Vigneron's notes

The range of wines at Bellbird Spring has grown over the last two years and includes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and a wonderful blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Muscat Ottonel - called Home Block White.

We craft traditional European styles of wine under 'Bellbird Spring' and more modern styles under the banner of 'The Pruner's Reward'. Regardless of label our wines have a house style that emphasises texture, mouthfeel and persistence of flavour. They are wines that suit good food and I hope, good company.

Winemaker - Guy Porter

Current Releases

Our current range includes the following:

The Pruner's Reward Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – a full ripe style of Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp and clean. Reviews.

The Pruner's Reward Pinot Noir 2009 – a well developed, savoury Pinot Noir. Reviews.

Bellbird Spring Block Eight Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – a crisp, delicately aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented naturally in old barrels to give texture and mouthfeel. Reviews.

Bellbird Spring Block Eight Pinot Gris 2010 – a medium style Pinot Gris rich with stone fruit character. Very good length. Reviews.

Bellbird Spring Home Block White 2009 – a medium style aromatic white. Soft rich and perfumed. Reviews.

These can be bought online or through a range of excellent independent retailers.

Food and Wine Matches

We make our wine to accompany food.

Melissa Morrow of Ponsonby Road Bistro, Auckland said: "The market fish was so stunning with the Bellbird Spring Home Block White 2009 ... Pan-roast Hapuka on Indian spiced potatoes with a fresh coconut, coriander and yoghurt dressing, deep-fried fresh curry leaves. Yum! The wine is being very well received!"

If you have suggestions please email me at guy@bellbirdspring.co.nz

Bellbird Spring 2010

A season that went from hot to dull and cool with rain during the later part of autumn. Fruit from our vineyards shows leaner characters. Frost affected part of the Home Block - with a late snap in November 2009.

Due to the frost a Pinot Gris was made from the Home Block rather than the usual Home Block White. The Sauvignon Blanc from Block Eight displays more nettle and verve than the 2010.

The first wines from this vintage will be released in September and October 2010.

Bellbird Spring 2009

A wonderful vintage. Not marred by bad weather and with good physiological ripening. Fruit with brown seeds, good flavours and acidity retained until picking.

Block Eight Pinot Noir 2009 - A first release with from young vines. Note - Soft ripe raspberry fruit on the nose. Plum ripeness follows through on the palate. Tannins are fine. Good length.

Block Eight Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - Block Eight is our vineyard site at the base of a stony clay ridge of Mt. Donald, Waipara. Fruit was hand picked whole bunch pressed and run to old oak barrels to ferment and then age on lees. Note - Ripe Sauvignon Blanc characters on the nose, a rounded palate, good mouthfeel excellent length.

Weeding the Home Block ......

Home Block White 2009 - The Home Block is our family vineyard on the Glasnevin gravels of Waipara. A single vineyard wine crafted from four varieties: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Muscat Ottonel. Grapes were hand picked, wholebunch pressed, racked, run to barrel and to ferment in old oak and then left on lees untill bottling. Note - Rose blossom and honey mingle on the nose. The palate is rich and textured.

Block Eight Pinot Gris 2009 - From the upper end of a stony clay site. Very ripe fruit was hand picked, pressed, racked and run to barrel. Old oak ferments stopped with some residual sugar. Note - An opulent wine, rich with the scent of dried stonefruit. Full flavoured, lingering.

The Pruner's Reward Sauvignon 2009 - Ripe well exposed fruit from our Home Block was harvested by machine, given extended skin contact, pressed, racked and fermented in stainless steel. Left on lees until bottling. Note - A ripe textured Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh and full of flavour.

Bellbird Spring 2008. Flavours -Low yields and patient ripening marry to produce wines with well-defined varietal aroma, ripeness and the structure necessary to balance that ripeness. This single-vineyard wine achieves fullness on the palate through the Pinot Gris which comprises the majority of the blend. Riesling adds underlying freshness and its signature streak of lime blossom whilst small quantities of Muscat and Gewürztraminer contribute to aromatic complexity. Four months on lees adds to the wine's texture.

Food -Our wines are specifically made to accompany food. Lively acidity and a touch of residual sugar provide the ultimate in versatility and Eastern cuisine, which often combines sweetness with spice, is an ideal match. It also has the palate weight to accompany both cream sauces and the sweetness of seared shellfish. A recent sucessful match was Moules Mariniere. Why not try this recipe.

The Vineyard - All four varieties were grown in a one-hectare parcel of the Bellbird Spring Vineyards. 2008 suffered from a particularly cool autumn and we harvested from April 15 to May 8, by which time there was already snow on the surrounding hills. The Pinot Gris was the last to come in and it has developed beautifully with wonderful peach and stone fruit character.

Winemaking - Our winemaking philosophy is very traditional. Grapes were whole-bunch pressed and lightly racked. The fermentation proceeded naturally entirely in old oak barriques. It stopped fermentation with some residual sugar and we subsequently aged it on its lees with battonage for four months. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally in some barrels in the Pinot Gris.

Packaging - Bottles are corked using Extra Fine grade natural corks allowing the wine to mature naturally over time.

Technical Details Alcohol 12.89%, pH 3.51, Residual Sugar 19.9 g/L. 360 cases produced.

Moules Mariniere Recipe

Ingredients
• Butter
• Ripe tomatoes, quartered
• Finely chopped shallots
• Finely chopped garlic
• Finely chopped parsley
• Mussels, beards removed and scrubbed.
• White wine

Method
Heat the butter in a pan and allow to melt. Add the tomatoes, chopped shallots, chopped garlic and chopped parsley. Stir well. Add the mussels. Add white wine and stir. Cover pan and allow to steam for a few minutes until the mussels have opened. Season as necessary and serve mussels with the sauce.