McDonald Wines to prove it.
The Pinot Noir was picked pretty ripe and allowed to soak on skins for around 5 days before ferment kicked off. Te Awanga like Pinot Noir ferments to hit 30 plus degrees to extract colour and tannin.
It displays aromas of black cherry, violet, and herbs, with liquorice flavours on the palate.
It’s lovely with pork with a stuffing of juniper and thyme and coriander seed and finely grated lemon rind, fresh tagliatelle with ricotta, mint and figs or macaroni cheese with porcini mushrooms
Vegetarian
