Black Grape

I remember back in secondary school (bout 10 years ago) Black Grape was some UK music group. Today, I suddenly realise that it referred to Pinot Noir, the black grape used for making some brilliant wines. So my family (my dad and uncle's families) have been sampling the white and red elixirs for some time, and I have "graduated" from coca cola to join them.

So why the suddenly realisation of some UK band's name being related to wine? Well it was my grandma's birthday. So as with any dinner/celebration, there would surely be wine. Now I haven't had too many wines. Our family has largely stuck to cabernet, shiraz, merlot, brunello but somehow never pinot noir! My cousin brought over a bottle of New Zealand pinot noir today, and apparently New Zealand has managed to produce some rather good pinot noirs, when it is normally a notoriously difficult grape and only the Burgundy region in France can manage the best out of it. It was a Te Kairanga Pinot Noir 2001 Reserve. It was just so different from all the other wines I've ever tasted.

Everything else just seems rather straighforward and normal. That wine was like some super complex thing, with a berry taste in general but something in it I could never quite put my finger on. The smell was just so... different, pungent almost. It was easy to drink, really light and clear color. It had a slight hint of a bubbly feeling to it and kinda felt, to me anyway, like a incredibly amazing berry soda. Without bubbles. So yea it was good. Looking forward to more Pinot Noir.