The Spinoff Food whānau and friends reveal the best things they put in their gobs this year. CLAIRE ADAMSON Earlier this year, before she had told anyone outside of the family she was pregnant, my sister gamely came along to a wine tasting I was holding and inhaled the aroma of each wine deeply from … Read more
In an unassuming spot just outside of our biggest city, exacting standards and secret methods are producing some of the smoothest spirits you’ll ever try. This post was originally published 21 September 2018 Alex Kirichuk makes the world’s best booze, he says. It’s a bold claim for a tiny distillery in Puhoi, a historic village … Read more
Alice discovers that juniper and hops are a match made in heaven, while Henry pops the cork on a bargain bottle of bubbly. DUNCAN’S BREWERY JUNIPER IPA 7%, 500ml, $10.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co A lot of brewers have a penchant for gin. Come to think of it, winemakers too. I guess the point … Read more
Every day in the lead-up to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: José Barbosa on the perfect milkshake. Someone once said “only the madman is absolutely sure”. Well then I guess I’m eligible for in-home care … Read more
This lightly sparkling natural wine has been popping up on drinks lists all over the show, and it’s not going away any time soon. Pét-nats are kind of a big deal right now. It may be tempting to dismiss this as some flash-in-the-pan fad – and granted, the vibrant labels and crown bottle caps that … Read more
Whatever you do, don’t leave people to their own devices. (But do ask them to bring ice.) People are always asking what they can bring to a party and your answer to that question should always be: ice. You can never have enough of it, and as the host you shouldn’t be expected to race … Read more
Every day in the lead-up to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Sam Brooks on why cocktail snobbery is for losers. Look, I love a good cocktail. My best friend is a cocktalier/mixologist/bartender/good guy who knows … Read more
A fruity rosé inspires Henry to issue some eyebrow-raising advice, and a new IPA has Alice feeling festive. BEAU DE FRANCE ROSÉ 2017 13%, France, $13.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Here at The Spinoff, it’s hot take season – all month long, we’re shooting our hottest opinions, straight from the hip. But there’s one I … Read more
From beach outings to barbecues to battling feelings of festive stress, December is jam-packed with moments made for popping the cork on something sparkling. The first glass of Champagne in our house on Christmas day is a bit of a ritual. The anticipation builds all day from the moment we finish our breakfast serving of … Read more
A new release from Sawmill has Alice praising the haze, and Henry plans his Christmas around an excellent-value, full-flavoured pinot. SAWMILL EAST COAST IPA 5.9%, 500ml, $9.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Hazy IPAs are so hot right now. Well, to be frank with you, they’ve been pretty hot for a while, but the trend … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Emily Writes on the Freakshake. 2017 might have been the year the “Freakshake” was born. But 2018 was truly the year this abomination became … Read more
Two Auckland friends have combined their love of tea with their passion for te reo Māori – and turned it into a business. In India, chai wallahs are an institution — you’ll find one in every alleyway, on every street corner and railway platform, making and selling tea to thirsty customers. Half a world a way … Read more
Alice drinks outside her comfort zone, and Henry enjoys a young, fruity pinot gris named after a Martinborough legend. GOOD GEORGE BREWING ROSÉ CIDER WITH STRAWBERRY & LIME JUICE 946ml, 4.5%, $14.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co What’s this, a cider for beer of the week? Madness! I know, I’m as shocked to my very … Read more
In a video filmed for a conference the health minister was scheduled to open but then withdrew from, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver implores David Clark to pass a sugar tax. Watch below. Following on from the dressing down he directed at the National Party for failing to attend a sugar tax symposium last year, … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms and Fine Wine Delivery Co. This month on Dietary Requirements, we are joined in the studio by an extremely special guest: Rosemary Mount (née Dempsey), the legend who invented Kiwi onion dip. We learn about … Read more
Not feeling the festive spirit? Get yourself one of these bad boys and relive your childhood (but with added booze). Even though it arrives every year as reliably as rubbish spring weather and questions about what you’re doing for New Year’s, the festive season has a tendency to sneak up on us — or at … Read more
Just like the New Zealand wine industry it champions, Fine Wine Delivery Co has been through quite a journey over the past two decades. Back in 1997, the average house price in New Zealand was $181,000. Jim Bolger was prime minister, with Winston Peters his deputy. The world mourned Princess Diana, Titanic was released, and … Read more
Alice is taken back to Blighty by an old-school bitter, and Henry paints the town millennial pink. GALBRAITH’S ALEHOUSE BOB HUDSON’S BITTER 440ml, 4%, $7.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co English pubs were where my passion for beer truly took hold. I arrived in London as an innocent, fresh-faced lass from the colonies (OK, I … Read more
Part cellar door, part bottle shop and soon-to-be urban winery, Dorset Street Cellar Door has a big future ahead of it. Just off Victoria Street in Christchurch’s faded golden mile is an unassuming building with a sawtooth roof. Even with a fresh lick of paint, you can still make out the lettering of the former … Read more
Alice is tickled pink with a summery sour beer, while Henry says hola to a super-approachable Spanish white from Gizzy. SAWMILL BREWERY RASPBERRY SOUR 4.5%, 500ml, $10.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Earlier this year, Scottish craft beer giant BrewDog repackaged its hugely successful Punk IPA as Pink IPA, satirically dubbing it a “beer for … Read more
This Thursday is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, and you don’t have to buy into a quaint-French-custom-turned-grotesque-celebration-of-capitalism — or drink something that tastes like raspberry vinegar — to get involved. A dilemma presents itself to me every year as the third Thursday of November approaches. I’m not one to deliberately forego an excuse to drink wine, but … Read more
Georgia has beautiful scenery, a fascinating wine scene and the world’s nicest taxi drivers. What’s not to like? If you, like me, are a fan of stunning mountains, delicious wine, dangerous high-speed taxi journeys and cheese bread, allow me to suggest a trip to Georgia. Your friends and family will likely make a Ray Charles … Read more
Alice partakes of a pineappley pale ale, while Henry pops the cork on some French fizz. BEHEMOTH PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY PINEAPPLEY PALE ALE 5.3%, 330ml, $3.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Hot on the heels of Kind of a Big Deal, which honoured San Diego’s finest son Ron Burgundy, comes a Behemoth tribute to another … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s new monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms and Fine Wine Delivery Co. This month on Dietary Requirements, we throw caution to the wind and cook up an Aperol Spritz-fuelled pasta storm as we discuss the joys of Italian food and drink. … Read more
Hayden Donnell surveys one of the more rare whiskies to ever go on sale in New Zealand, and asks whether it’s worth its gigantic purchasing price. Last Wednesday night, I pulled into a North Shore industrial zone to taste-test rare and expensive whisky. It was an event put on by the Fine Wine Delivery Company and … Read more
Henry dives into a big, bold Spanish red, while Alice samples an easy-drinking Kiwi hop fest. ANCIANO 35 YEAR OLD VINES GARNACHA 2015 15%, $19.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Let’s talk about alcohol. You could read a shelf full of books about wine and barely know that there’s any alcohol in it. Wine publications … Read more
Alice welcomes the zombie hopocalypse with open arms (and gin), while Henry sups upon a spicy syrah from a Hawke’s Bay OG. EPIC BOILERMAKER Epic Hop Zombie, 8.5%, 500ml, plus Hidden World Oriental Spice Gin, 50ml, 44%, $11.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co A boilermaker, according to the internet, is a trained craftsperson who produces … Read more
Inspired by a weak reality TV brew and The Spinoff’s own teabag tapes, Alex Casey spills the tea on making the perfect cuppa. First published in October 2018. Last week was a huge week for tea disasters. It began on Married at First Sight NZ, where policy analyst and gaming enthusiast Fraser Lee (nee Pearce) … Read more
Alice is in a glass case of emotion (in a good way) about Behemoth’s latest IPA, and Henry is chuffed with a cheap and very cheerful pinot gris. BEHEMOTH BREWING COMPANY KIND OF A BIG DEAL SAN DIEGO IPA 6.9%, 330ml, $5.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co San Diego: famous for its zoo, Comic-Con, some … Read more