We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Casey goes to the opening of Instagram’s most hotly anticipated mini golf bar. I don’t really know why I’m even bothering to write a review of Holey Moley when a fellow mini golf enthusiast summed up the entire … Read more
Alice gives her verdict on an award-winning beer, and Henry dives into to a juicy Californian chardonnay. BACH BREWING BILLFISH APA 5.8%, 6 X 330ml cans, $22.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co As a small child, I had a morbid fascination with the bill of a marlin that lived in our attic. It was huge. … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Emily Writes tries a new super-sized version of a classic flavoured milk. I was hungry and had already finished my two-minute noodles so I figured it was time to go to my happy place, Capital Mart. What can I … 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 welcome Sophie back to the studio with a big ol’ American celebration. We chow down on fried chicken (recipe here) … Read more
New Zealand hops are hot property in the beer world, but some overseas breweries’ tone-deaf homages to Aotearoa are causing offence. Worldwide, the beer industry is coming under increasing pressure to be more inclusive. In many parts of the world, breweries are dominated by white males, and the industry has a history of sexism — … Read more
This week, Alice Neville welcomes new beginnings for a beer that’s had its fair share of drama, and Henry Oliver tips his hat to a wallet-friendly white. GARAGE PROJECT DFA 7.5%, 330ml, $6.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co This week’s beer comes with a touch of controversy. First brewed in 2013, the then-named Death From … Read more
This week, Alice is smitten with a seasonal twist on an old favourite, and Henry happily quaffs a Provençal rosé. GARAGE PROJECT PERNICIOUS YUZU WEED 8%, 650ml, $16.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Pernicious Weed is OG Garage Project, one of the original 24 beers the Wellington brewery boldly released over 24 weeks to announce … Read more
After reading advice urging him to microwave red wine during the winter, Hayden Donnell angrily takes on New Zealand’s entire wine community. I was reading Kia Ora magazine’s wine column recently, as I am wont to do. Its author, the veteran wine writer and Master of Wine Bob Campbell, began his latest entry by rattling … Read more
Six weeks ago, through a haze of blood, sweat, tears and citrus, a grapefruit IPA was born. This week, it’s finally time to introduce the concoction to the beer-loving public. You’d be forgiven for thinking that a craft beer-focused jaunt to Wellington would be all fun and games. But I’m a professional, and when I … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Don Rowe gets out the duct tape and cracks into a bottle of Scrumpy. For almost thirty years, only one word has been synonymous with both duct tape and drinking. That word is Scrumpy, the people’s cider. With 8% … Read more
This week, Poland comes to Warkworth, Portugal to Hawke’s Bay, and Henry Oliver drinks it up. 8 WIRED BALTYK-TASMAN 9%, 330ml, $7.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Ahhhhhhh, isn’t it heartwarming when the disparate nations of the world can come together and make something beautiful? It seems to be happening a lot less recently. Every … Read more
By rejuvenating the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, the founder of Lone Bee Mead hopes to breathe new life into our regions. The animal kingdom brims with everyday examples of enterprise, dare and bravery by creatures both great and small. In the world of the humble honey bee, the hero of the narrative is the scout … Read more
The offensive ads may have been confined to the annals of history (ie: YouTube), but the 100-plus-year-old cordial is still around, and still wrong on many levels. Kia ora — isn’t it a lovely word? It reminds me of my hometown and Suzy Cato and perky Air New Zealand flight attendants. It’s informal but sounds … Read more
This week, our intrepid reviewers combine two great passions: beer and chocolate for Alice, wine and pizza for Henry. BEHEMOTH BREWING COMPANY TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT 6.5%, 440ml, $11.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co If you’re anything like me, you’ll often be faced with the dilemma of whether to have another beer or move on … Read more
Chenin blanc is one of the most versatile grapes around, and it makes some truly excellent wine. New Zealand is an ideal place to grow it, so why is so little being produced here? In the corner of one of Marlborough’s few hillside vineyards, there is a grape that makes some of the greatest white … 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. Alex Kirichuk makes the world’s best booze, he says. It’s a bold claim for a tiny distillery in Puhoi, a historic village just north of Auckland, but the Ukrainian master … Read more
Alice Neville enjoys a crisp pilsner with a pleasing chilli kick, while Henry Oliver joins Reese Witherspoon in singing the praises of a pastel pink number from Central Otago. MCLEOD’S FAR NORTH CHILI PILS 5.2%, 500ml, $9.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Ah, beer and chilli. Name a more iconic duo. No wonder Hallertau Brewery … Read more
Auckland sake sommelier Wayne Shennen is on a mission to spread the gospel of the oft-misunderstood Japanese tipple. Like many folk, Wayne Shennen used to hate chardonnay. “My personal experience was that I knew it was rubbish, because I’d had 10 bad chardonnays. Then 15 years later I tried it again and had a decent … Read more
Alice Neville tries a multifaceted, dragon-inspired Belgian beer from Waikanae, while Henry Oliver opts for a full, fragrant and ever-so-slightly funky pinot gris from Waipara. NORTH END OUDE DRAAK 6.2%, 500ml, $19.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co As a youth, I spent many tedious weekends in Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast, my only entertainment a … Read more
Did you know that all kinds of weird and wonderful shit floats about in the night sky, and you can make beer with it? If you’re into wine, you’ll probably be familiar with the idea of terroir — the way a Central Otago pinot noir tastes different to a Martinborough one, for example. It’s all … Read more
Dietary Requirements is our new monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms and Fine Wine Delivery Company. On Dietary Requirements this month, Rebecca Smidt and Dariush Lolaiy from Auckland restaurant Cazador join Alice and Simon in the studio to talk about (and eat) sausages, offal, Beervana, their … Read more
These days, chards are far more complex than the buttery, oaky monsters of yore, so dive on in. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they don’t like chardonnay, I’d be making a shitload more money than I currently am as a freelance wine writer in a small country. Chardonnay occupies … Read more
Reflecting on the highs and lows of multiple circumnavigations of a beery concrete concourse. At the weekend, The Spinoff’s most enthusiastic consumer of beer made a pilgrimage to our nation’s capital to attend Beervana. For the uninitiated, Beervana is a big craft beer festival held over two days every August in the cosy concrete concourse … Read more
‘Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right,’ according to Mark Twain. Simon Day has a cleansing glass of bubbles (or three) to go with a history lesson on champagne. Champagne and fried chicken make surprisingly good tablemates. The sharp, cleansing effervescence of the wine cuts through the rich fattiness … Read more
No blender required, says south Taranaki iwi-owned enterprise Kaitahi, whose frozen smoothie drops using Māori ingredients have tapped into the convenient ‘superfoods’ market. Jihee Junn talks to business development manager Leonie Matoe about how Kaitahi’s innovative drops are reviving the use (and growth) of indigenous ingredients. Fossil fuels have long powered Taranaki’s economic engine. But … Read more
With its fascinating regional diversity, New Zealand’s most popular red has evolved into a wine that’s making the world sit up and take notice. Pinot noir is a fickle friend. It’s one of the most difficult grapes to grow and wines to make. It requires a sunny, cool climate; its tightly clustered bunches are particularly … Read more
Food and drink are the source of many memories. Simon Day remembers a hangover and his childhood with milkshake guru Matt Fitzgerald. Of all the scenes from 1982’s Spielberg science fiction classic E.T. to be preserved in Matt Fitzgerald’s mind, it’s the moment young Elliott is sent out to get pizza by his brothers that’s … Read more
Featuring hints of marshmallow, Prince Charles, booze-soaked shoes and being bullied by a large Scottish man named Paul. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It was 11am and I was drunk. Whisky was dribbling over the top of my glass and a large Scottish man was standing over me yelling, “Is that enough?” He … Read more
Today it’s babies and playgrounds, but parliament’s early days were more like a drunken party. This story was originally published on RNZ On the night of 14 June 1984, a drunken Prime Minister Robert Muldoon staggered down a Beehive corridor and announced a snap election to a moustachioed, beige-suit-wearing press pack. “It doesn’t give you … Read more