Nigel Greening, proprietor of Felton Road vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand, vinous oracle, indefatigable gourmand and a true Wandering Palate gives a most fascinating account of ‘wandering’ in Burgundy. Read More >

Pinot noir enthusiasts the world over hardly need any convincing that Felton Road make extraordinarily good, arguably great pinot noir, however that does not mean I can’t have my say as well. Read More >

Highlighting Felton Road as my Biodynamic Vigneron of the Lunar Year (Rabbit) encompasses acknowledging the hard toil of Felton Road viticulturist, Gareth King, and winemaker, Blair Walter; their implementation and day-to-day painstaking work in managing an organic vineyard and a property that fully embraces biodynamic principals is commendable with Felton Road the benchmark for New Zealand vignerons. Read More >

Nigel Greening’s infatuation with his vineyards African mountain goat herd goes well beyond keeping the properties weeds and briar under control (negating the use of herbicides) and he is rather partial to roasted goat and goat curry, to which I can attest he has perfected these dishes having enjoyed them in his company on many occasions. Read More >

With picking for the 2013 vintage in Central Otago underway, the most alluring prospect for any pest bird such as Starlings, Sparrows and Indian Blackbirds is a nice ripe, juicy-sweet grape. These nuisance birds peck holes in grapes to drink the juice which exposes the grapes to fungal infection and subsequently the whole bunch is damaged. Read More >

For the uninitiated, this median is The Wandering Palate’s disordered thoughts and utterances; incoherencies, mental wanderings, intoxications, delusions, hallucinations – essentially the wanderings of gastronomic delirium.

My writings are invariably retrospective sometimes occurring months or even years ago, an inherent problem when you have a wandering palate and brain. Still, as Steinbeck said, “A good story needs to be mulled over, sometimes for years.” Read More >

Antipodean Chablis

Are you a Chablis drinker? A chardonnay purist who relishes the ethereal clarity of Chablis; a wine infused with flinty minerality and a saline quality that speaks so loudly of the soils it hails from it’s unmistakable. Then there’s the slippery, silky texture, largely unadulterated by oak, it’s glassy, lubricous, tantalizingly tangy palate invigorated by exhilarating steely acidity, a wine bursting with energy and freshness.

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More Duck Run

In case you have not been following the Duck Run, the Wandering Palate was in Central Otago recently, staying with Nigel Greening, wine Jedi Master and proprietor of Felton Road.

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Expounding on a recurring question, “When dining in a restaurant, do you choose the wine then the food, or the food first then the wine”? Logically, the food would normally come first, assuming one is heading to a restaurant with a particular cuisine or flavour in mind.

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