How the wine scene has changed since I first came to Asia 15 years ago - Hong Kong had only 4 wine shops, the range of wines was limited (not to mention prices exorbitant due to the duty which at one point was at 90%). If you ventured across the border to the mainland the choice was even less, I think there were only 3 major wine importers, mainly dealing in agency wines. Beer would be the alcoholic beverage of choice.
One of the undeniable privileges of working at Farr Vintners is that you get to taste a lot of very good wines. So much so that one’s perception of what constitutes a very good wine changes somewhat and you find that the figurative bar (no pun intended) by which you judge wine has been raised.
The very first vintage of Kumeu River Chardonnay that I tasted was the 1987 and I was so impressed with it that we placed our first ex cellars order soon after. Farr Vintners has imported every vintage produced since then. It's a wine that I have served blind countless times and even people who have fallen for it before still identify it as White Burgundy. My first visit to Kumeu was in January 1990 and 20 years on - almost to the day - here I am again, heading out of Auckland to see New Zealand's King of Chardonnay - Michael Brajkovich MW.
Sam Weaver is a man who has done what many of us would love to do, but would never dare. He left his 9 to 5 job in London, set off to the other side of the world with his young family, and learnt how to make wine. His labour of love is only now just coming to full fruition after 20 years of planning and hard work.
If you live in London and plan to visit a winery then the longest journey possible is to the Bannockburn region in Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. This is the Southern-most vineyard region in the world and the next stop below here is Antartica.
