In our continuing Central Sundays series, Rowan reviews a product Central has developed a world-wide reputation for - Pinot Noir.

Hawkdun Rise Vineyard & Accommodation has been a part of Central Otago for the past few decades, with vines straddling the folded hills along Letts Gully Road just outside of Alexandra. 

The road cuts through a small valley of sorts, or a gully rather, which locals know has its own kind of climate. 

The road is home to a number of vineyards and is fast becoming a treasure trove of bed and breakfast style accommodation in amongst vines and farmland. 

Hawkdun Rise is run by John Grant and Suzanne Bali-Grant, and doubles as vineyard and accommodation. 

Hawkdun Rise is situated on Letts Gully Road, where the grapevines thrive in the stony, Central Otago soil. 

The couple tend the vines alongside their three maltese terriers and the vineyard accommodation is often a basecamp for mainly European visitors. 

John and Sue change the flags outside their property to suit which nationalities are currently staying at the accommodation. 

It may be a small vineyard but it has a lot of heart and was planted in 1994, predominantly pinot noir with a small amount of gewürztraminer. 

The scale of the vineyard is just enough for the couple to manage “with a little help from my friends,” according to John.

The vines are tended by hand and flourish on the stony slopes of the gully. 

The Hawkdun Rise Pinot Noir 2014 is a drop of Letts Gully itself, a surprising bottle of peppery, oaky goodness which mellows as it makes its way down. 

The pinot noir smells of dried flowers and herbs, and carries hints of leather, of cherries or cherry pudding. 

The first taste carries the acidity along with cherry, and evolves into oaky and peppery flavours. 

The Hawkdun Rise Pinot Noir 2014 is a medium bodied wine which shows elegance and complexity and ample tannins. 

Finely crafted by Peter Bartle, of VinPro, who was recently named finalist in the 2020 New Zealand Winemaker of the Year awards, it is a medium bodied wine which shows elegance and complexity and has a satisfying follow-through.

Ready to drink now it is the perfect accompaniment to a lamb stew or roast, with potatoes, or a mushroom risotto or pasta. 

Be in to win: 

To win, send an email to [email protected] and tell us somebody who you think deserves a bottle of this delicious wine and why. 

Entries close at midnight Sunday 2 August 2020. 

Do you have a favourite local product you have enjoyed and would like us to feature? 

Are you a Central local who makes, produces or sells something you’d like people to know about? 

This weekly column is all about encouraging us all to support each other in Central, by featuring the wonderful products we create here or which can be purchased here in our local stores. 

If you have a comment or suggestion for future Central Sundays columns, email Mary or Rowan at [email protected] 

Photos Rowan Schindler