Wine of the Month

Ata Rangi, whose first vines were planted in 1980 by founder Clive Paton, produce award winning wines from their certified organic vineyards. Passionate winemaker Helen Masters, regarded as one of New Zealand’s best, has been with Ata Rangi since 2003 and was awarded Gourmet Traveller Wine NZ Winemaker of the Year in 2019. Helen’s hands-off approach to winemaking mean the wines speak of the sites from which they came, some with vines more than thirty years of age.

The fruit is handpicked, whole bunch pressed and fermented in a combination of stainless steel and large format neutral oak barrels using indigenous yeasts. This Pinot Gris spends several months on lees to develop texture and complexity in the wine, a method widely used in Alsace.

I could drink this wine every day. Intense aromas of ripe pear, apple, camomile, and gingery spice. A dry wine with delightful white fleshed stone fruits, nashi pear and citrus notes on the soft round palate. The long, lingering finish is filled with crushed stone minerality and cleansing crisp acidity.