On Tour

Man O’ War.....Fear God and Dreadnought.

2011-07-24T19:27:00.001-07:00

Man O’ War Vineyards, located on the eastern end of Waiheke Island, strikes Gold again and pulls in the coveted Trophy for Best New Zealand Syrah in the prestigious International Wine Challenge 2011.

Only 4 Golds were awarded in this category, crowning Dreadnought as both Best New Zealand and Best Waiheke Syrah. The judges’ notes, “Opaque, vinous and meaty on the nose, ripe fruit with violet, floral intensity on the palate. Delightful purity of fruit with juicy flavours, the tannins are fine and quite fresh on the finish” clearly differentiated Dreadnought from the competition, to achieve the sought after Trophy.

Chris Ashton, IWC Event Director says: “A Trophy award is a true sign of exceptional excellence. With Gold medals already under their belts, these wines really represent the best of a country or a particular wine region, or of a specific grape variety.” The formidable judging panel is made up of the IWC Co-Chairmen - Tim Atkin MW, Sam Harrop MW, Charles Metcalfe and Derek Smedley MW and global wine expert and TV personality Oz Clarke.
Man O’ War winemaker, Duncan McTavish, commented “We are really proud and humbled that our Dreadnought Syrah has received such a prestigious award, we’re thrilled that our wines are gaining recognition from some of the world’s finest wine commentators”.

Dreadnought Syrah takes its name from the class of battleships known for their combination of size, speed and immense power; the motto on board was “Fear God and Dreadnought”. The wine was born from an initial tiny planting of experimental vines. From these vines the Man O’ War team saw great potential in the Northern Rhone variety and pushed forward in the pursuit to create wines that may someday challenge the most respected wines of the world. The new pockets of vineyards that now overlook the magnificent Hauraki Gulf and were inspired from such humble beginnings are now home to arguably the steepest and most picturesque vineyards imaginable and provide the raw materials from which this fine wine is created.

The International Wine Challenge, now in its 28th year, is probably the world’s largest wine tasting. Man O’ War’s Vineyard Manager, Matt Allen said, “The vision when we established Man O’ War Vineyards was founded on the firm belief that world class wines could be produced here. Over time, we have worked together with this unique terroir building knowledge and an understanding of the commitment required in hand tending our vines and ultimately craft wines of unique and distinctive personality. The numerous small and challenging hillside vineyards pose great difficulty but the resulting wines and such recognition from the most well respected palates provides great energy as we look to build further on the recent success.”

Other significant international awards this year include: Man O’ War Valhalla 2009 GOLD at the International Wine Challenge 2011 with Man O’ War Ironclad 2009 scooping in SILVER. Man O’ War Gravestone SILVER at the Decanter Wine Awards 2011 and Man O’ War Dreadnought 2008 won GOLD at the Imbibe Sommelier Awards 2011.

Man O' War Vineyards – Judged by the company they keep!

2011-05-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Located on the eastern end of Waiheke Island, the 100% family owned Man O’ War estate was acquired with a desire to protect this pristine and beautiful spread of coastal hillsides and a firm belief that world class wines could be produced here. This dream has become a reality with the successful launch of Man O’ War in 23 countries and a bounty of international accolades all achieved in the last 2 years!

Hot off the press and the international accolades are still flooding in! From London, Man O’ War Dreadnought 2009 and Man O’ War Valhalla 2009 have both won GOLD at the International Wine Challenge 2011 with Man O’ War Ironclad 2009 scooping in SILVER. Man O’ War Gravestone has won SILVER at the Decanter Wine Awards 2011 and Man O’ War Dreadnought 2008 has also won GOLD at the Imbibe Sommelier Awards 2011.

To develop the international market, the Man O’ War team set their sights on key focus markets including UK & Ireland, USA & Canada, Australia, Middle East and Hong Kong & Singapore. Man O’ War wines may now be found in some of the most prestigious places in the world reflecting the quality and high esteem the brand has achieved. As the saying “you can judge a person by the company they keep”

When in London, you will find Man O’ War available in The Savoy, Harrods (Exiled has just been listed as one of their choices of top Pinot Gris from around the world), Chez Bruce and also dining in style with kiwi legends such as Peter Gordon at the Providores and Anna Hansen at Modern Pantry.

A trip to New York and for a break in the shopping you will find Man O’ War in the Waldorf Astoria and Soho Club. "Man O' War consistently over-delivers, vintage after vintage. The Sauvignon Blanc has been a very successful addition to our 'by the glass' program” raves Frank Caiafa, Beverage Manager of Peacock Alley, Waldorf Astoria.

The expanding Middle East market has Man O’ War in the Dubai Duty Free and luxury hotels such as the Chedi in Muscat, Oman.

International restaurants around the world such as Zuma and Roka will also provide you with some Waiheke Island haven – the most stunning of which just has to be the panoramic city views of Singapore from roof top of the Ku Dé Ta.

Just across the ditch and you’ll find Man O’ War wines listed in Gordon Ramsay’s Maze and the Momo restaurants in Melbourne, Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill, Gazebo Wine Garden Group, Matt Moran’s Aria and the ever famous Opera Bar in Sydney.

Bronwyn Skuse, Man O’ War Sales Manager USA, Canada & Australia, commented, “We launched Man O’ War in North America in the midst of a recession and we have been absolutely embraced by the On Premise trade. To represent a winery that has such a passionate team, a solid portfolio of wines that speak for themselves and a vision to produce nothing but the best – is exceptional”.

But let’s not forget our own back yard; Man O’ War is also growing in success here in New Zealand with a huge following from the on-premise trade with top restaurants such as French Cafe, Clooney, O’Connell Street, Logan Brown, as well as off-premise outlets such as Caros, Fine Wine Delivery Company, The Village Winery and First Glass.

Increasing the ‘value-add’ of the brand, Man O’ War has also teamed up kiwi designer brand WORLD, supporting them at the New Zealand Fashion Week last year and now offering exclusive promotions with the Crowne Plaza Auckland and Intercontinental in Wellington.

Sara Fogarty, Man O’ War Sales & Marketing Manager added, “None of this success could be achieved without the exceptional quality wine produced by our talented vineyard team. In an increasingly competitive environment, it is a challenge to get initial contact and then share of mind from top establishments; however the numerous accolades and awards enable us to be taken as a serious, quality proposition. The wine then sells itself!”

The accolades are attributed from international wine gurus such as Tim Atkin MW, Oz Clarke, Neal Martin, Jamie Goode, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Nick Stock, Bob Campbell MW, Jane Skilton MW and Michael Cooper who have all rated Man O’ War wines highly. One particular gem is the Ponui Island Pinot Gris which in recent weeks has achieved 5 stars & Top 5 – Top Medium Pinot Gris, Cuisine NZ Pinot Gris Tasting 2010, Issue 145, March 2011, 93 POINTS & 5 Stars, Bob Campbell MW, January 2011, 5 Stars Michael Cooper, 2nd April 2011.
It is fair to say that the original vision is well on its way to being achieved with the enormous dedication and passion from the Man O’ War team, creating a worldwide stamp for Waiheke Island wine.

Man O’ War Teams up with The Wine Guru in Singapore

2011-05-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

Man O' War Vineyards announce a new distribution in Singapore with Wine Guru, effective 3rd May 2011. Wine Guru, who specialise in wines from Australia and New Zealand, will be adding Man O’ War to an impressive portfolio which includes Seresin, Vidal, Neudorf, Prophet’s Rock and No1 Family Estate.

Launched in April 2008 in response to the rapidly growing wine market in Singapore, Wine Guru offers a variety of services from wholesale and retail through to Duty Free, Fine Wine and Events.

Sara Fogarty, Man O’ War Sales and Marketing Manager commented, “Singapore is a very important market for us and Man O’ War have established a significant presence with some amazing achievements, such as our latest listing on the panoramic city roof top bar of the notorious Ku Dé Ta. We are thrilled to be associated with such an illustrious company as Wine Guru, and are looking forward to building on this momentum and growing our businesses together”.

Tristan Grieveson, Wine Guru’s “Business Guru” said, “We are delighted that Man O’ War has chosen The Wine Guru to represent their wonderful wines in Singapore. Our objective is to develop bridge of trust between the winemaker, the wine stockist and the consumer and enhance the reputation of the wine wherever it is seen and enjoyed.”

Jo Dorai, “Sales Guru”, added, “Man O’ War complements our carefully selected portfolio of New Zealand brands perfectly, and we will place their wines with the care and consideration its quality demands.”

For any queries regarding Singapore, please contact Jo Dorai or Tristan Grieveson at Wine Guru Pte Ltd, for Hong Kong Distribution, please contact Sara Fogarty directly.

Man O’ War Vineyards is found at the eastern end of Waiheke Island in Auckland’s pristine Hauraki Gulf. The vineyards are a stunning spread of coastal hillsides — 150 acres of vines spread over 90 individual parcels selected specifically for their terroir and microclimate. It’s this attention to detail that creates such individual wines.

The Modern Pantry and Man O' War

2011-03-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Man O' War and Eurovintage Trade Day 2011 !

2011-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

We decided this year that the annual Man O’ War Trade Day would have a 6’s & 7’s cricket theme and 120 eager people joined the Man O’ War and Eurovintage crew for a day of fun in the sun!

We welcomed some international guests, Mariyana Radylova from Oxo Tower / Harvey Nicholls in London and Zoe Lawrence, blogger from UK www.bythebottle.co.uk, plus some “Ponsonby South” guests from Wellington, Hamilton and Cambridge!

The trip started with incredible excitement as two Orca whales joined us in Auckland Harbour! As we left Auckland in summer showers, passing the gorgeous islands in the Hauraki Gulf, we were welcomed by three dolphins as we motored past the sunny cliffside vineyards of Man O’ War – gasps all round again!

Matt, MOW Vineyard Manager, and Duncan, MOW Winemaker, greeted us as we arrived at the stunning Man O’ War Bay and docked at the jetty – a new take on Fantasy Island’s “The plane, the plane”! As all the guests made their way through the bush lined track, a beautiful sight was unfolded – a cricket pitch lined with MOW wine, MOW olive oil and all-day pizza marquees!

Those joining in the cricket matches were divided into teams affectionately named ‘Burbs’, ‘City’ and ‘Ponsonby’. After the rules were explained by Matt (Google them if you don’t know!) the battle commenced to win the very shiny ‘Man O’ War 6’s & 7’s Trophy’. Some great, mediocre and also rather amusing cricket unfolded. Some took it very seriously (arriving at the pier in Auckland with their own bat, in fairness, his team did win) and others were fairly laid back! Added incentive was that MOW and Eurovintage would donate $1 per run and $50 per six scored for the Christchurch Mayoral Fund – this totalled $6,900 by the end of the day!

Between games and during the 29 degree warmth (we really do have a micro climate here!), guests mellowed out to sounds by George FM & Clarke Gayford, made their way to the beach and relaxed, swam or even flew – check out the flying kiwi!

City emerged as the victors and then prepared to face the MOW team. We had a surprise up our sleeves – Black Cap Adam Parore and rugby’s Mathew Ridge. So OK, we beat the City team, but as we did have a bit of an advantage we handed over the trophy to the winning team – celebrating in our own way!

Fabulous day and fabulous people who all joined in with the fun and many friendships were made. The trip back to Auckland was filled with smiles, laughter and those fabulous ‘Titanic’ bow impressions.

Two days of recuperation and today we have just started the 2011 vintage bringing in our Sauvignon Blanc from 4 vineyards- Sidewinder, Root Rake North, North Basin and South 3!

Thanks to all who joined us for the day and also for your support of Man O’ War – roll on next year!

Highlight photos below, please see Facebook for all the photos.

Crystal Cruisers visit to Man O' War

2011-02-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Crystal Serenity cruise liner parks outside the Hilton Hotel in Auckland, at 9am Man O' War collects the beverage team to embark on a day of tasting and fun at Man O' War on Waiheke Island. The Crystal Serenity is one of a fleet of four cruise liners from Crystal Cruises, key trade partners and avid Man O' War fans, all guests on the Crystal Serenity get to enjoy Man O' War wine!

WORLD visits Man O' War

2011-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

After a fabulous showing with WORLD at New Zealand Fashion Week 2010, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the Personalized Wine Tour & Lunch with Man O’ War & WORLD at Man O’ War Bay.

The group headed over to Man O’ War Bay by boat on the 8th Feb 2011 and enjoyed a tour of the vineyards with Matt Allen, Vineyard Manager and then wine tasting with Man O’ War Winemaker, Duncan McTavish. Lunch was at the stunning Man O’ War Cellar Door on Man O’ War Bay.

Pictures below from the great day, also visit our Facebook page for more. Facebook - Man O' War Vineyards.

Three reasons why Auckland is more than a Jet Lag Cure

2011-01-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

Recently we were quoted in the Canada free press website as one of the reasons why Auckland is more than a Jet Lag Cure ;

"The Auckland region is known for its wine and is home to some of New Zealand’s oldest established vineyards. In fact, just a short 40-minute ferry or water taxi ride from the city’s harbour is Waiheke Island, which boasts about 100 wineries. Quaint and beautiful, Waiheke Island is home to a range of boutique wineries that produce unique, high-quality wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc grape varieties. Some of the more well-known vineyards include Kennedy Point, Mudbrick and Man O’ War. Waiheke Island is also known for its olive oil and the island has a range of artists who sell their work at local shops and boutiques throughout the community."

For further reading
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-travel/32579

Masterclasses in Melbourne and Sydney 2011

2011-01-23T16:40:00.001-08:00

Working Lunch @ SPQR !

2011-01-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

This summer at Degree in Auckland's Viaduct ....

2010-12-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

Head down to Degree for an afternoon of Man O' War wines and delicious treats from the menu !

Waiheke Trade Day Dec 2010

2010-12-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic day on the island, the fabulous and wonderful stars of Waiheke came out to the cellar door for an afternoon of tastings of Man O' War's new releases and a delicious lunch ! Thank you those who came and we hope you loved our new vintages !

The Isle of Wine - NZ Herald 8.12.10

2010-12-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Check out the latest review on Man O' War Vineyards & Waiheke Island by Jo Burzynska, NZ Herald, Viva Magazine. Click here to see pictures from the Man O' War Cellar Door Launch day.

A&M industry lunch with Man O' War !

2010-12-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Barworks visit Man O' War Vineyards December 2010 !

2010-12-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

On the first day of summer, 1 December 2010 , the Man O' War team invited the Barworks crew to come along to Waiheke Island for the day. We gathered at the ferry terminal , hopped on and cruised on to Waiheke. We visited some of our vineyards with Matt Allen, our vineyard manager who shared his knowledge and wisdom. We made our way to the cellar door where Matt ran us through a tasting of our current and new releases accompanied by a delicious lunch! Man O' War would like to thank those who came along for the day and we hope everyone had a great time.

Exiled Pinot Gris 2010 world release

2010-12-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

The latest release from the Man O' War Flagship range: EXILED Ponui Island Pinot Gris 2010 has its world launch at Clooney Restaurant in Auckland today.

Officially not released until early next year, there are only 56 cases available in New Zealand.

Named in tribute to Napoleon’s final place of exile where he was banished after his defeat at Waterloo. Exiled is awarded to our most prized Pinot Gris, made exclusively from the St Helena clone grown on our Ponui Island vineyards.

This, the first vintage of Exiled displays intense spice characteristic of ripe Pinot Gris ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg with hints of citrus and floral notes. On the palate it’s natural sweetness is balanced with an outstanding minerality and freshness with a grapefruit finish lending length and persistence.

The 2010 vintage on Ponui Island was exceptional, very ripe clean fruit was hand harvested and transported across the water for processing at the winery. The grapes were whole bunch pressed and the must settled crystal clear before racking off solids. The juice was fermented with cultured yeast until the ferment stopped naturally at the perfect balance.

Already Exiled has launched with to a great start, Jane Skilton MW reviewed this wine last weekend in the Hearld on Sunday, giving it 4 ½ Stars, "this premium pinot gris is a fine grape expression; gently aromatic with lovely depth. A touch of sweetness, balanced by succulent acidity."

Media Lunch 16th November 2010

2010-11-23T16:08:00.000-08:00

On the 16th of November 2010, Man O' War Vineyards invited our special friends in media along for a tour/tasting/lunch at Man O' War Bay ! The weather conditions were perfect and not a thing could go wrong! Thank you to our wonderful guests who came along and making the day a successful one. Also a special thanks to Jac for making such a delicious lunch for us all - oysters, seared beef, salads, Man O' War olive oil and bread - all local Waiheke produce !

A few great reasons to visit Waiheke Island

2010-11-22T11:23:00.001-08:00

Man O' War Syrah 2008 - Best Wines of 2010 by www.food&wine.com !

2010-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Food and Wine editors vote their most memorable wines tasted this year! Megan Krigbaum - Associate Wine Editor quotes on Man O' War Syrah 2008 "My moneys on New Zealand as the next go-to spot for exquisite Syrah, like this luscious, peppery bottling from Waiheke island"

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/best-wines-of-2010

Silver for Man O' War Sauvignon Blanc 2009- best matched with Dim Sim @ Hong Kong International Wine Comp !

2010-11-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

Silver for Man O' War Merlot Cabernet Franc 2008 - best matched with Pecking Duck @ Hong Kong International Wine Comp ! Give it a try!

2010-11-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

Silver Medal for Man O War Sauvignon Blanc 2009 matched with Sashimi @ Hong Kong International Wine Competition !

2010-11-09T14:58:00.001-08:00

92 points for Ironclad 08 in Tidings Magazine Nov 2010

2010-11-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Duncan features in Vancouver Magazine November 2010

2010-11-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Silver Medals for Man O' War Wines @ San Francisco International Wine Competition!

2010-11-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Man O' War recently participated in the San Francisco International Wine Competition and achieved great results! The competition was fierce with 1290 wineries participating from 27 countries. Man O' War Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and Man O' War Pinot Gris 2009 were awarded with Silver medals. Click on the link to read more http://www.sfwinecomp.com/

Man O' War Wine Dinner @ Providores

2010-11-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-g7B75AvN4

Express Magazine Reviews Man O' War Merlot Cabernet Franc 2008 !

2010-10-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Ann Robinson exhibition @ FHE Galleries

2010-10-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

Check out the website for further details www.fhegalleries.com

MOW, EuroVintage, Glengarry fishing trip Oct 2010 !

2010-10-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

The weather was not in our favour but the crew were eager to make the most of the day!

Some of us could even multi task- sipping while fishing !

And some... were happy to catch the fish but did'nt want to go near them!

Only three fish were caught on the day but the great crew, food and plenty of wine made up for the lack of catches!

Thanks to EuroVintage and Glengarry's and Bryan for making the day an enjoyable one!

Exclusive invitation to the New Zealand Wine Fair Singapore 2010

2010-10-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

NZ WINE FAIR SINGAPORE 2010

Monday 18th October 2010 @ Bugis Grand Ballroom, Intercontinental Hotel, Singapore.

Singapore's annual tasting of New Zealand wine returns - bigger and brighter than ever before!

This year Man O' War Ironclad 2008 is part of the 190 wines being tasted from leading 50 wineries in the country!

Man O' War & Soho Club - Wine Club Event !

2010-09-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Fabulous Fabulous Fabulous !

2010-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to WORLD for a fantastic show! High tea was divine just as the runway was!

Fashion Week 2010 !

2010-09-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Man O' War is proud to sponsor WORLD fashion show 2010 !!

Man O' War @ The Providores Pop Up New Zealand Wine Dinner

2010-09-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

NZ First XV food and wine promotion!

2010-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

To mark "One Year To Go" till the Rugby World Cup, Sydney is being overtaken by NZ from 1 September till the 30th with the NZ First XV food and wine promotion!

15 of Sydney's top restaurants have been specially hand picked to showcase the bounty of New Zealands finest produce with the very best drops of our internationally acclaimed wines.

Man O' War's very own Merlot Cabernet Franc 2008 from Waiheke Island has been selected to work with Sydney's favourite French bistro, Tabou ! The selected dish and wine match as below : www.jenius.com.au/nzfirstxv/restaurants/

O’Brien’s and Man O’ War Wines commence new partnership in Ireland

2010-09-12T03:38:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War Wines has established a partnership with the prestigious O’Brien’s, Ireland’s largest family owned drinks retailer. Man O’ War will be the first Waiheke Island wine, joining O’Brien’s select New Zealand portfolio.

O’Brien’s, renowned for its staff’s knowledge and training of quality wine, will be hosting Man O’ War’s Winemaker, Duncan McTavish, and Sales & Marketing Manager, Sara Fogarty, at some of their Dublin stores during late September. “With both of us being family owned we share many attributes, with individuality and quality being the focus. We are delighted to join O’Brien’s excellent portfolio of outstanding wines and are looking forward to sharing our unique wines with Ireland”, says Sara.

“With New Zealand wines at the front of our customers minds I am thrilled that we are able to introduce diversity to our portfolio with these award winning wines from this little known region of New Zealand.” says Lynne Coyle, Head Wine Buyer and Development for O’Brien’s.

Man O’ War derives its name from the spectacular bay that Captain James Cook anchored off in 1769. Upon sighting the ancient stands of magnificent Kauri trees covering the surrounding coastline, Cook noted that they would make ideal spars for the warships of the Royal Navy.
Today, the 100% estate grown and family owned Man O’ War Vineyards is known for its award winning wines (Double Gold for Man O’ War Dreadnought 2008 from Decanter & International Wine Challenge 2010) which are individually named to reflect the history and exceptional sense of the place.

Located on a stunning coastal site at the eastern end of Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, the vineyards are made up of 90 individual parcels selected specifically for their unique terroir.

The Man O’ War wines, available in O’Brien’s from October, will include Ironclad 2008, Dreadnought 2008, Valhalla 2009, Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Man O’ War Merlot Cabernet Franc 2008 and Man O’ War Chardonnay 2008. All these wines are featured on the Man O’ War website: http://www.manowarvineyards.co.nz/

To find out how to join the wine tasting events, please check O’Brien’s web and blog site: www.wine.ie http://blog.obrienswine.ie/ or +353 1 269 3139

For more information, tasting notes or photography please contact:
Sara Fogarty, Sales & Marketing Manager, Man O’ War Vineyards
Tel: +64 21 871 734 sara@manowarvineyards.co.nz

Lynne Coyle, Head of Wine Buying and Development, O’Briens Wines
Tel: +353 1 269 3139 lcoyle@obrienswines.ie www.wine.ie

Man O' War Wine Dinner with Matt Allen at Suze in Mayfair London

2010-09-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Only a few tickets left, contact Joe @ Suze in Mayfair to reserve your seat.

Man O’ War Crew celebrate end of financial!

2010-07-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

Rustle me up a Shetland Pony will you?

2010-07-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War recently arrived in the Shetlands from Norway on leg two of this summer’s quest to navigate the North West Passage with a couple of requests to bring a Shetland Pony or two back to NZ.

Despite being pretty sure that we didn’t really want to abscond anywhere with a miniature Pony, we thought what the hell and went off in search of a couple of stray ones to bring home. Having snuck up on a pretty suitable looking candidate for potential relocation to fairer climes we were unfortunately foiled at the last minute by the arrival of the Shetland Islands Search and Rescue chopper and had to beat a hasty retreat back to the boat. Leaving afore mentioned miniature pony behind, dammit!

Luckily our escape was covered by a fog bank rolling in from the North Sea and as such we figured we had covered our tracks and made our escape pretty well. And that we thought was pretty much that, and would be the last we would hear of this unfortunate incident.

So the next day in glorious sunshine and in good spirit and clear conscience we left the Shetlands enroute to the Faroe Islands our next port of call.

But no further than a couple of miles off shore we heard the ominous beats of a chopper in hot pursuit. Sure enough the Search and Rescuse chopper had tracked us down and in no time were swinging an officer on board in an epically well executed maneuver.

After a quick look around and satisfied that there were no illicit Ponies on board the office bade us a friendly farewell, happily accompanied with a couple of bottles of Man O’ War’s finest drop for his troubles. All’s well that ends well!

The Eden Park Ambush

2010-07-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

I have so much wanted to write something sooner but alas my third job of amateur sports journalist falls far behind that of my first and second, Dad and Vineyard manager. Slightly off topic for our wine blog but we love everything kiwi and none more so than our world famous All Blacks.

But what a test match last Saturday night; who would have expected the All Blacks to come out and drill the Springbok’s in such devastating fashion. This wasn’t Champagne rugby; this was single malt from a brown paper bag stuff, take a swig and get back to the front line with your mates and smash ‘em again.

For the last few days I’ve been running parts of the match back through in my head with so many highlights. Like Mill’s Muliaina roaring up the middle of the pitch like he had been shot out of a canon. Richie McCaw at his devastating best, scavenging the pill at every opportunity and leading from the front like so many great All Black captains have in the past. Owen Franks at tight head was a mirror of the great Ollo Brown, his perfect technique ensuring his pack behind him was only ever going to go forward. And surely this was Tom Donnelly’s finest 80 minutes to date. The list could go on for all 15.......

And what about Jimmy Cowan, finally he has learned to control himself and has now gone from the nigglee to the niggler. His little shirt pull on Bakkies Botha lowering the man to a cowardly head-butt and in doing so got himself a flight home in time to watch the football world cup final in his home town.

The mighty Springbok’s had no answer to the pace, passion and aggression of the All Black ambush. The predictable aerial attack didn’t work, their fail safe lineout followed by energy sapping rolling mauls didn’t either, and there was no plan B. There was an arrogance about the Springbok’s that they only had to lace up their boots to win; not on our patch fella’s, not at Eden Park.

I was watching the match from the comfort of my lounge; a couple of times I found myself standing on the sofa doing Tiger like fist pumps to the bewilderment of my 7 year old daughter who was allowed to stay up and watch the whole match for the first time. I hope the sight of her father acting like he had just scored the four tries on the hollowed turf hasn’t embarrassed her so much she won’t want to stay up with me again.

I had a phone call shortly after the match from a very good friend of mine who had taken his boys to their very first test match (A truly memorable moment for all the fathers and sons that have done this for over 100 years). Highlighting the atmosphere at the ground he reported that midway through the second half his 6 year old was slapping the backs of grown men in the seats in front in a fashion traditionally reserved for seasoned veterans. Priceless.

A sobering word of warning however; we need to lock that game up now and get feet very much back on terra firma. The Bok’s will be hurting; they will only need to replay their own faces walking off Eden Park last week to draw motivation. Their battered bodies will be healing and their think tank planning.

Wellington is going to be epic.
Matt.

The quest for the North West Passage begins

2010-07-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War has begun our mission to conquer the NW Passage this Northern Summer. We have a hold full of Man O’ War wine, our wooly hats and various armaments to fend off Polar Bears or whatever else might take a fancy to us. Unfortunately due to a logistical error (note to self…probably should of put it on the boat rather than put an outboard on it) our trusty Hi-Lux couldn’t make it so we can’t retrace the tyre tracks of those intrepid Arctic explorers Clarkson and May and drive to the North Pole…next time perhaps. Currently we are in Norway on the first leg of this adventure which will take us to the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, around the top of Canada (as close to the North Pole as global warming will allow) to Alaska, down the coast of British Columbia to Seattle, where all going well we will catch up with Dunc and Bronny who will be presenting Man O’ War to the Washington State market with Andy from Young’s Columbia.

Kicking off in Norway we took the chance to go ashore and visit the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo on a great Scandinavian summer’s day. Our great friend Glen guided us through the Museum to see three of world’s best preserved wooden Viking Longships. The most fearsome “Man O’ Wars” of their time. One of the ships, the Oseberg, was built in the early part of the 9th Century and was used as a sailing vessel for many years before it was used a burial ship for a woman of high rank who died in 834 AD. As was traditional she was placed in the burial chamber in the aft section of the ship along with her most valuable possessions and the body of another women for a bit of company in the afterlife, who was in all likelihood a servant who had been sacrificed to join her boss in the afterlife. How do you sign up for that in your employment contract?!?!?

Glen explained that the Oseberg ship was excavated next to the town of Tonsberg in 1905, and as a proud resident of Tonsberg (an awesome little town at the opening of the Oslo Fiord) he felt it should have been put in a museum there. So that night while having a bit of a debrief and after a couple of glasses of Man O’ War Valhalla Chardonnay with Glen (one of the greatest white wines in the world according to him) and his lovely wife Marit, we formulated all sorts of cunning plans to return the Oseberg ship to Tonsberg at a yet to be determined future date……watch this space for futher details!

The Man O' War Forward Pack

2010-07-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Just back from a mornings fishing on a stunning Waiheke day and starting to get fired up for the All Blacks VS Springboks rugby test match tonight at Eden Park.

With dinner sorted (fresh snapper with mussel fritters) very soon I will be pondering over which wine to have with it......unfortunately I won't have to ponder long as my little wee tiny cellar is looking a bit like mother Hubbard's cupboard, but I'm sure I'll find something that will suffice.

Whilst thinking about the wine and rugby I had a stab at putting together what would be my Man O' War forward pack. I'm sure there are plenty of arm chair selectors out there that are going to disagree.....great, let me hear it and have a crack yourself.

At,
1. Loose Head Prop - Man O' War Syrah - Youthful and full of energy yet with unexpected power when the heat comes on.

2. Hooker - Man O' War Chardonnay - Proven and reliable. Not a risk taker but solid.

3. Tight Head Prop - Ironclad - Grunty, Grizzly and The Rock. Masses of power worn proudly on the sleeve.

4. Lock (loose head side) - Man O' War Bordeaux Blend - Ballsy, Up front and with a schoolboy like charm, in your face. A worker but with flare.

5. Lock (tight head side) - Valhalla - Dependable, solidifies the whole scrum, tireless workhorse and your "go to" man.

6. Blind Side Flanker - Pinot Gris - A bit "out there", no time for self preservation. What you see is what you get and always delivers.

7. Open Side Flanker - Man O' War Sauvignon Blanc - Zippy, racy, always first to the breakdown and BBQ. Usually a bit sweaty.

8. Number 8 - Dreadnought - Power off the back of the scrum, but this isn't just a place for mussel. Intelligence required.

So there it is, the Man O' War Vineyards Forward Pack of 2010, my version anyway, whats yours?

Enjoy the game tonight and the rest of the tri-nations.
Matt.

Double GOLD for Man O’ War Dreadnought 2008 from Decanter Wine Awards & International Wine Challenge 2010

2010-06-08T01:50:00.000-07:00

Dreadnought Syrah, one of Man O’ War’s flagship wines, has received GOLD in two of the world’s most prestigious wine competitions, ‘Decanter Wine Awards’ and the ‘International Wine Challenge’. To add further kudos to this achievement, only 5 New Zealand wineries received Gold in both awards and Man O’ War Dreadnought was the only Waiheke wine to receive Gold in both.

Increasingly competitive, both competitions hit record numbers this year. The International Wine Challenge received submissions from 46 wine producing countries whilst Decanter hit 10,983 entries, sealing its position as the world’s biggest international wine competition, with only 2.8% of wines winning a coveted Gold or Regional Trophy!

Man O’ War’s vineyard manager Matt Allen says, “The whole team is on a real high following the results and its great reward for everyone involved, knowing firsthand the hard yards required for such recognition.

2008 was a truly amazing vintage to be a part of and the awards are further endorsement that wines produced from little old Waiheke can stand proud on a world stage.”

The Best Yet

2010-05-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Given it's been nearly a month since anyone updated our blog ( a sure sign that it's been a busy time for us) I thought I would. I guess out of all of us I have no excuse not to, now that harvest is a distant memory and Bronwyn and Sara are doing their thing on each side of the Atlantic. Duncan can be excused as he's pressing off the last of the 2010 harvest today so we'll have a hard job getting a) the smile off his face b) his bum on his office chair and c) later the Heiny out of his hand.

If the truth be known, as stunningly gorgeous as Bronwyn is, I was kind of getting over the photo of her from her previous blog so wanted to push it down the page a bit and replace it with....I don't know....maybe some awesome grapes!That's better.

Since harvest I have managed to reintroduce myself back to my family, even took them on a wee holiday around the North Island last week. Gracie now holds the new Allen family record of ice cream consumption in a given week and Brooklyn should have won an Oscar for the way that she covered up for putting the hole in the hotel wall in Rotorua. I have also managed to stop talking to people in grunts and haven't spat wine out on the kitchen floor forgetting I'm not at the winery for at least two weeks now.

I suppose my role here is to comment on the 2010 harvest...not much to report really other than the fact that it was BLOODY AWESOME. Big B will accuse me of turning into a wanky winemaker here who tend to get a bit excited and speak only in adjectives but words like, ripe, concentrated, clean, tannic, rich, balanced and delicious role off the tongue with relative ease. It truly was a spectacular vintage, the best I have ever been involved with.

But shit it was dry! Not that I would ever dream of whinging about dry weather over harvest but 6 months, yes 6 months, without any significant precipitation had all the cockies in the area looking skyward and scratching the tops of their heads through their oilskin hats the way that only farmers can. Check this photo of Ponui Island out and you'll see what I mean.

Not that it's never been dry here before, in fact more often than not it is over summer but this one will go down in the history books. If you think that the northern hemisphere has problems at the moment with ash clouds, give some thought to the pilots flying into Auckland International who were redirected out of our dust clouds made from trucks heading to the winery for two months. Twice I also had to kick rabbits off the bonnet of my ute as they were licking dew off my windsceen.

Harvest itself went really well and without any major incidents....didn't even have anyone throw any toys out of the cot at any stage which was a first. Everyone really pulled it together and worked brilliantly as a team alongside our contractors who worked equally as well.

In Man O' War tradition the harvest party took place this year at Casita Miro and in keeping with the theme of the venue the dress this year was Spanish.....there was some Zorro action a few flamenco dancers, a Spanish soccer striker, Seve Bellesteros and Freddy Mercury amongst others (what the hell Freddy's got to do with Spain I don't know but he got my vote for best dressed). A great night had.

So now that the parties over, and as I look out the window so is the drought, must be sure sign it's time to get the secateurs out for the pruning season. We need to get started soon as the 2011 vintage is due to hit the shed in 38 weeks.

Salud,

Matt.

Interview with Bronwyn Skuse

2010-04-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

Sales & Events Manager Man O’ War Vineyards Waiheke Island in New Zealand

What is your favorite savoury food paired with your Dreadnought Syrah’08 wine? New Zealand Beef Stew

What is your favorite savoury food paired with your Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc wine ? The local Waiheke Island oysters www.tematukubayoysters.co.nz which are the best Oysters ever.

What is your favorite dessert paired with your Ponui Island Pinot Gris 2009 wine? A classic New Zealand Pavlova or my mum’s apply pie with a glass of Man O’ War Valhalla Chardonnay.

Which are your favorite wine festivals in the world? And why? I haven’t been to many and after Vancouver I may change my mind but I love The Kapalua Food and Wine Festival (Maui, Hawaii) – winemakers come from all around the world, local restaurants get involved and there are fabulous seminars with Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers. Fred Dame hosts the festival held at the Ritz Carlton, it’s a magical location, a little like Vancouver!

How long have you been involved in the wine industry? I sort of fell into the wine industry by accident 4 years ago and I’m stuck! I have always been passionate about wine.

What do you most love about the wine industry? What’s not to love…Fabulous food, fabulous wine and fabulous people with incredible stories to tell. It’s the best industry in the world.

How would you describe the New Zealand wine industry? Watch this space…ever evolving, dynamic and exciting.

There are many exciting emerging wine regions, there are many great stories and the industry is heading down the clean and green and sustainable road. Try Sauvignon Blanc from other regions in New Zealand, try a Waiheke Island or Hawkes Bay Bordeaux Blend or Syrah. New Zealand Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris.. we are doing all of these varieties very well!

Where do like to go for wine travel? Why? I love France, I love the French people, the language, the food and of course the wine – French people have such passion. I love to discover new wine regions, last year I went to the Walla Walla wine festival in Washington and met the most fabulous people, and had many wonderful wines! Great restaurants in Walla Walla too!

What is your philosophy on food and wine? Good wine, good food and good people, one is not quite the same without the other.

Any comments you would like to add/make in relation to the state of the wine industry in New Zealand or globally? Yes, be adventurous – New Zealand makes fabulous Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noirs, Riesling and is making a huge splash at the moment with Bordeaux Blends and Syrah.

How did you get involved in the Wine Industry? Living in Sydney, Australia I had a fashion label, decided to study wine, did my sommelier certificate, WSET and was always a foodie eating out often. I ended up launching a boutique winery in Sydney, ended up doing a bit of work for a fine wine distributor in Sydney and things spiraled from there. I joined Man O’ War as the Sales/Export Manager and sold my fashion label last year.

I love working for an incredible emerging wine region like Waiheke Island, I love watching people taste our wines and the look of surprise on their face when they realize we make world class wines there!

By: Richard Wolak

http://tasteandsipmagazine.com/2010/04/24/interview-with-bronwyn-skuse/

Man O' War launches in Asia & attends Ultimate Parker in Asia event

2010-04-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War has been invited to exhibit at the exclusive Ultimate Parker in Asia – an invitation-only event for the world’s best wineries in Singapore, from May 1 to 3.

It’s particularly prestigious because of the star guest, the world’s most influential wine critic, Robert Parker Jr – who is also bringing key critics from The Wine Advocate, which awarded Man O’ War wines very high scores late last year.

Just 100 wineries from around the world have been hand picked to attend the Ultimate Parker in Asia, which involves two days of wine tasting, master classes and a charity dinner hosted by Parker.

“It goes to show that Man O’ War is making a name for itself as a producer of serious fine wine,” says Man O’ War sales and marketing manager Sara Fogarty.

As well as industry tastings, the event is expected to attract between 1500 and 2000 wine enthusiasts from around Asia – an invaluable opportunity to reach a discerning and growing wine market.

Man O’ War will be showcasing its Ironclad Bordeaux Blend 2008, Dreadnought Syrah 2008 and Man O’ War Chardonnay 2008, all of which received very good scores in The Wine Advocate.

This comes just weeks after Man O’ War’s launch in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia with Rubicon Reserve Wines.

“Asia is a really important market for us,” says Sara Fogarty. “Wine drinkers there are passionate about good wine. We want to show them just how good New Zealand and Waiheke wine can be.”

“Man O’ War is showing that New Zealand is not just a one trick Pinot Noir pony,” says David Coleman of Rubicon Reserve Wines. “The production of super premium Bordeaux blends and world class Syrah makes Man O’ War the perfect bookend for Rubicon Reserve Wines extensive New Zealand portfolio.”

THE TIMES, TIM ATKIN MW, 18th March 2010

2010-03-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

In January we were honoured to have Tim Atkin MW visit us at Man O' War with Kieron Galliard from SH Jones. They were making their way around New Zealand wine regions before heading to the Merlot Cabernet & Syrah Symposium's in Hawke's Bay and Pinot Noir 2010 conference in Wellington.

Tim had discovered our Syrahs at the NZ New Release tasting in London held by New Zealand Winegrowers, and selected our Dreadnought Syrah 2008 as one of two New Zealand wines to present in an International line up at the Syrah Symposium, with Craggy Range Le Sol 2007.

We had an amazing tour around the property and a great time together at the conferences. Later this year we will catch up with them both in London, when we are visiting in May / June.

Below is a photo from the visit standing in Madmans vineyard, the home of our Syrah, which Tim has recently reviewed in The Times, 18th March 2010.

2008 Man O’ War Syrah Waiheke Island (£16.99, 14 per cent, Caviste, 01256 770397) I can’t remember the last time I was as impressed by a syrah from outside the Rhône Valley. This comes from Waiheke Island and shows savoury, pepper spice notes, oodles of blackberry fruit and smooth tannins.
http://www.times.com/

http://www.timatkin.com/

Auckland Trade take over Man O’ War Bay

2010-03-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

On Monday 22nd Feb, 85 members from Auckland’s trade, along with our friends at Stolen Girlfriends Club, and winners from a George FM promo, boated, ferried & bussed to Man O’ War Bay for the annual Man O’ War Beach Party. A quick glass of bubbly at Harbourside with the crew from Eurowine set the scene. We jumped on board the Fullers Ferry and headed to Waiheke Island. There was a little dusty ride to Man O’ War were we caught up with Matt at the Anchorage with a glass of Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc 2009.

Matt & Sara took the team on a short walk through the Puriri Vineyards to look out over to Ponui Island. Matt gave the team a great overview of what we get up to out at the Eastern End of Waiheke Island and at Ponui Island. Strolling back with a glass from Ponui Island of Man O’ War Pinot Gris 2009, school work was done and the party started.

As you can see from the photos, many had a swim, a fierce game of cricket & soccer was played on the lawn, 10 lucky people enjoyed seeing Man O' War from the air, Jacki and her crew provided great food all afternoon and of course Man O’ War wines were devoured by all.

The rest of the Man O’ War crew joined in for the afternoon activities and thoroughly loved catching up with our friends form the trade.
Can’t wait for 2011!

Support from Waiheke Island

2010-02-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

Waiheke Wine Centre, one of Man O’ War’s key allies on the Island supports us yet again with one of their fabulous promotions!

Visitors to Man O' War

2010-02-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

Man O’ War has had a smorgasbord of International visitors over the past six months, wine personalities from the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia and the US.
In November Pierre Antoine Dourneau managing director of Soho House, New York City visited the property to get a first hand view of Man O’ War and the wines we produce here, a new addition to the Soho House wine list.

In January Harry Hertscheg from Vancouver, Canada visited Man O’ War. Harry has been at the helm of Canada's premium wine show, The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (VPH) for nine years. In addition to this role he also writes about wine and contributes to a number of magazines including Northwest Palate and Tidings, one of Canada's top wine and food magazines.

Harry was blown away by the property and was a big fan of our Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and both our MOW Chardonnay and Valhalla.
I am very much looking forward to joining Harry in Vancouver for the Vancouver Playhouse Event, of which Man O’ War wines will be featured.

Just last week we hosted Fernando Beteta and his lovely wife Ann, from Chicago USA.
Fernando is currently the Sommelier of award-winning NoMI restaurant of Park Hyatt Chicago. A Master Sommelier and often referred to as a ‘whiz kid’ in regards to wine, Fernando was awarded the title of Best Young Sommelier Midwest in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and took home the National Finals Silver Medal in 2007. In 2006 he received “Rising Star Sommelier” for Chicago from Starchefs.com and was featured in Wine & Spirits magazine’s list of “America’s Best New Sommeliers” following a poll of hundreds of restaurant wine professionals across the US. Fernando is also a contributor to several food and wine magazines.
Fernando’s wine picks for the day were the MOW Syrah and the Dreadnought Syrah, the MOW Merlot Cabernet and the Pinot Gris.

See you soon.

4 1/2 STARS Michael Cooper Listener Magazine 2.01.10

2010-01-02T14:29:00.000-08:00

MAN O' WAR ROSE 2009
Pale red, merlot-based wine, mouthfilling, with deep berry/spice flavours, a vaugue hint of herbs and gentle acidity. Weighty, rich and rounded, this wine is like French rose - a sort of substitute red.

Through The Door.....Part One

2009-12-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

Man O' War's new Cellar Door has only been open for four days and the response to both the concept and the wines has been overwhelming.

With only a week to push the button and make it happen following a nervous wait for our liquor license to arrive on time, the little cabin at Man O' War Bay was duly christened by the staff on Christmas eve ready for opening on Boxing Day. With a "mucking in" type environment the team worked late into the day putting the final touches on her before enjoying a well deserved coldie on her deck......(I am going to post some photo's as soon as I can....Duncan.....please don't be alarmed to see both of your decks from the winery in these photo's...How's Perth anyway?)

We have had a great time showing the public our wines in our own backyard and look forward to introducing more people to the range of wines in the months ahead.

I though I would share a few highlights (and lowlights) of the first days few days...

7 minutes to sell our first bottle....I cheated really; two boaties were lost at Stony Batter earlier in the day and needed a ride back to their boat, I told them only if they visited our Cellar Door and bought wine....we had a deal.

Ironically one of these boaties just happened to be an old boyfriend of Rebecca's who was working the first day with me....go figure!

Brooklyn (7) and Gracie (4 1/2) taking 45 minutes to show Rebecca (50 something) how to put the twin pack boxes together.

Rebecca taking most of the day to show Matt how to operate the till and all of the day how to operate the eftpos.

The lady who offered to drop flyers onto boats in the bay by rowing around and delivering them personally for her own exercise, then rowing back with her husband and buying four bottles for personal consumption (don't worry she got a special deal!) and informing us she'll do it again the next day....goddess!

How about the kid that turned down a lollipop saying he didn't eat lollies...excuse me, I don't get that one, your an 8 year old kid aren't you? What would you prefer, a couple of brussel sprouts?. Lucky Gracie didn't hear that, she would have been permanently scared.

Now boaties....we love you, you have been great support and we have enjoyed your stories, but standing in front of the bar, tasting 7 wines, and on the 8th saying "That was great but I've left my wallet on board" isn't going cut it for long. From now on the staff have been trained to ask to see all wallets before starting the tastings. Cheeky buggers! We now have a Jet Ski on hand to whip you back out to get it.

Dude in the red singlet.....the cabin is small, it's summer, summer means it gets hot occasionally, just like Tuesday was, if you've been fishing all morning and wiping yourself on the ass of your cut off Levi's...at least wash your freakin hands! Poo man.

The people who have walked to Stony Batter and back give a very real example of body sweat Sauvignon Blanc aromas! Remember...the cabin is small, it's summer, sometimes it gets a little warm in there.

The punters that have come in at 12.30pm, bypassed everything else and gone straight for the "Dreadnought Syrah" in 25 degrees heat deserve special mention. Brave...very brave people.

Lady in the white top...I know you had 4 tastes of our savvy by sending your friends in to get it for you. Naughty girl..hear me, naughty girl.

Fat kid who was sent by his dad to see if we had some wire because he had locked his keys in his car......don't bring the coat hanger back like that! You can't hang anything off a straight piece if wire fella.

Lastly...the look on the guy's face who thought he was buying a $55 T-Shirt for $35....priceless.

Thanks for your support everyone! For those who haven't been down yet we look forward to hosting you very soon.
Until then.

The team at HQ.

P.S Remember, Opening hours...every day 12-6pm until January 4th, then Friday to Sunday until Easter. OPEN TILL 8PM NEW YEARS EVE!

P.P.S Bronwyn, please stop worrying, I have it all under control....and if getting me to keep phoning you back is your way of saving your mobile bill so B doesn't get grumpy I've got news for you!

Man O' War Cellar Door opens 26th December 2009

2009-12-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

An absolute must this summer is to pay a visit to Man O' War Bay, there you will find nestled amongst the native trees and literally a stone’s throw from the shore Man O’ War Vineyards new Cellar Door, a rustic cabin paying homage to keeping Kiwiana alive on Waiheke Island. “It’s a magical location, we just want people to come and enjoy the beauty of Man O’ War Bay and experience our award winning wines and produce”, says Man O’ War’s Bronwyn Skuse.

All of Man O’ War’s wines will be available for tasting, as well as produce from the surrounding farm, including olive oil and honey. You could also be one of the first to purchase our very limited release vintage T-Shirts, only available at the Cellar Door and for the very first time available to the public.

Because of the sheltered beauty of Man O’ War Bay, it is traditionally a popular boating destination. Now, 241 years after Captain James Cook first anchored, the new generation of sea faring men and women can try and buy Man O’ War Wines at Man O’ War Bay.

Whether by oars or wheels, Man O’ War Bay is a perfect picnic destination offering a public BBQ for use also! You can stop by, try our amazing line up of wines or settle in and enjoy this gorgeous Bay!

Between December 26 and January 4, the cellar door will be open every day between 12 and 6pm, and then between Friday and Sunday until Easter.

Man O’ War Vineyards is located on a stunning coastal site at the eastern end of Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, the vineyards are made up of a patchwork of 90 individual parcels selected specifically for their unique terroir. Now, everyone can enjoy Man O’ War’s wines in this very special part of the world.

Ironclad named best new world red by Decanter’s Steven Spurrier

2009-12-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

Man O’ War’s flagship wine, Ironclad 2008, has been named best new-world red by Steven Spurrier in the latest issue of Decanter magazine (January 2010).

It comes just weeks after three Man O’ War wines from the same vintage took 90-plus ratings in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.

“The 2008 vintage is being hailed as one of Waiheke’s best” says Duncan McTavish, Man O’ War’s winemaker. “It’s really gratifying that our flagship blend, Ironclad has been recognized by one of the world’s great wine authorities”.

Spurrier noted the Ironclad was an “arresting Bordeaux blend… Smoky from oak ageing with magnificent berry fruits and leathery undertones.”

It’s all the result of Man O’ War’s fastidious approach to winegrowing. Located on a stunning coastal site at the eastern end of Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, the vineyards are made up of 90 individual parcels selected specifically for their unique terroir.

It’s this approach that allows each and every vine to produce the best possible fruit – and the results show through in the recognition Man O’ War is achieving for its wine.

Framework & the Art of Blending

2009-11-20T12:12:00.001-08:00

There are many romantic notions about wine making and while many hold true others only hint at the hard work and effort that goes into crafting a memorable wine. Winemaking is a relatively ancient craft and one that historically follows the changing of the seasons and it is in these spring months where the task of tasting many of the wines begins as we carefully evaluate our work and start to assemble our blends.

One important element in many wines is the use of new oak in a blend. Balance is key in creating a harmonious wine and the judicious use of oak is a useful tool in attaining that balance. Now is the time that winemakers are evaluating their new oak purchases in preparation for ordering oak for the next season, the expense aside, it is often a daunting task to decide what oak best suits your wine.

To help us make the decision we often place the same wine into different types of oak so we can best evaluate what is working well for us. We decide which cooper has a style that suits our wines, the choice of forest, the length of time the oak has been seasoned for prior to construction, how the barrel has been toasted and on it goes, the variables are enormous, we question whether a barrel suits Merlot or is it better used in Syrah, do we want more spice or more char, sweetness or density?

At Man O' War we use predominantly French oak, we select which forests work well for us and the tightness of the grain of the wood, we work with the cooper as to which level of toast we prefer and we apply different barrels to different varieties that help us best achieve balance in our wine - the key to new oak is to look on it as the frame that supports the work of art, it is not the artwork itself!

In addition to tasting barrels now is often a good time to give ourselves a preview of how the overall blends are shaping up. For us we are looking at Chardonnay, Syrah and the most complex of all blends, our Bordeaux style wine.

Now it may sound like the best job in the world wandering around the cellar, glass in hand tasting exquisite wines, the lighting is often moody, music is filtering through from the background and the excitement of tasting the new seasons wine is palpable.

In truth tasting wines to construct a blend often involves military like discipline and organisation, in a brightly lit quiet room, one lacking in distractions and interruptions.

Firstly all the wines have been kept in their separate parcels since harvest began, for the Bordeaux blend we have 40 parcels. Each barrel within the parcel is sampled so we have an accurate representation of each; we have 300 barrels to sample. Each wine is then labelled and sorted by variety, we have 5; Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We then mask each bottle so we have no preconceived notions about a particular batch to cloud our judgement and we begin to taste. Each wine is tasted blind and accurate notes are written about each. The wines are then unmasked, some surprise us and others we nod knowingly pleased with their performance.

Then the skill of blending all the variables into a harmonious wine begins, measuring cylinders and pipettes appear and we slosh measured amounts of each wine back and forth until beakers of wine are scattered across the table, options are produced and passed into judgement. It’s suddenly 5 o'clock and we realise we have been tasting since 9 o'clock that morning, weary we begin to tidy up, arrange our precious notes and scrawls of percentages that make up the blend and head home, mentally drained and knowing that we have come very close to the blend but it will take many more sessions until we are completely satisfied.

Man O' War in Air NZ Lounges!

2009-11-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that now you will be able to drink a selection of Man O' War wines at the Auckland Domestic and International Koru Club/Air New Zealand lounges. They will be serving the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, the award winning 2008 Chardonnay and Waiheke Island's flagship Bordeaux Blend. Put your feet up, relax and experience some regional wine.

Kiwi blossom to 4 seasons in UK & Europe

2009-10-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

After a successful trip around NZ with Eurowine team, I boarded a big Air NZ plane to London England for 6 week tour of duty around UK, Mainland Europe & Asia.

1^st Stop London, where we met and confirmed our entire ranging with Shore Solutions who service luxury yatchs here. Next day we had the Stokes Fine Wine Trade day, with huge response from the trade and media there. Had lovely tasting with Steven Spurrier from Decanter (watch this space….!!!!) and Rosemary George MW who is coming to visit on her trip to NZ at the end of the month for Marlborough Wine Weekend. Ironclad 08 & MOW Pinot Gris 08 favourites on the day. Also dropped off some Valhalla 08 flown in by yours truly for Roka restaurant, as UK out of stock until end November. Roka such a great restaurant, MOW Syrah 08 available by the glass there in November.

Quick visit to Apsley Estate, The Old Garage, and home of Stokes Fine Wines to discuss our exciting program for 2010!!! Watch out UK… here we come.

Next stop chilly Stockholm to see Simon & Calle from Concealed Wines. We had a fantastic day in the trade visiting some of the best spots to eat & drink, especially Restaurant Hälsingborg, Olle looked after us, brilliant concept, choice of Forrest, Ocean and/or Farm set menu, with MOW Chardonnay matched with Farm entrée. Will definitely be back next time!

Then snowy Munich, where Florian & Thomas from Wine In Motion, looked after me very well, introducing me to the delights of a Bavarian breakfast. We finalised our distribution with them. First order on its way to Munich as we speak. Great opportunity here, and an amazing portfolio to be apart of!

Finally some sun, in Madrid, where we caught up with Cesar from Winetipodes, and discovered the culinary delights of Spain while looking for opportunities for MOW here. Wine is in Spain, but await our customs friends to clear it through, going into some of the great restaurants here and we already have some friends at the American Women’s Club eagerly awaiting delivery. Was lovely to see the sun!

Headed around the coast to Cannes, France for the Tax Free & Duty Free Show, where we snuck onto the Bardinet stand, courtesy of Jeremy Belcher our dear friend from Bordeaux. We showed MOW wines and were 1 of 3 NZ brands there. Most people very intrigued about us and New Zealand. Had a wonderful time with Gun & Sophie from Finland, who are helping us to get our wines in ferry’s, on planes and into stores there.

From Cannes, I flew across country to Nantes to meet with Jerome & Catherine at Les Celliers d’Asie, who is an amazing distributor in Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos with head office in France. We tasted the MOW Range, Ironclad, Dreadnought & MOW Chardonnay hits of the tasting. Will be launching with them early next year. Exciting stuff!

Returned to London, exhausted but buzzing with excitement of seeing MOW in some wonderful places in Europe and planning for an exciting next year. Last week in London, we caught up with Pierre from Wine Society, met the delightful Mel from The Providores, Dreadnought available now on the wine list, Noel Young at Noel Young Wines, Charlotte & Sarah from NZ Winegrowers, in store tasting at Harvey Nicholls with Jeremy & the team. MOW Ironclad & MOW Syrah on shelf and flying out now. Finally this morning, breakfast with the charming Alessandro from Zuma & Roka. Valhalla back on the list in December, MOW Syrah going on next week.

Next stop Singapore Wine Show, looking forward to seeing Kate & the team there.

Salute, Prost, Salud, Skål, Santé, Cheers!

Sara

September round up…

2009-10-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

What a busy time we have had during September at Man O’ War!

We have been travelling the globe and New Zealand, spreading the good Man O’ War word, making so many new friends along the way and catching up with old ones.

This is what we have been up to in September:

Duncan & Berridge launched in the UK with our amazing distributors Stokes Fine Wines, with an open tasting & master class held at Smiths of Smithfield, the response we have had was amazing from media and customers. Duncan completed a week tour of London tasting, meeting and training new customers for Man O’ War.

Matt & Sara travelled New Zealand on the Eurowine road show, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Over 400 trade attended and the same with consumers. We launched Man O’ War Rose 09, the raspberry k-bar was a hit around the country. The best drink for summer.

Bron, Tina, Jen & Glenn have been very busy organising our summer activities at Man O’ War Bay… more to come on this very soon.

We have joined in a partnership with Stolen Girlfriends Club to be their official wine partner, and presented our wines at both New Zealand Fashion week and London Fashion week with them. A huge turnout in Auckland, over 500 people sipped their way through Man O’ War wines.

Duncan had a quick trip to Oz to attend the DWS trade day in Sydney. Again a wonderful response to our wines and so great to catch up with many loyal customers.

Back on the continent, Man O’ War wines was poured at an exclusive function at the Monaco Yatch Show, to many influential captains & stewards of luxury super yatchs. Look out on board next summer!

We have also been planning & organising our next world trips, Bron back to the US and Sara to UK, Mainland Europe and then off to the Singapore & Hong Kong Wine shows. Follow us on our next journey.

Thanks for all your support & interest to date.

MOW HQ

CHAMPAGNE TO BORDEAUX, RIDING THE WHITE HORSE – PART THREE

2009-09-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Day Two was a trip to the Left Bank with breakfast consisting of a glass 2006 Yquem at Chateaux d Yquem a highly recommended way to start the day! Up to Lynch Bages where we caught the tail end of a tour (not to worry lunch was leisurely and bloody tasty so why rush!).

Our tasting adventure climaxed (the wines were that good!) at Chateaux Gruaud-Larose. David Launay was our informative and knowledgeable guide and took us through the Chateaux where we met the Maitre de Chai, Philippe Carmagnac who was dead keen for us to get into some wines. The 2007 Gruaud-Larose (again full of hedonistic pleasure) was followed by the 1998 and 2003 Gruand-Larose all exceptional wines. After a very enlightening discussion on winemaking techniques Phillipe bundled us off with a couple of bottles of the 98 and a promise to come and visit. The 2011 Rugby World Cup will be densely populated with Chateaux owners leaving the harvest in the capable hands of the many open and friendly winemakers we met on our travels.

DISMOUNT

A early morning rise to catch (just) the red eye to Munich was followed by an enlivening 250 km zoom through the roads of Munich to meet Florian at Wine in Motion a distributor of New Zealand wines into Europe. A traditional meal of White Sausage, Pretzel and Beer (I had two - bloody good Hefe Weizen) preceded a rather sedate meeting and then a tasting of Man O' War that has resulted in some fantastic opportunities for us.

A night of fine food and wine (and a deep sleep) at the KonigHof hotel in Munich with a mate of Big B's, Werni who was an amazing host, a bottle of 2004 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling from J J Prumm and then to finish an outstanding bottle of 1986 Cheval Blanc, truly an amazing vinous experience and one I won’t forget, great to finish with the famous white horse!

Currently ensconced in B's pad in London winding down and warming up for stage two - the Battle for Britain!

Cheers

Dunc

CHAMPAGNE TO BORDEAUX, RIDING THE WHITE HORSE – PART TWO

2009-09-09T14:39:00.001-07:00

A too short a stay in Champagne led me to Berlin to meet up with Berridge and present our wines to the Dussman group in the KulturKaufHaus in the heart of Berlin. They loved the wines, nicknamed us the 'Face' (Big B) and the 'Nose' (your narrator) of Man O' War.

Next stop Bordeaux where we hooked up with Justin from Stokes and the very affable Jeremy Belcher from the Bardinet group who was our fixer in Bordeaux hooking us up with some fantastic appointments.

Our first appointment of the day was a tasting at Cheval Blanc with the extremely hospitable Pierre Lurton. A tour and a bit of a chat about winemaking was followed by a tasting of the 2004 Petit Cheval, the 2004 Cheval Blanc and a surprise invitation to lunch- how could we decline! But first our appointment with Figeac and a taste of the 99 and a opportunistic taste of their latest addition to the Figeac wines, the 2007 Petit Figeac a recent acquisition of 2 acres producing 1200 bottles, call me a hedonist (and I won’t be offended) but I love young Bordeaux however I was soon to gain an appreciation of aged Bordeaux that left me speechless...

Lunch at Cheval Blanc, Marjosse Bordeaux Blanc 07, exotic and rich served with truffled scrambled eggs and bacon (served in exquisite style) then off to the lunch table for a bottle of 2001 Petit Cheval matched with a tasty Lobster dish. The AMAZING 1998 Cheval Blanc was poured with a cut of Veal and truffled potato mash closely followed by the 1989 Cheval Blanc to complement the truffle character of the wine and truffle. OK, to finish 1986 Yquem – why not!

We then travelled somewhat sluggishly to Angelus where we were met with the owner, the gentlemanly Hubert de Bouard de LaForest. A fantastic tour of the property followed by a bottle of 2006 Angelus which very much found favour with our hedonist streak! Then off to Big B's favourite Chateaux, Chateaux Troplong Mondot. A tour with lovely Stephanie who had Mr Belcher in rapture was followed with a tasting of the 2006 Mondot and 2006 Troplong Mondot, predominantly Merlot they were impressive wines rich with a firm grip.

Cheers

Dunc

CHAMPAGNE TO BORDEAUX, RIDING THE WHITE HORSE – PART ONE

2009-09-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

A great week in the life of your humble winemaker...

To coincide with the launch of Man O' War with Stokes Fine Wines in the UK we thought we might take a wee detour through France to visit some famous chateaux's in the Bordeaux region, but first I needed to freshen up...

Arriving in Champagne via Hong Kong I was picked up at the Champagne-Ardennes train station by an old friend, Francois Hure from Hure Freres, a fantastic producer of Champagne based in the 1er Cru village of Ludes. Francois and I had done a few 'tours of duty' together at Peg Bay and I was keen to catch up and taste some of his wines.

First stop was to Francois' home in Mailly to catch up with Marie-Eve his wife, who is also a mate of mine I met during harvest in NZ back in the day (Francois and Marie-Eve met in the hot tub at Peg Bay but that’s another story...) and their new addition Anshelme their rock n' roll baby boy!

Hure Freres NV Brut and 2003 Reserve was a welcome refresher, the NV showing that great balance of freshness, crispness and a touch of sweetness that makes Champagne so desirable. The 03 was rich and full and a great reflection of a landmark vintage in Europe. A dinner of Kiwi lamb on the BBQ with a magnum of Hure Freres Rose and the beginning of a 2 day flight of Northern Rhone Syrah's pretty much left me satisfied!

Next day was a visit to the cellar and a tasting of some base wines...

Man O' War has begun a special trial in 2009 where we felt we had an opportunity to have a crack at crafting a small volume of Methode Traditionnelle and I was keen for Francois to try my base wine and see what he thought. Thankfully he wasn’t too scathing, in fact he was very positive with excellent balance, great acidity and good definition in the wine, he found aromas of white flower and honey - my back label is already written!

Home for lunch and a bottle of the newest addition to the Hure Freres stable, the excellent NV Extra Brut, great on a 30 degree day in paradise!

Cheers
Dunc

Caned it!

2009-08-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw the end of pruning for the Man O' War team 2009. Almost 10 weeks to the day of battling the elements it's all over for another year.

The entire crew have done an amazing job, smashing expectation of time and quality. The Ethiopian boys did it tough through a cold June and early July dealing with temperatures they're not accustomed to but managed to stay thawed enough to get the job done.

Big wraps to Johan and our our permanent team of trained professionals who adopted those new to us and expertly guided them through each task making for a seamless operation.

The Man O' War kitchen (affectionately known as "The Anchoridge"), lead with orchestrated precision by Deb and Gian, has been at full throttle keeping the boys fueled up on all manner of oral treats from pumpkin soup to traditional Ethiopian cuisine to. Over 5000 meals over the last two months have been served and the boys are going to have to go six weeks cold turkey from Gian's "world famous on Waiheke" chili pickle.....natures performance enhancer!!

Rob, Jo, Miranda, Arun, Sam and Lance.....can't wait for next year!!

Speaking of next year, as you can see bud burst is also now well underway signalling the start of spring and the 2010 vintage.

Big thanks to Nega, Sembhy and the rest of the crew for your help...look forward to seeing you back soon.

All for now from Man O' War HQ.

Come and Visit us at the Eurowine Road Show - 21st - 24th Sept

2009-08-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Eurowine cause havoc at Man O' War

2009-08-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, the crew from Eurowine (NZ Distributor) boarded planes, ferries, taxis and Man O’ war trucks and were whisked away to Man O’ War Farm for their annual conference. They were well feed, watered and informed. Duncan, Matt & Sonic hosted the team and tasted through the new 08 vintages and also had a sneak peak of the 2009’s, especially loved was the Man O’ War Rose 2009 and Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris and Bordeaux blends… exciting stuff!

Jose Hernandez won the inaugural “MOP AWARD”, for his passion and dedication to Man O’ War over the past year. Who will get the fancy pen next year?

Highlights package from the 3 days:

2 Man O’ War Trucks, 10 early morning flights, 1 out of action Man O’ War boat, 18 ferry tickets (1 free gold card).

18 coffees and muffins delivered by Manuel.

45 minute bus ride with Jimbo, 16 slightly green passengers, 2 happy people in the green snot machine.

3 days of conference, Deb & Gian feeding 35 vineyard workers plus 18 Eurowine team, lots of happy tummys!

45 minute presentation from Sara, Berocca & Panadol distributed first.

One new vintage 08 tasting inside with Dunc, Matt, Sonic, Bron and Rach, one happy Jose with “beautiful” 08 Chardonnay”

Early BBQ at the anchorage, some world famous Gian grappa, lots of Man O’ War wine, very serious dart competition.

24 beers at Skinny Sardine…. Only the first night!

Day 2 = more serious meetings, Sally & Nick visit from Te Mata and don’t get lost.

Final dinner at Vino Vino, 6 magnums of LP!

Inaugural “MOP Award”, 1 Jose in tears!

280 beers at Skinny Sardine, no more Carchelo or Coleraine left.

Cheeky 21 year old whiskey to finish.

Day 3 = another 45min bus ride with Jimbo, a lot quieter this morning

25 question spot quiz, 16 new MOW fans

Sneak peak of the 09 wines in the winery, lots of excited people!

Last 45minute bus ride with Jimbo, a lot slower this time.

20 bottles of water, 16 return tickets to Auckland…

2009 very successful Eurowine conference!

Sara

Man O’ War to launch in Britain

2009-08-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War will launch in the United Kingdom in September, teaming up with boutique wine distributor Stokes Fine Wines.

Stokes only represents winemakers who are passionate about making handcrafted wines, searching out those of the highest quality with bags of character; wines that speak of the place they are from and the people who make it. Man O’ War is family owned and all estate grown, found at the eastern end of Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The vineyards are a stunning spread of coastal hillsides — 150 acres of vines spread over 90 individual parcels selected specifically for their terroir and microclimate. It’s this attention to detail that produces such individual wines.

This obsession with quality and individuality means its wines find their way onto some of the best British wine shelves — including Harvey Nichols. Naturally, Man O’ War is thrilled to be able to provide knowledgeable British palates with the best Waiheke Island has to offer.

Stokes’ Sales and Marketing Manager, Justin Liddle, says: “I am delighted to be working with Man O’ War Vineyards in the UK, a really outstanding producer that shares our philosophy for having fun while achieving well-planned and executed success. Man O’ War is at the start of a very exciting adventure which I am so pleased to be part of and look forward to developing a long-standing partnership.”

Man O’ War’s winemaker Duncan McTavish will be attending the launch, at ‘Smiths’ of Smithfield on Tuesday 8th September 2009, with the owners of Man O’ War.

Rugby Trade Adventure

2009-07-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Go the Blacks!

Last weekend Man O’ War hosted some fantastic trade partners from all around New Zealand and a few friends from across the ditch in Australia.

We kicked off the weekend with dinner on the Friday night at one of our key accounts SPQR in Ponsonby, to give the Aussies a taste of kiwi cuisine and check out the Auckland nightlife, later venturing to the Ponsonby Social Club to see our friends Sharr & Chris. A fairly tame night was had by all, as we had a big day planned on Saturday!

First thing Saturday we met at the ferry terminal in downtown Auckland.

We had a fabulous group of trade partners with us for the day including Aaron Winwood from Domaine Wine Shippers, our distributors in Australia, Aaron looks after most key accounts in Sydney city and is also a qualified sommelier.
We also had Simon from Catalina Restaurant in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and Wiremu from Bacash Melbourne. From Auckland we had Sharr, Chris and Rodney from the Ponsonby Social Club, Les Morgan from the Duxton Hotel Group, Francis and Kevin Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald’s Wine, Bill and a few of his friends from the Village Winery and several more keen wine enthusiast.

A very blowy ride over and yet I couldn’t get the Aussies to sit down, a little like the local paparazzi out in force; I was worried we may have lost one of them along the way.

Matt Allen Man O’ War’s Vineyard manager started the day with a tour of our gorgeous property, albeit a touch windy and then down to the winery to meet Duncan McTavish our famed wine maker.

We tried barrel samples and all of the individual components to our 2008 flagship Ironclad Bordeaux Blend, which was an interesting exercise and went down a treat with the wine nerds in the room (which was most of us!).
Back for lunch at Anchorage and another wine tasting of all of our recent releases and homemade venison pie thanks to Guan and Deb!

We loaded onto the ferry for our ride back to Auckland and then straight to the Duxton where Les had organised an incredible spread of food and more Man O’ War wine for the group.

The Rugby... well what a game! Duncan McTavish and his charming girlfriend Vanessa helped me co host the evening and

these photos should sum up the fun that was had and of course the fabulous win from the All Blacks!

After the rugby we piled into cabs and headed to La Zeppa for tapas, more Man O’ War wine and many more laughs!

What an awesome industry we are in and what fabulous friends and partners we have, thank you to everyone!

Victory!

See you soon!
Bronny

Australia

2009-07-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ahh Sydney, It’s good to be home!From Queensland to my old home of Sydney, sun is shining (as usual) birds a tweeting – yes I possibly miss this city just a little!

My week started with a catch up with the team at Domaine Wine Shippers, my old work colleges and partners in crime. Felicity and Marissa running centre stage as per usual, manning the front office and making sure that everything flowed like clockwork.
As usual it was a pleasure to see Rowland, Bobby (The Hill) and Aaron, the sales team for NSW.

We all managed to get out for dinner to Bird Cow Fish, a fabulous restaurant in Surry Hills of which all of the produce is carefully selected and most local and organic. Peter and Howard from Bird Cow Fish spoilt us rotten and I escaped about 11.30pm, my bed beckoning.

Out in the trade in Sydney I got to catch up with Anthony from The Shop and Wine Bar, a fabulous little hole in the wall near Bondi with an ever evolving wine list, Simon from Catalina, Michael from Kinglseys at Woolloomooloo, Craig from Woollahra Liquor, Phillip from Rose Bay North, The boys from the Ivy, Flying Fish and many more of my favourite spots and customers.

After a flat tack week in Sydney I boarded my plane to Perth, WA to meet the new WA team, Carol and Michael.

No rest for the wicked they say and this certainly was the case in WA! Carol and Michael had me with back to back meetings with customers, it was Man O’ War’s first time out in the market in Western Australia and wow what a great response!

I met some fantastic people and ate at some first class establishments, such as Must and Balthazar. We visited Steve’s, a new restaurant and fine wine bottle store/deli, I met Patrick from Frasers Restaurant which has incredible views over Perth, and this restaurant is an institution.
We visited Charles from Just Tapas, who has a smart little wine list and who was a huge fan of Man O’ War, Vince at Galileo, Hans from Gala, who is now pouring both the Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris and the lovely Caroline from Amuse, Amuse has just taken out a ‘Best Restaurant’ Award in Perth.

This was my first time out in the trade in Perth and this city is just gorgeous, lining the Swan River it has top class restaurants and I met many other wonderful people within the food and wine industry.
WA may be on the other side of the county and stuck out on its own, but the food and wine industry is certainly thriving, this City has huge potential and I will certainly be back soon!

Back home to the City of Sales..

See you soon,

Bronny

Sneak Peak in UK

2009-07-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

100 lucky people had a sneak preview of our Man O’ War wines, Pinot Gris 2008, Syrah 2008, Merlot Cabernet 2008 last week with Toby Hope (above) from Wig and Mitre in Lincoln, UK. Toby has been a huge supporter of our wines since he first met us at the London International Wine Fair in May and even introduced us to our new importer, Stokes Fine Wines. We look forward to catching up with everyone in September when Duncan & Sara head to the UK to launch. More details to come soon!

Out in the trade in Queensland

2009-07-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

I spent two ‘jam packed’ fantastic days with the Domaine wine Shippers team in Queensland. Out on the road with an ‘oldie’ but a goodie, yes that’s you Evan and gee he worked me hard!

Starting in Maroochydore our first stop off was to see Tony Cox from The Wine Bar. Tony writes the lists for several restaurants on the Sunshine Coast and also writes a few wine columns here and there, a charming fellow with a sharp wit. The Water Front Restaurant is looking at showcasing Man O’ War/Waiheke Island in the coming months, which we are very excited about!

On to visit Dion at The Boat Shed and further up the coast to visit Seasons Restaurant in Noosa, Seasons is a gorgeous spot of which I have attended a few weddings!

Down the road to the River House Restaurant, another gorgeous Venue we met Tim Watson, a long time friend of Evans and a bit of a name on the coast. Several more stop offs and it was time to make my way back down to Brisbane.

On our way home we popped in to meet Rick Travers from the Yandina Hotel, the Yandina is under going an over haul and will be fabulous once finished. Rick is a keen wine drinker and was very excited about the Ironclad Bordeaux Blend!

The following day I had the pleasure of meeting the rest of the Queensland DWS sales team consisting of John K, Isaac Curgenven and the lovely Tara Britain. I spent several hours presenting Man o’ War to them, steering clear of the dull wet day outside.

While in town I ventured out to Philip Johnsons e’cco Restaurant, a great DWS account in which we were spoilt rotten! Afterwards we checked out 'Cloud 9' a new hip and happening night spot in Brisbanes New Farm, a little like The Ivy in Sydney, incredible decoy!

Short and sweet and now on to a fun filled week in gorgeous Sydney!

See you soon,

Bronny.

Out in the trade in Aussie!

2009-07-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Melbourne

A brisk walk around South Bank started my day, and brisk it really was at 6 degrees! Beats Auckland at a mere 2 degrees.

Breakfast with the lovely Jennie May from Domaine Wine Shippers our Australian wine Distributor's and a good strong coffee at City Wine Shop was in order, Melbourne really has the best coffee!

The City Wine Shop is both a retail wine store and a wine bar, they also own The European Restaurant, which is situated right next door along with The Supper Club and Roof Top Bar.

We later visited Travis and Kate from Coda Restaurant, Coda has been open for just two weeks and is already booked solid for the next two months! Travis, Coda's wine expert and Kate Coda's front of house lady, have both come from Taxi Dining Room, an institution in Melbourne City. Travis and Kate were both fans of Man O' War wine loving particularly our Pinot Gris, Valhalla Chardonnay and our Dreadnought Syrah!

On to Seamstress another highly rated Melbourne restaurant in Lonsdale Street.

Melbourne's Chinatown has a new designer kid on the block, Seamstress has the funked-up Asian food and cool cocktail scene all stitched up. I met the fabulous Lori Smith at Seamstress and we samples through the Man O' War collection together, Lori being a fan of many.

When the staff meal came out I was hoping they wouldn't notice me slip a plate onto the counter and join them. I thought best not as I had a table booked at Momo restaurant in Colin's street and I had to bribe Jack , Momo's sommelier and a huge supporter of Man O' War to get us a table!

Arriving on time for my reservation at Momo, with a couple of Man O' War bottles hidden in my purse for Jack and Bradley Momo's manager, I was relieved to get settled inside and away from the cold Melbourne evening. An incredible dinner, followed by several gorgeous bottles of wine and impeccable service, Momo really is an experience. After dinner we made ourselves comfortable next door at Spice Market. Spice Market and Momo have the most incredible interiors, no expense was spared here and their wine lists are world class. It was great to see Ewan from Guillaume Bennelong, who popped in to share a bottle of wine with us.

While in Melbourne I also had time to see Mark from the Botanical in Domain Road and have a bite to eat with Kyri from No 35 a fabulous new restaurant in the Sofitel Melbourne.

It was great to spend some time with the Domaine Wine Shippers family, meeting Howard and making it out to head office (after getting very lost!) to meet with Gary, Yvonne, Damien and the lovely Melinda Steel. Anita, Michelle, Melanie and the team were on top form as usual!

Domaine wine Shippers is one of the biggest and best wine distribution companies in Australia. The whole Steel family work in the wine industry and most of them for the family business, they are all avid wine lovers and have a passion for French wine, legend has it Gary has one of the best cellars in Australia under his house!

After a fantastic week in Melbourne I am off to spend time with Evan and meet the rest of the DWS Queensland team.

See you soon,

Bronny

Man O' War visits Åland Islands

2009-06-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Åland Island's archipelago.

Man O’ War recently arrived in the Åland Islands to visit the family home on Järsö. The old place might need a lick of paint but it is still bloody solid. Which is no surprise given it was built with the red granite stones of Bomarsund , a nineteenth century fortress on Sund in the Åland Islands, which was destroyed during the Crimean War in 1854 by a combined British-French fleet.

Man O' War visits the ruins of Bomarsund.

Although the main theater of the war was the Crimean Peninsula, as Britain and France battled Russia over the fate of the declining Ottoman Empire, it was also fought on a Northern Front in the Baltic Sea. In a peripheral action so beoved by British Commanders over the centuries, a joint Anglo-French fleet sought to blockade the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Finland and attack Russian coastal defences.

After general marauding along the Finnish coast and with the Russian fleet unwilling to come out and play the taskforce decided to have a crack at the large Russian fortress at Bomarsund which guarded the entry to the Gulf of Bothnia. And as such, on the evening of June 21 1854, the H.M.S Hecla, Odin and Valorous steamed up to and began to bombard Bomarsund. At the height of the action, which lasted most of the night, a live shell landed on the Hecla’s upper deck with the fuse still hissing. All hands were ordered to fling themselves flat on the deck, but Mr. Charles Lucas (a 20 year old mate) with great presence of mind ran forward and hurled the shell into the sea, where it exploded with a tremendous roar before it hit the water. Thanks to Mr. Lucas's action no one was killed or seriously wounded and he was immediately promoted to Lieutenant by his Commanding Officer.

The red granite of Åland used to build Bomarsund.

Mr. Lucas' action, together with other individual acts of bravery during the action, prompted the British government to create "an Order of Merit to persons serving in the army or navy for distinguished and prominent personal gallantry to which every grade should be admissible". As a result on 26 June 1857, at the inaugural ceremony, the first ever Victoria Cross was personally awarded to Lieutenant Lucas by Queen Victoria herself, for his act of bravery at Bomarsund.

While in Åland Man O’ War visited Bomarsund, and in honour of Mr. Lucas’ selfless act of valour there we decided we will celebrate him with our 2011 vintage shirt. Bit of wait but it will be a minter when it comes out. Cheers, B

Memorial at Bomarsund to Mr. Lucas the recipient of the first ever VC.

Man O' War supports the Wine Wall Auction

2009-06-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

Man O’ War Vineyards supports the great initiative from The Pindrop Foundation and The Hearing House this July, to fundraise and increase awareness of these organisations; two charities transforming the lives of the deaf and hearing impaired.

On July 29^th at Gow Langsford Gallery, an evening for the aficionado of fine art and fine wine will be held. Limited edition prints from some of New Zealand¹s most celebrated artists, and a wine wall, literally, made from donated cases of premium wine, will be available to purchase, with all proceeds going to charity.

The most exclusive cases of wine will be auctioned on the night by Webb's including a mixed dozen of Gravestone Sauvignon Blanc, Valhalla Chardonnay, Dreadnought Syrah & Ironclad Bordeaux Blend will be auctioned from Man O’ War Vineyards.

The contributing artists to the Art of Hearing collection are Shane Cotton, Robert Ellis, Dick Frizzell, Jacqueline Fahey, Sara Hughes, Judy Millar, Denys Watkins, Kate Small and John Pule.

All proceeds from the evening will go to the Pindrop Foundation and The Hearing House.

For more information visit: http://www.winewall.co.nz and if you would like to attend the event email elena@pindrop.org.nz

Man O' War supports the Wine Wall Auction

2009-06-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

On July 30^th at Gow Langsford Gallery, an evening for the aficionado of fine art and fine wine will be held. Limited edition prints from some of New Zealand¹s most celebrated artists, and a wine wall, literally, made from donated cases of premium wine, will be available to purchase, with all proceeds going to charity.

The contributing artists to the Art of Hearing collection are Shane Cotton, Robert Ellis, Dick Frizzell, Jacqueline Fahey, Sara Hughes, Judy Millar, Denys Watkins, Kate Small and John Pule.

All proceeds from the evening will go to the Pindrop Foundation and The Hearing House.

For more information visit: http://www.winewall.co.nz and if you would like to attend the event email elena@pindrop.org.nz

Kapalua Fine Wine and Food Festival Hawaii

2009-06-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Aloha

Kapalua Wine & Food Festival on June 11, 2009, the longest-running and most prestigious festival of its kind in Hawaii, celebrates 28 years of fine food and wine with a four-day culinary extravaganza!
Festival Host, Master Sommelier Fred Dame brings together world-renowned winemakers, top Master Sommeliers, celebrated chefs and industry insiders for a long-weekend of daily culinary exhibitions, interactive wine tastings and evening gala events. The Grand Tasting, Kapalua Seafood Festival, In the Kitchen and Fred Dame's Rare Wines Dinner are but a few of the highlights of this trendsetting event.
I was lucky enough to be there in Maui representing Man O’ War Vineyards and Man O’ War wines were featured both at the Grand Tasting and the Seafood Festival.
The Kapalua Ritz Carlton were the hosts for the event, with Kimberly McKeon spear heading the festival and everything flowing like clockwork.

During the Welcome Party I bumped into some familiar faces of whom I met in Walla Walla, Washington a few weeks back, JF from Pepper Bridge and Chris Figgins and Heidi from Leonetti. After the function a group of us went to dinner at Merriman’s Restaurant where Cass, Merriman’s sommelier (right) filled us up with exceptional wine and we feasted on gorgeous food. Merriman’s is right on the water’s edge, a magical spot and a must visit if you are ever in Maui! Joining us for dinner were Justin Wylie and Ryan the talented wine makers from Va Piano and Catherine JF’s lovely wife - and partner in crime I later learnt!

The following day was the famous Grand Tasting down on the beach below the Ritz. Picture hundreds of lanterns hanging from the sky and tents spotted around a large area of beach front, I felt like I was in some sort of fairytale, it was a true carnival! With the sun setting over the Pacific, over 100 famed wines from around the world (including Man O' War's 'flagship' Valhalla Chardonnay, Ironclad Bordeaux Blend and Dreadnought Syrah) were poured by a collection of acclaimed Master Sommeliers from all over the USA.
Master Sommeliers included, Fred Dame Icon Cru, Constellations Wines US, San Francisco, CA. Shayn Bjornholm, Washington Wine Commission, Seattle, WA. Jay Fletcher, Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado, Aspen, CO. Greg Harrington, Gramercy Cellars, Walla Walla, WA. We are hosting a friend of Greg’s over on Waiheke Island in July which we are looking forward to! Michael Jordon (not the hoop sinking one, the vino sinking one!), Walt Disney Parks & Resorts® Worldwide, Anaheim, CA and last but not least Emily Wines from Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, San Francisco, CA.

In the Southern Hemisphere tent two Ritz staff we’re frantically promoting Man O’ War as they filled up many empty glasses of eagerly awaiting wine lovers!
I met Tim Garrard from Wine Merchants of Hawaii, which is a division of Johnson Brothers a massive distributor in Hawaii, it was interesting to hear about the Hawaiian Wine Industry. I also had the pleasure of meeting Alan Suzuki (above right) from Constellation Wines Hawaii, who I later learnt doubled as the Sheriff of Hawaii! I lost him in the crown heading to the local Karaoke Bar as I was swept away by the Walla Walla crew for drinks at one of the hotel rooms! I had a fabulous night and met Jamie Brown the wine maker for Waters winery, sampling a few of his favourite wines and got to chat more to Greg from Gramercy Cellars.

‘Psycho Pinots’ with Fred Dame and a panel of masters, wow this was a master class not to miss! A master class to make an everlasting impression on both palate and psyche with one of the oldest varieties of grapes to be cultivated for the purpose of making wines. Pinot Noir has a reputation of being a “difficult” grape for winemakers, but when perfected it has the potential to blow your mind…and taste buds!

Featured Wines: Estancia Reserve Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Lachini Family Estate Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Patz & Hall Pinot Noir, Hyde Vineyard, Carneros
Peay Vineyards Pomarium Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
Sapphire Hill Pinot Noir, Sapphire Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Scherrer "Big Brother" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Wild Horse Unbridled Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County Williams Selyem Litton Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley.

And then.. time to go home.. a quick stop off in LA to drop some Man O' War wine off to Jonathan from Vintage Point and then the long flight home to a cold 2 degrees!

Aloha,

See you soon,

Bronny

Man O' War visits Vasa museum

2009-06-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Stockholm Man O’ War visited the harbor-front Vasa museum which contains the world’s only surviving 17^th century warship. The Vasa was among a series of new warships ordered by King Gustavus Adolphus in 1625 to establish a strong navy for the burgeoning Swedish Empire.

The Vasa was built to be the jewel in the crown of the Swedish Navy and be the mightiest warship in the world, armed with 64 guns on two gundecks. On Sunday the 10^th of August 1628 the Vasa was ready for her maiden voyage. She set sail and fired a salute, but after only a few minutes of sailing she began to heel over and ship water. And then in a disaster of epic proportions the glorious and mighty Vasa suddenly sank having never enjoyed the heat of battle nor the taste of an enemy’s hot lead!

In 1956 after many years of effort shipwreck-specialist Anders Franzén finally found the Vasa and quickly found support to raise and salvage her. Five years later on the 24^th of April 1961, the royal warship Vasa broke the surface of Stockholm’s harbor after 333 years on the sea bottom. Initially housed in a temporary museum, the Vasa was moved to her purpose specially built museum in 1990 to preserve her properly. To this day she remains the largest single object in the world that has ever been preserved.

Man O’ War raises a glass of sublime 2008 Valhalla Chardonnay to the Vasa as we leave Stockholm on a beautiful summer’s day. Next stop Åland Islands. Skål, B

Man O' War arrives in Stokholm

2009-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War recently arrived in Stockholm after a great sail across the North Sea from the UK. While in town we wanted to catch up with Simon and Calle of Concealed Wines (www.concealedwines.com ) who are bringing Man O’ War wine to Sweden.

With impeccable timing we arrived in Stockholm just in time for the biggest party of the year…Midsommers. By chance Simon invited us to stop by a Midsommers party on the island of Ljusterö in the Stockholm Archipelago. Never one to turn down a good invitation we decided to drop in while exploring the Archipelago. Luckily we had a couple of bottles of 2007 Ironclad and the recently bottled 2008 Valhalla rolling around in the boot; and so bearing appropriate gifts we touched down at the party in a field at the water’s edge. What an amazing location, we have some great islands in NZ but Sweden has so many.

We had a great afternoon stop with some spectacular herring, good coffee and great people. Given that we still had to “get behind the wheel” we had to avoid the schnapps…flying can be such a cruel and unforgiving mistress! It looked like it was turning into a great party, and we are really looking forward to coming back to Stockholm soon. Skål, B

Not All Work At Man O' War

2009-06-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday and time to put the secateurs down and pick the fishing rod up. Man O' War Farm hosts some of the best fishing grounds in the Hauraki Gulf and this one caught off the rocks in a very secret spot this morning is living proof. These girls reckon this one is going to taste pretty good beside some fries for dinner....their Dad reckons it's going to taste pretty good beside a bottle of Valhalla Chardonnay. Lets hope the All Blacks can redeem themselves against the French tonight to make them both all the more enjoyable.

Cheers from the team at HQ.

Waiheke Wine Centre & Viva on Tour at Man O’ War

2009-06-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

The crew from Waiheke Wine Centre with Amanda Linnell from Viva, NZ Herald toured Man O’ War on Tuesday. Avoiding the rain we ventured around the property visiting several of our amazing vineyards and seeing how the vines were doing.

A tasting with Dunc, Matt & Rach of the current releases before a quick bite to eat, the team fell in love with Ironclad 2007, Man O’ War Cabernet Franc Merlot 07 and the Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc 08.

Promotion all booked in for July with Waiheke Wine Centre, will see the team promoting Man O’ War Cabernet Franc Merlot 07, Man O’ War Syrah 07 and Man O’ War Chardonnay 07. Make sure you pop in and enter the draw to win a Man O’ War gift basket full of produce from Man O’ War Vineyards.

2009-06-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

California
I just love St Helena, it is truly a special place, a pretty little town with fabulous wine and some really outstanding restaurants. I managed to drag myself out to sample a few and was blown away!
Tokyo trained sushi master Ken Tominaga has put together the menu at “Go Fish” http://www.gofishrestaurant.net/ and the food is just amazing, they also have an extensive wine list, so I thought best I investigate the local Pinot’s trying one from Russian River (Dutton Estate) and one from Oregon (Domaine Serene). I was well looked after by Tony and Scotty.

Martini House http://www.martinihouse.com/ a cool quirky restaurant with an amazing wine list. Wine from all over the globe including many from New Zealand as the wine director, worked with NZ Wine in San Fran. The food here was to die for, as I sat and nibbled and sipped on a local Wicker Cabernet – a tap on the shoulder. It was Mr Wicker himself who I enjoyed a conversation with. What a friendly place, I will definitely be back there!

Ghost fleet of retired Ships
I visited Benicia in California to catch up with Peter and Larry from Henry Wine Group, which is a large distribution company in Western America and couldn’t believe my eyes when I arrived. Called the “ghost fleet” or “mothball fleet”, a large flotilla of retired WW11 and Vietnam-era ships reside in the Suisun Bay directly in front of Henry Wine Groups offices. Although the original intent was to have them capable of becoming battle-ready within a month, thus the official name of “reserve fleet”, most of the ships have been quietly rusting away for years and are beyond repair.

On to San fran - I caught up with David Strada from NZ Wine Growers who took me for a drink up to “Fifth Floor” a restaurant, wine bar in the Kimpton Hotel.

San Fran to Arizona to meet Mary Melton from PF Chang’s. PF Chang’s is a large chain of American style Chinese Restaurants, I was lucky enough to eat at a couple and I have to say delicious!

Arizona to Portland, Oregon.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Andy, Mary and Jasper (the bug) Lytle to Wala Wala (sounds like somewhere in outback Australia) to be part of several special events. The Wala Wala Wine Festival in which I tried wine from all over the region. Stand outs for me were Abeja, Corliss, definitely Double Back, Lionetti and Waters.
And I thought the Napa Valley was good! Wala Wala is in Washington about 3-4 hours drive up from Portland, Oregon and geeze it is worth the drive, not only is it an incredible wine producing region, the restaurants are top gear! Wala Wala ladies of Wine

We ate at Whitehouse Crawford Restaurant and Saffron (twice) amongst several others.
Saturday brunch at Double Back http://www.doubleback.com/ co owned by Chris Figgin’s (winemaker for Leonetti/son) and American football star Drew Bledsoe followed by a launch for family and friends of DoubleBack, we were lucky enough to try DoubleBack's first release, which was incredible now and not due to be released for another year!

Leonetti barrel hall (right) Chris showed us around his families gorgeous winery and we tasted many fabulous wines.

Chris Figgins and his father from Leonetti and Drew Bledsoe at the DoubleBack launch (left).

We visited Ken and Ginger at Abeja http://www.abeja.net/ This place is amazing and so is the wine! (Ken and Ginger right).

Saturday afternoon tour and tasting at Corliss http://www.corlissestates.com/ followed by a dinner where I met four other people attending the Kapalua Food and wine Festival in Hawaii.

Portland-Los Angels
Caught up with Jim “Hollywood” Malloy, went to Chateau Marmont with the gorgeous Stuart Robertson for dinner where we spotted Courtney love and Russell brand (actor/comedian) on the tables next to us.
Gotta love LA.

I am currently in the air, heading south, about to land in Hawaii (Maui) for the Kapalua Fine Wine and Food Festival, of which will be just terrible..

Aloha,

Bronny

The blue skies of Tokyo

2009-06-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Another airport, another bus, another hotel… but many amazing people! Welcome to the blue skies of Tokyo, after 10 days of haze arriving in Tokyo was a blessing. Kicking around with Christian & Eric (long time supporters of Man O’ War and brilliant brand ambassadors in Japan) we meet some of Japan’s hospitality elite. First up a cheeky little Italian dinner, complete with a bottle of vintage Man O' War Merlot stored lovingly at the Caraggio.

Thursday brought on the NZ Wine show. It was huge! 500 people came through for a trade tasting, many media and sommeliers. Thankfully the gods were looking after me and Yoshito Shichiji to help for the day. His palate was amazing and very quickly he understood what we were all about and helped to tell the Man O’ War story to everyone who came by.
With an hour break we had another 400 consumers come through hosted by Air NZ, they were thirsty for both knowledge & great NZ wine. Many expats (including a few lawyers) enjoyed a touch of home and some good old kiwi slang.

Ready for a beer, Mike from Prophets Rock, John from Vinoptima and I headed to Murase Wine & Cheese

www.wine-murase.com a Mecca for New Zealand wines. Kenichi Murase the owner has fallen in love with NZ and has an extraordinary wine list, many pictures and maps from NZ, including one of Man O’ War! So look out as soon as we have stock landed in Japan.

My remaining time in this amazing city was meeting and tasting with some of Christian & Eric’s friends and restaurant owner clients. Had an amazing tasting with the T.Y. Express group, almost Tokyo’s equivalent of the Nourish Group but much nicer. Shimpei Terada the President, Kazuaki Takanari the Wine Director, and David Chiddo Vice President slurped their way through our range and were particularly impressed with Ironclad, Valhalla & Dreadnought. So we are hoping to have a home on their amazing wine list soon.

We also attended the opening of Factory, a new bakery opened by Sei & Aki Matsuura

www.factory-kudan.com who also own some great restaurants in the heart of Tokyo. My last supper in Tokyo was surrounded by new friends at a brilliant Spanish tapas restaurant, Bikini (yes I did eat some traditional Japanese food) which is part of the Four Seeds group www.four-seeds.co.jp Talking through Man O’ War and planning the next trip (including a cup of tea with David). It is a beautiful city, with charming people and great hospitality!

One must go home, it’s been a great trip and we have met some wonderful people and made so many new friends for Man O’ War. I am looking forward to seeing the team back at HQ, my own bed, cheese on toast, and ‘vegging out’ in front of the TV, plus not having to lug around 7 pieces of luggage! But we will be back and we very much look forward to it.
Sara

HMS New Zealand sails into a new vintage

2009-06-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War has just left Dear Old Blighty and is heading across the North Sea for the Baltic. Where we are looking forward to catching up with Simon and Calle of Concealed Wines (www.concealedwines.com) in Stockholm. En route we will sail past the sites of the three major North Sea naval battles of WWI - Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and the epic Battle of Jutland. One of the few big British ships of the Grand Fleet to be involved in all three of these battles was the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand, which had been gifted to a grateful Royal Navy by the people of New Zealand in the lead up to the Great War. Prior to the commencement of hostilities she had undertaken a visit to NZ under the command of Captain(later Sir Admiral) Lionel Halsey where a Maori Chief handed Halsey a Maori piu-piu and greenstone tiki, advising him to wear it in battle, as it would bring good luck to his ship. In all three battles, with the captain suitably attired, HMS New Zealand was in the thick of the fray but emerged unscathed each time with no loss of life. Getting amongst it during the Battle of Jutland she fired 420 twelve inch shells, the most of any vessel in the battle, following that old Kiwi maxim of “when there is lead in the air, there is hope!”. In honour of the HMS New Zealand and her wartime efforts we have recently released our 2009 vintage t-shirts with Sir Admiral Halsey as this year’s Man O’ War. B

Pruning Starts Tomorrow

2009-06-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

It feels like just 10 minutes ago we drove the last of our Cabernet down the winding metal road to the Man O' War winery and signaled the end of vintage 2009 for the vineyard staff. A challenging yet exciting vintage ended as it always does, a big sense of relief combined uncomfortably with an empty hollow feeling hat it was all over for another year. All that you have worked for for the last 12 months was now over and out of your hands; adopted by the winery until such time they feel it right to give your babies back in a glass.

After a time of rest, reflection and a post mortem of what we've just been through, it's time to swap the T-shirts for swandries, the baseball caps for beanies, the picking snips for loppers, the lager for stout, the Rose for Cabernet and the Bar B for the crock pot and look forward to the start of vintage 2010, pruning.

Waiheke Island doesn't normally experience very cold winters but a couple of weeks ago a large anticyclone and southerly airflow saw temperatures plummet on the island leading to series of spectacular frosts (well, spectacular for Waiheke) and crisp clear days.

We welcome any cold chilling for the vines to help put them to rest properly, in fact, it would be nice if it snowed a couple of times a year to also suppress overwintering insects and disease but beggars can't be choosers. For now we'll take what we can get.

Pruning is a great time of year, a chance to make some changes, manipulate the vines into various forms to achieve goals and transform the vineyards back to a manageable state in readiness for bud burst in early September.

I'll let you know how we're getting on and be sure to add some images of our Ethiopian friends who sometimes resemble the marshmallow guy in Ghostbuster's, often needing to wear their entire winter wardrobe to stay warm.

Until then....from the Man O' War team at HQ

Cheers.

2009-06-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War recently arrived in Southampton

2009-06-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War recently arrived in Southampton and headed up to Stokes Fine Wines (www.stokesfinewines.com) near Andover in Hampshire to present our wines. We met with Tim, Justin and Nick in their office which is a converted barn in the corner of Apsley Estate. Really cool office and even cooler guys. Had a great visit and the wines showed well; so we are hopefully looking forward to Stokes and Man O’ War forging a great and successful partnership in the UK.

Unfortunately I left my pen (a pretty rare Bic!!!) at their offices and Justin emailed me and offered to mail it back to me. Fearing that without appropriate writing instruments all would be lost, we made alternative arrangements…..so today as Man O’ War was flying from Southampton to Dartmouth (where our Grandfather attended the Britannia Royal Naval College in WWI to train for the Royal Navy) via Oxford we dropped in at Lears Farm in Somerset to pick up the aforementioned wayward pen.

Lear Farm Air Traffic Control Director Jack.

Lears Farm is owned by Melody and John, who cut a landing strip in their field for us and had Jack direct us in as Air Traffic Control with great aplomb. The Somerset scenery was magnificent as was the hospitality at Lears Farm. We had a great cuppa and greatly enjoyed shooting the breeze with Justin, Margo, John, Melody and all the kids. Great pit stop… thank you. We are looking forward to heading back to Somerset soon to hang out and share some great wine and food with everyone we met. Cheers, B

Dartmouth with Britannia Royal Naval College in foreground.

“Where the sun meets the sea” Kevin Zhang,

2009-06-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Ni Hao
Back up to 80kgs of luggage, managed not to get charged excess luggage in Macau, the flight to Shanghai was very quick after all of the long haul, although we were stuck on the tarmac for 1 ½ hours while they tested us all for swine flu. They tested my 5 times, and after the 3rd I was starting to get worried! After the all clear, I met Mr Pan, who was my guide while in Shanghai and my saviour in more than many ways over the course of 3 days.
It is amazing with all of that traffic and little regard to road lanes that there are not many accidents. There is no stopping for pedestrians or other cars. None of the taxi’s have seatbelts, thank fully as I had so much luggage I couldn’t move around too much in the back seat.

China was in a state of lock down, I couldn’t access the blog, gmail or facebook and often the BBC reports would stop as they were censoring anything on the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square. The newspapers had strangely up beat feel to them with little bad news. Reminded me of how lucky we are in NZ.

The NZ Wine Show was a huge success, a room full of very interested wine people. They were very knowledgeable about wines and very keen to share their stories about New Zealand. Mr Pan did an amazing job translating for me. Met Kevin Zhang & Sherry Wang from China Wine Platform, Kevin’s comment on us was that we look like the place ‘Where the sun meets the sea’. We had a great tasting with them. There was also a wonderful group of Internet wine buyers from www.winekee.com who named us the best winery at the show!
Valhalla, Ironclad and the Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc were main favourites.
Mr Pan took me to a local restaurant and had Peking Duck which was delicious!

Third day in Shanghai I visited some wine stores, and followed up with some people from the Wine Fair. Definitely a great opportunity here, the Chinese are very interested and want to learn as much as they can, I think the market will grow here quite rapidly into a very sophisticated wine market.

Ventured to a goods market in town, thank goodness Mr Pan was with me when we had to go into the ‘secret rooms’ and barter quite a lot. Amazing what you can pick up for $20 NZD. Always a “special price for a pretty lady”. Perhaps we should employ these sorts of tactics at home when selling wine.

For dinner, Mike (from Prophets Rock) & I ended up in a very unique Chinese restaurant overlooking the Bund in little cabooses, with incredible food; we were slightly worried in the beginning, with dishes named “Frog Saliva fries the tofu”. We also checked out the view (and a couple of beers) from the top of the hotel which was phenomenal.

Next stop Tokyo Japan.
Sara

Bron's trip so far..

2009-05-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

From Auckland to San Fran airport, I jumped straight into a hire car ready to drive up to the Napa Valley and was sitting in the passenger seat.. ouch left hand drive, forgot about that!

An hour later I was sitting on Rob Mondavi's porch, in one piece sharing a bottle of Man o' War.

Had a wonderful few days touring the Napa Valley being chaperoned by one of the Napa's finest, visiting many fine wine stores, retail outlets and restaurants. There is a good presence of New Zealand wine in stores, the majority being Sauvignon Blanc, then Pinot Noir and small amount of Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Merlot. Lots of Napa Chardonnay, lots and lots!
Wholefoods was an amazing store, its a very high end organic food and wine store here in the US and has the most incredible collection of cheeses, meats and of course wine! I met Geoff, the fine wine manager who knew more fabulous facts about New Zealand than I did! He had me giggling for about 30 minutes.

Bouchon - Wow what a wonderful French restaurant, I wanted something light and ordered the french onion soup, Rob looked at me in surprise and muttered ' light..' and I realised soon why, it was incredible rich and full of cheese and bread and onions! Nothing a large glass of Napa Valley Chardonnay couldn't help digest!

Met up with the Folio team and it was interesting to hear their insight into where the market is at this time. Later I had the opportunity to meet Mary and Andy Lytle and their little bundle of joy Jasper. Andy has been in the wine industry most of his life so it was fascinating to hear his very reassuring thoughts on the state of the US wine industry.
We visited 'Mustards' an iconic restaurant here in the Napa and enjoyed ribs and a bottle of Jayson Woodbridges famous Napa Valley Cabernet Hundred Acre and a bottle of Mondavi's Spellbound Petit Syrah.

I loved my visit to the Napa Valley, it is very Grande, the wineries are very Grande, nothing like I have seen before - a stunning and beautiful place!
From the Napa to LA,
I was lucky enough to have the famous Jim (Hollywood) Malloy as my partner in crime in LA. We visited countless restaurants and fine wine stores including two stand outs.

- Wine House Fine Wine, an institution in LA. We met JIm Knight and tasted through the entire Man O' War range. This was by far the largest wine store I have encountered yet in the US, rows and rows of wine from all over the world.
- Wally's Fine Wine, this fine wine store perfectly rap each bottle of wine purchased and standing outside you see limo after limo pull up and take off.

LA to Montreal for the NZ Wine show.

Visited the SAQ to get a permit for our wine, as it was wrestled off me by customs!
Met the ever charming Jean-Charles Thiry and Jack Cohen from UVAS Fine Wine and was shown around Montreal visiting Le Gourmand an amazing restaurant in Pointe-Clair (Quebec) where i was lucky enough to have lunch with Jean-Charles and Micheal the owner/chef at Le Gourmand.

Montreal to Toronto - For the NZ Wine Show, a whirl wind trip where I met Lenny and the boys from BW Wines and Nick Hirons from The Merchant Vintner and later was lead astray by the likes of Sue and Paula and the rest of the crew from the NZ wine Show and missed my flight to New york in the morning! Phew I need to pick up my game. All in all the NZ Wine Shows were a hit, incredibly successful, so congratulations to Robert Ketchin (right).

New York, oh New York.. this City is just amazing..

I had the most incredible time meeting Pierre and Nicolas at Soho House, Craig and the sommelier team from Public, Ken from Sheree Lehmann and Diane from the famous Kiwi and Australian Nelson Blue Restaurant and Bar. I also caught up with the lovely Dana Johanson from New Zealand Trade and Enterprises for coffee and an insight into the NYC market and what was happening in the industry.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Anthony from Noble House Wine and Sheila from Martin Scott, a well renoun wine distributor in NYC.

I also had time to shop.. sight see.. shop... research the NY night scene... and did I mention shop?

NYC excites me and the markets response to Man o' War wines was incredible.. bring on August!

NYC to Vancouver - Just a day in Vancouver with a meeting with Darryl and Richard from Authentic Wine and Spirits, who walked the NZ Wine Show with me and gave me an insight into Vancouver and the BC Wine Market. Every Province in Canada has different Alcohol laws, its like dealing with a new country - a bit like the US and gets very confusing!

I also met some other great distributors Bob Guinn from TGIC Fine Wine Importers and Distributors (US and Canada) and Paul Martin (Peacock and Martin) a distributor based in BC, both lovely men of which I shared fish and chips with on the Vancouver water front.. just stunning!

And here I am in St Helena in the Napa Valley, the sun is shining and I am sitting on my bed typing this and having a glass of Napa Valley Chardonnay!

Bye for now..

Bronny

Man O' War on its way to Southampton

2009-05-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War has left the “Rock of Gibraltar” and is heading for Southampton (where we are going to catch up with Stokes Fine Wines in Hampshire) en route to the Baltic. We are running along in a sturdy 40 knots and the rolling Atlantic swell off the coast of Spain. In this patch of ocean, a few miles offshore between the port of Cadiz and the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar, the supremacy of the Royal Navy was stamped indelibly on the history of the 19th century. When during a single terrible afternoon in October 1805, twenty-seven Man O’ War sailing ships commanded by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson annihilated a combined French and Spanish fleet of thirty-three ships-of-the-line under the French Admiral Pierre Villeneuve. The nearest map reference, a remote coastal bay called Trafalgar, was to give the battle its name. Much like Man O’ War Bay gives it name to our vineyards and wine. In honour of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar we have decided to name the latest addition to our black label range, a spectacular 2009 Viognier, “Victory” after Nelson’s flagship the H.M.S Victory. B

“The Rock” of Gibraltar

2009-05-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

Man O’ War is currently sailing from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea. We hope to visit various friends along the way. We are currently anchored off “The Rock” of Gibraltar which is at the same latitude as “The Rock” of Waiheke Island. Tomorrow we sail past Cape Trafalgar the site of the most comprehensive naval victory of all time on our way to Southampton. We might need to name a wine in recognition of such an auspicious event! B

The Far East

2009-05-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Arrived to the rain and heat in Hong Kong , amazing smells everywhere for a first timer here, I am pleased to be tall. Such an interesting place. Checked out the local wine retail scene, very impressed with Ponti (www.ponti-fwc.com), Olivers and 360 (www.threesixtyhk.com). We need something like this at home! Very sophisticated wine market here.

Had a great tour around Tsim Sha Tsui and dinner with Vanessa from At Style wine importers in a traditional Chinese restaurant, where I tried ducks feet, cheek of snapper and goose, couldn’t quite brave the chicken feet.
Every night you can see a light & music show from 8pm from Tsim Shar Tsui looking back to Hong Kong Island.

Met some other great wine distributors and Eddie McDougall from the Independent Wine Centre, learnt a lot about this market. Excited about the opportunities for us here. Caught up with Travis & Natasha Brown who are Australians living here both working in hospitality so great to learn more about the market and what is happening here. We went to Lan Kwai Fong the expat hang out. Did I mention anything about the Super 14 Finals... never.

Caught the ferry to Macau, a fascinating place. To me a good combination of Hong Kong and somewhere in the middle of Europe. You can still see the influence of the Portuguese here. We have representation here with TH Fine Wines, www.thfinewines.com. We have had meetings with MGM and the City of Dreams complex, Dreadnought Syrah on the opening list of City of Dreams. It opens next Monday, they complex in the final stages with 6000 staff members in training still. It will be wonderful to see it again open.

Off to see some more complexes today, and then leave on Sunday for Shanghai. Hopefully without losing too much money at any of the Casinos here!
Until the next time. Sara

From Madrid to Hong Kong

2009-05-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Ola

Quick trip to Madrid on Wednesday to meet with Cesar Rodenas from Winetipodes to talk through some options for Spain with them.

It was 34*C and beautiful weather. We saw some amazing places including the Silken Puerta America Hotel (pictures), which as a very uber-cool restaurant & bar.

We had lunch at an amazing little restaurant, Edulis, it reminded me of French Cafe with only 6 tables. Luca the owner, chef, waiter and someillier all in one, looked after us so very well and the food was amazing. If your in Madrid, you must go www.edulisrestaurante.com and after July you should be able to find Man O' War there as well as around Spain in special outlets.

Back to London, England where the sun and warmth finally arrived just as I was leaving. There some very exciting developments happening here, more will be revealed soon.

Arrived in Hong Kong this afternoon to the rain (again), looking forward to the next exciting adventure. Will keep you posted...

Sara

Duncan's winery update

2009-05-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

We have just finished pressing the last of our reds on Monday and the barrels are all stacked away, it’s the last week with all the workers here so we are glorified cleaners at the moment.

I’m ready to finish the Dreadnought this week for bottling at the winery in late June.
The Man O' War Sauvignon Blanc 09 and Man O' War Pinot Gris 09 are finished blends and I will start stabilising them for bottling in the spring.

Exciting times.
Duncan

LIWF 09

2009-05-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

Kia Ora from London, England!

The 2009 London International Wine Fair

is over, we had amazing interest in

Man O’ War, the wines and what we

are all about.

Over the course of the 3 days, we scanned over 300 people (hopefully not

brainwashing them), making some amazing new friends and learnt a lot about the markets in UK, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Ireland, South Africa and even Canada. Many were from great retail outlets like Oddbins and Majestic, smaller independents like Thos Peatling Fine Wines and the Wig & Mitre group. We had a great catch up with Sam from Wine Thief, a brilliant online NZ wine store, who placed our first order with Ironclad. To be served at a function at New Zealand house at the end of May. Quite a few hotels came through and some buyers from British Airways, so a great way to meet the full spectrum of every type of establishment selling wine.

We were between Gary & Martin from Babich and Neil who was on the NZ Winegrowers stand showing great wines from Maven, Archangel and Judge Rock, and a great help at introducing Man O’ War to many punters at the show. Thank you Neil (on the left sans hat)!

The Man O’ War Sauvignon Blanc, Valhalla Chardonnay, Man O’ War Merlot Cabernet Franc, Dreadnought Syrah and Ironclad were huge hits! As was the new Man O’ War DVD, so many want to now visit Waiheke Island and New Zealand.

The team at NZ Winegrowers were brilliant, the stand looked amazing and many friends from other ‘large companies’ commented that the New Zealand stand was one of the busiest at the show.

There were some spectacular stands; favourites include McGuigan who had planted vines, who would have thought in the middle of London, England!

This week I am catching up with some potential distributors in UK and Spain, off to Madrid for a day on Wednesday, (so foreign for us Kiwis), and then heading to Hong Kong for the second leg of the trip. It’s been amazing to be in London, England. It astonishes me how far the New Zealand Wine industry has come, when you see 3 bays of New Zealand wine in Harrods. They really do love us over here. Yesterday an article came out that NZ bucks the trend in the UK market and is in growth and at a higher price point! (see blog below)

Until next time,
Sara