Peregrine's Pinot Gris serves up some interest that goes beyond New Zealand's most famous white variety. Instead of kiwifruit and gooseberries, savour Pinot Gris' poached pears and red apples. There's some crisp acidity hiding in the back that keeps the palate fresh, with some mealy texture providing a nice mouthfeel.

Cloudy Bay has produced a Sauvignon Blanc of vibrant intensity. The characteristically uplifting aromas of kaffir lime, lemon zest and nectarine, with the floral notes of orange blossom on the nose; A weighty texture of ripe citrus and stone fruit flavours balanced by a minerally-citrus acid backbone with a finish that is crisp and clean on the palate. The wine has elegant line and length; refined, fleshy yet focused and refreshing.

Expressive aromas of feijoa, lemon zest and elderflower fuse beautifully with a palate featuring a mouth-watering fresh acidity and lime and green apple flavours.

You are greeted on the nose with suggestions of bramble and spice, gradually opening up to reveal red and black berry fruits, spice, leather and subtle floral notes.The palate is soft and supple, with cranberries and sweet red berry fruits upon entry. Fine silky tannins entwine a concentrated core of juicy black cherries, dark berry fruits, dried herbs and cocoa before trailing off to a long even finish.

A relatively new name but Dog Point's owners have years of experience in Marlborough and this label is much sought after. This release is beautifully textured rich and delicious.

Straw yellow; varietal ripe apple-led fruit fragrances; dry, well-structured palate sustained by pleasing acidity through to a long-lingering finish. It pairs very well with steamed small crustaceans, spaghetti with clams and grilled zucchini.

Deviation Road Winery produces exciting cool climate wines and this one is a stunner. Partial barrel fermentation has added texture and depth to the sweet floral and pear characters. Silky body, mouth-filling and balanced.

An exotic Middle-Eastern mélange of poached quinces, sticky dates and tree-ripened figs, laced with vanilla bean, cardamom and hints of black licorice. This is a ripe, opulent expression of the pinot gris grape in a voluptuous off-dry style that has considerable concentration and a long, luscious finish. The three clones were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole-bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was cold settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Most of the juice went through a natural indigenous yeast fermentation in old French oak barriques and the balance was fermented in stainless steel tanks using cultured yeast. Towards the end of fermentation all the wine was transferred to stainless steel tanks where the fermentations were stopped, retaining 10 g/l residual sugar. The wine then spent a year on yeast lees (seven months in old barrels and the remaining time in stainless steel tanks) prior to blending and bottling. Kevin Judd is one of Marlboroughs pioneer winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked with the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin was born in England and grew up in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine at Reynella in South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. Subsequently, he became the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the companys first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label, Greywacke, named after New Zealands prolific bedrock. The Name: New Zealand does not have a designated national rock, but if one was ever chosen it would have to be greywacke (pron: grey-wacky). This drab grey stone is found everywhere in New Zealand on the mountains, in the rivers, on the beaches. It consists of layers of hard, muddy grey sandstone alternating with thinner layers of darker mudstone (argillite). Technically the term greywacke refers to the sandstone (wacke is a German name for a type of sandstone), but it is also used as a general term for the entire rock.

Central Otago Pinot's are generally more user-friendly than Burgundy; Rabbit Ranch is very soft fruit-forward style with soft tannins; best enjoyed young.