Ice lollies, potato chips and even the humble sandwich are all popular foods that were discovered or invented by mistake and one of the most popular wines in the UK today was also discovered thanks to an accidental masterstroke.

Thirty years ago, at a time when Sauvignon Blanc was known only as a French grape variety, pioneering winemakers planted the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. However, in what would turn out to be an accidental masterstroke and contrary to accepted practice, Montana planted their vineyard rows west to east rather than north to south. Surprisingly, this gave the winemakers a broader range of grapes to blend from, creating a unique approach to grape growing and resulting in a vibrant flavour never experienced before.

This fortuitous discovery raised the profile of New Zealand wines in the UK and created a huge demand for them. It put New Zealand on the map as a hub for wine excellence, in turn boosting their economy and tourism industries. Today, Montana is the world's number one New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and continues to win awards the world over.

To find out more about the journey from grape to glass, have your wine related questions answered and take part in this exciting wine tasting event, simply pour yourself a glass and sit back and relax.

For more information and for your chance to win a Vintage Experience, a money-can't-buy trip to New Zealand for you and your partner where you will experience the new vintage first hand and have the chance to blend your own wine. click on www.montanavintageexperience.com/win for your chance to win.

H: Murray Norton, host
N: Neil Philips
C: Chris Scott
G: Guests

H: Hello and welcome to this very special Food and Drink Show, brought to you by Montana Wines, very good of you to join us. Now I'm sure you're aware that there is a great deal of a buzz, talk, indeed excitement when it comes to New World wines. Quite simply the taste and the quality is that good it's giving the European rivals a real good run for their money, and more than a match for them I may say.  Now to teach us a thing or two today about the wines, I'm delighted to say we've got an Anglo-Kiwi alliance if you like of wine expertise, and it comes in the form of Neil Phillips and Chris Scott - guys welcome, nice to have you with us

N: Good to be here

C: Hi Murray

H: We've also got live tasters in here - hello

G: Hi

H: Nice to see you

G: Hello

H: thank you for being along - all very keen that they are as well. So we're talking about wines, we've got some special wines here, some great wines here which we're going to be tasting, we'll come back to you in just a second on those. Now don't forget this is a live show, so if you have a question all you have to do is fill out the box and then press submit and it comes straight through to us here, and we'll get through as many as we can, as quickly as we possibly can, so do stay with us. Guys we're talking about great wines, and let's start with one of the most popular and certainly a wine and a grape that everyone knows - Sauvignon Blanc. I've got to ask, why is it so popular Chris?

C: I think it's probably because it's got that lovely, fresh upfront fruit, and bags and bags of acidity. Sauvignon Blanc - lots and lots of acidity, and it's just mouth-watering, on a hot summer's day, sitting outside, lovely refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc - what else could be better?

H: Sounds great if we had some warm, hot, sunny days, that would help as well. But it is immensely popular isn't it?

N: It is, and I certainly think say in the mid ‘80s when we first started getting Sauvignon Blancs over here, we suddenly had - I think we had sort of a baptism in terms of fruit-driven wines, and thinking wow, this is so exciting - getting all these gooseberry flavours in the glass, that crisp acidity and actually something great to go with food as well, and it was really, you know, it was the guys at Montana actually in 1972, they first decided we're going to grow some Sauvignon Blanc, they did their first vintage in 1979 and then the whole show just changed really.  Incredible

H: Wise decision to make wasn't it?

N: Absolutely it was. I mean you know at the time there was nobody else growing Sauvignon Blanc in South Island, people said ooh it's not going to be warm enough down there, but it is and you get a long period of ripeness in terms of how long the grapes can ripen, get that intense fruit, get that crisp acidity which I talked about.  Yes it was a great idea

H: And when we're talking about great ideas, that's a great idea first of all, growing that grape down there, but there was also a fortuitous masterstroke wasn't there?  Something happened where they planted them in a different direction - what's the story?

N: Yes they did, I mean the thing was, hey a bit of a masterstroke really because actually the convention is to plant north to south but actually at the Brancott vineyard which is the main Montana vineyard, which is where the visitor centre is today, and is where we produce our estate Montana Sauvignon Blancs - what they actually did there, they actually planted east to west and it actually was - defied convention, but it's proven and it's stayed that way ever since. I mean there could have been the opportunity to go north / south, but they haven't done that, and they're producing a fantastic wine there

H: What difference does it make, I mean is this a - why one direction, not the other?

C: It does make a difference, a lot of vineyards, north / south because in the morning the sun's one the one side, comes overhead and then the sun's on the other side of the vine

H: That seems to make sense

C: You get a lot - bit more heat in the vine, so it just helps ripen things up a bit more. But in Marlborough you can get away with east to west - and the wines are good - so -

N: And you produce your top estate wine. Incredible really

H: If it's good keep it in, that's what they always say isn't it?

C: Yes

H: Got a question in from Joel straightway. Joel says "are all Montana vines still planted west to east, rather than north to south, or is it just the Sauvignon Blanc grape?"

N: It's just the Sauvignon Blanc -

H: Just that wine

N: And actually just at the Brancott estate. There rest of the time they're planting actually north to south, in actual fact

H: Ok. Well we're talking about Sauvignon Blanc and we've got bottles and glasses in front of us. It would be rude not to taste one

C: For sure

N: I can certainly do that

H: Lead on gentlemen, lead on. What do you recommend to start with?

N: Well what we're going to taste first of all is the Montana Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, the 2008 vintage

H: Ok, I'll let you pour that

N: I'm just going to give you a little bit there Murray and Chris a little drop as well. Now this was first produced in 1979, and this is the 30^th vintage of the Montana Sauvignon Blanc and 2008, let me just tell you something about this as well, 2008 was a fantastic year in New Zealand. You had a lot of - there's a lot of ripeness there. What you're looking for on the nose here, and give it a good swirl around -

C: Come on, give it a good swirl around over there as well. Come on, get involved

N: But you're getting all that gooseberry on the nose, that upfrontness which we talked about a bit earlier

H: There's a bit of tropical fruit in there -

C: Yes bit of passion fruit in there, tropical fruit. Definitely

H: can I just ask a question about that, because 2008 - that's like now. But of course in New Zealand harvesting time is not where it would be in Europe, which is October time, it's much earlier

C: It's March, April - yes

N: Yes so that it's - you know it's great, and one of the things you want to do is actually have this kind of wine really fresh. And we've got a perfect situation here now

C: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the younger it is the better it is. All that nice fresh -

H: I'm going to go over and ask the girls in just a moment what they're thinking about that, so have your minds' thought on that, but before we do, Jo, question - thank you Jo for your question - "I can always detect a passion fruit overtone in my Sauvignon's. Can you explain why and how this comes through?" So a real detailed question

C: Yes it's - when the grapes are ripening they go through a series of flavours. They start out quite green, grassy, nettley, then they go into a gooseberry phase and then they go into more of a blackcurrant phase, and then finally they go into a passion fruit and then further on more tropical fruit flavours - stone fruits, things like that. And it just depends a wee bit on when you're picking the vines, and also a wee bit where within Marlborough that they're growing them, what generates those flavours

H: It's a good question and it's certainly - they're very distinct aren't they?

C: Yes

H: And it's only when you mention it you go - ah yes

N: But you do get actually different regions of Marlborough where you're going to get certain flavours dominating more, where you're actually getting more gooseberry flavour coming across, and as Chris was talking about just actually getting more of those tropical fruits, sometimes actually getting more herbaceous style as well. But it makes it very interesting

H: Course it does sound very arty and a little bit airy fairy when we talk about this, but you've got to smell it, you've got to taste it to get that haven't you?

N: You've got to get into it. I mean -

H: Got to get into those flavours.  Let's go and talk to the girls first of all on our first table now. First of all, are you getting that passion fruit flavour?

G: I am, yes, it's delicious, it's really crisp and it's like a really nice sort of summer drink of wine. It's lovely. 

H: Very fresh as well.  Would you normally be drinking this?

G: Yes, no I love Sauvignon Blanc, it's great to have either on its own or with food - reminds you of summer's days as Kate said

H: Yes. There's a great freshness to this as well isn't there?

G: Yes, yes.

H: Enjoying it?

G: Love it.  Delicious. Thank you

H: Happy to be there obviously. Happy to be there. Good move, good move. Well that's a good start, and that's the first of our wines that we'll try, we've got more questions coming through and we will get through as many questions as we can, so if you have got a question for us, please do fill it in the box and send it off as soon as possible. In the meantime, lead onto our next - so we have another one to taste.

N: Yes and what we're going to do is we're actually going to stick with Sauvignon Blanc, and just remember earlier on we were talking about vineyards growing that are north / south, east / west, and we've actually got the Montana Brancott estate 2007 to taste here

H: So that's the one that's growing in that direction?

N: Yes. And this is the top Sauvignon Blanc that Montana actually produce

H: That's the brand - got a huge big "B" on the front of it

N: It has. Recognise that. Now the thing is here, one of the things we're talking about here is just getting it, you're getting -what they're doing at Brancott is actually just taking selected amounts, selected wines here, selected vineyards, blocks within that vineyard, so they can get really all that intensity on the nose, real, real concentration here. Really nice on its own, got loads of acidity, but great with food, really great with fish

C: It's also a wee bit fatter, not as fat as the '07, it's still got a bit more textural feel to the - than the other wine, and I think that's probably the main difference, you're starting to see a bit of difference between maybe some of the different sub regions within Marlborough, because this is mainly grown on the South Wairau -

N: It is actually, yes so -

H: Question in from Caroline, we're going to deal with this now because we're talking about the subtleties of difference here - Caroline's sent in plenty of questions, we're going to try and get through as many as we possibly can of yours Caroline - she's going to keep you busy tonight! "What's the best way to prepare the palette before a wine tasting event?" I've seen all sorts, from biscuits and cheese right through, but what should you do?

N: Don't go and have a curry, that's for sure, but I mean - but I think what you need to do is, I mean be careful what you're actually going to eat beforehand because you do, you know you want to be - when you're tasting properly is really pick up all those different sensations, whether that's fruit, whether that's oak in the wine, how does the wine taste on the finish as well? So try and not eat anything that's really spicy, obviously.  And actually coffee's not brilliant either because it just sort of dries your mouth out a bit, so really the vices - actually just get some water down you first of all, get yourself feeling nice and fresh

C: Right well I actually drink coffee! I think whatever you do, you've got to do it consistently

N: Yes

C: If you're tasting properly and you're really looking for stuff, is make sure that whatever you do, you do with routine, and for me, in my case, I just drink coffee

H: Direct opposite to you

C: But it's important, I use the same glass all the time, same style of glass, one of these tasting glasses, I try and taste the wines roughly the same temperature, and you just always just keep consistency, because then you learn the differences, subtleties, because particularly if you've had some food, your food will influence the way you're tasting things. If you've had something sweet, all of a sudden you won't notice sweetness as much, and as a result the wine tastes differently

H: Ok I'm going to pick up on a point that you made there, just moving on. You talked about food, and this with food would be great, when you were talking about that, what food would you recommend for this, because -

C: For me

H: Here we go

C: I love fish and chips, and I think Sauvignon Blanc was made to go with fish and chips. I know it sounds crazy

H: It does sound crazy

C: I know you're thinking why?

H: Yes why, come on

C: Because Sauvignon Blanc, particularly New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, lots of that refreshing acidity really makes you salivate, but it does the same job that you'd do if you had vinegar, putting vinegar on your chips, it cuts through the fat of the chips, and it just does the same job, and I think it's fantastic, you know, nice bit of cod and some chips, and some Sauvy, you're going to be upmarket I know that!

N: Kiwi talking about fish and chips!

H: Come back to some sanity, what -

N: No I've got a different view to Chris because I think you've got to have this with oysters, because with oysters you need to have something with good acidity and this wine's definitely got it, and it's got the intensity as well, but make sure when you're having those oysters, just use a little lemon juice, don't use too much

H: I don't have a knowledge or opinion there, but see I love oysters as well and I love fish and chips, but for me it's Thai green curry so we're all different you see, we're all completely different! When we're talking about New World Sauvignon Blanc which we are, and indeed enjoying, what is the difference between that and you would expect to get from an old world Sauvignon Blanc?

C: For me they're actually starting to merge in, maybe 30, 40 years ago you had the old world and they were doing a lot of, quite oxidative, it's called oxidative wine-making with a lot of oxygen involved. It takes - it strips away the fruit but you can sometimes get interesting complexity coming from it. In the new world they went right, we're going to make pure, fruit-driven wines and they really try and remove oxygen from the wine-making process, and you land up with lots and lots of fruit. So 10, 20 years ago you would have said new world, fruit, fruit, fruit, in your face and maybe old world, subtlety, but in actual fact, over the last 10, 20 years they're starting to merge together a wee bit, you know you go to France now, I was in Sancerre which is another Sauvignon Blanc region a wee while ago, and the wine maker's going look at my stainless steel tanks and all these sorts of things, which are really sort of, this new world styles of wine-making

H: Ok. Well that was a question from Gerry who's watching us in Ireland, so Gerry thank you for the question. Isobel has a follow-up to that - "how is the new world Sauvignon Blanc different to the old world styles, say Sancerre?" So there we go

N: Well I think it's actually that, you're coming onto something called "terroir" here which is a lovely word, lovely word to mention at dinner parties, remember what it means folks

H: We love the land

N: But it's actually talking - yes talking about the land, and what it is say in New Zealand which is unique, is that combination of climate, it's getting that intense sunshine, getting those long, warm days. It's also the fact of you know, in terms of whether you've got rivers around you, valleys, and within that as well the soil, let's not forget about the soil and the influence that actually soil is going to have on wines, and even within Marlborough you've got different soil types in different regions of Marlborough, and they will all make the flavour of the wine taste quite different

H: What I'm amazed about, and we've been talking and waxing lyrical about these fantastic Sauvignon's and really enjoying them as well. But I noticed there's a red wine out here as well. Now we think so much of white wine, and New Zealand particularly, so when I see a red one out there I'm rather intrigued - it's a Pinot Noir?

N: That's right

H: Lead on

N: Well I mean, one of the great - Pinot Noir's quite a difficult grape variety, we know it's very burgundy, it's always famous for Pinot Noir, but what people have actually done with Pinot Noir, they're trying in lots of different countries to grow it, and it's quite a difficult grape to grow, and actually they've given up in some cases, but in New Zealand Pinot Noir works really well, and it works well at producing quite a light, refreshing style, or a much more serious, foodie wine as well, and it's really becoming a much more popular grape variety in New Zealand

H: Is that because New Zealand has got so many different complexities of weather as well as the soil - and the climate seems so mixed out there that they seem to be able to grow anything

C: Well Pinot Noir's mainly grown in the South island, and the thing about Pinot Noir is it's got a very thin skin, and as a result it's very susceptible to any moulds or mildew, so if you're in a damp climate, you just can't get it, because it won't grow, so Central Otago where I'm from (got to get that in there!) -

H: Home town boy!

C: Yes, very dry climate and fantastic, there's no disease pressure on the vines, so they're landing up making really clean fruit. Marlborough, it's a wee bit wetter but still fairly dry by a lot of international standards, so they can still get away with growing Pinot Noir and not have it getting too wet, which causes all sorts of mould problems

H: Right, ok. What have you brought along?

N: Well actually what we've got here, we've actually got this reserve Pinot Noir

H: Ok, good

N: This one here.  And we're just going to taste this now and - what you get here is you're getting, just notice something about the colour here, it's quite light. I'll just fill that up. But what you're looking for on the nose here, with Pinot Noir is getting really nice, upfront fruit here. There's a touch of oak in this

H: You're going to have to deal with that -

N: Oh yes I am actually yes

H: Because I want to try this one as well

N: You definitely do actually

H: Sorry, you were saying?

N: Yes you're getting some of this nice, red fruits on the nose, a little bit of dark fruits there as well, but what you're looking for is something - again, you think about - I think this is nicest to drink on its own, but certainly go nicely with some lamb, no doubt about it

C: You see a lot of Marlborough produces a lot of red cherry-type flavours, further town in the Tago you're producing more dark cherries. They're probably the big classic ones

H: It's quite refreshing actually

N: It is. I mean the thing is - I think, you know, if people are looking to have something that's a bit lighter, something they feel they can drink without food, this is a really attractive style, because it's, you know it's got those lovely red fruits and also it's just got that little bit of acidity as well

H: Yes                                                                                                                    

N: Really nice

H: You're right, on its own, or with food, you can see that working either way can't you?

N: Yes, absolutely

H: Very adaptable. Let's go on, we're having a tasting and obviously the girls we haven't seen yet. So red wine, are you a red wine?

G: Normally white actually, but this is really nice, it's quite light so it's nice

H: Could this convert you from white to red?

G: I think possibly yes, it's really nice

H: Was that a surprise?

G: Yes it was actually yes. I'm normally quite white oriented but -

H: That's probably a fashion, we'll come and talk about that in just a sec about white wine. How did you feel about that?

G: Yes I really like it. I actually really enjoy red wine and this is nice and light and quite fruity actually.  I think it's a nice wine to take to a drinks party or - take when you're going round to see people. I think they'd be quite impressed with that

H: Yes. Impressive wine, good idea! Alright, thanks for your comments on all of that. So given the thumbs up again there which is good news. So we've got a question in from Mike which relates to this, he says "I enjoy wine with a meal but I'm always told to drink red with dark meat and white with light meats and fish. Is there a real reason for this?"

N: Yes you have a go at this

C: It's about the weight of the food. Red meats, red wine, white meats, white wine - it's sort of right about half the time, maybe more, 60 / 70% of the time, but it's about he weight of the food. If you get a nice, light delicate food like fish or even light styles of chicken, you don't want a wine that's going to smear it with weight, it's going to be too heavy for the food, so you want a light wine to go with that. White wines in general are a bit lighter. If you're having a big steak you don't want a delicate white wine because you will never taste the wine so you need something a bit heavier. Often you are right but you miss out on some great opportunities you could have this Pinot Noir with a roast chicken, you could get away with that because it is a lighter style. It doesn't appeal to you Murray.

H: I don't know. I don't know if I could do that a lot but then I am going to try fish and chips with Sauvignon Blanc so I will do anything you say Chris.

C: For example Beaujolais Nouveau and dark fish you can definitely get away with that, so I think the weight of the food and the weight of the wine. If you have got something light and delicate you want a light and delicate wine.

H: Ok thanks for answering that. Jackie has come in with a question "Hi Chris; which red wines are supposedly good for you?"

C: Ah that is a good one. Sadly the wines that are full of tannins. Wines that are high in tannins are full of two chemicals. Depending on which school of thought you go with Resveratrol or Procyanidin. Big tannic wines with lots of colour in them have got high levels of both those chemicals and they are the wines that are best for you. The nice thing about that is big tannic wines go with food and eating food and drinking wine is really good for your health anyway so it is a good combination.

H: Great and this of all the wines actually, this one has been the biggest surprise to me. Great wine a really good wine.

N: Gentle, it is a great wine to have if you have people coming round. It is not always the case of serving up a sparkler or a white wine and you want to serve a red wine for a group of people this is great. You are really enjoying that.

H: I am really enjoying it a great wine.

C: It is also starting to open up a bit more. When we first poured it I was just getting a wee bit of red fruits coming through but now it is really starting to get all sorts as well.

H: Ok we have got more wines to try and we have only got 10 minutes left so we better get cracking on the next one. What is next in line for us I believe you have got a Pinot Grigio there as well?

N: We are going to defy convention a little bit and actually going to go back and try a white wine, but why not let's do it.

H: Ok we are in your hands for this one. Pinot Grigio? New Zealand?

N: Ah yes but bring it on, because I know look everyone is going out and lots of people are asking for Pinot Grigio and clearly Pinot Grigio is from lots of countries around the world and what you are trying to find here is that light, fruity style.

H: Lovely. Yes you need one of those. Thank you.

N: Murray has just made a rose there viewers.

H: No please don't do that. It is not the way to make it.

N: This Montana Pinot Grigio what it actually does is that it comes from the North Island in New Zealand. North Island is a bit warmer you actually get a bit more fruit intensity there. You get more tropical fruits in this. One of the things is there are lots of Pinot Grigio's out there and you need to just get that bit of character in there. Take away some of that blandness. And what I like about this is because it has got that ripeness you have got some of that tropical fruits on the nose and you have also got a bit of variety coming through. Soil, we talked about the soil earlier on, just a bit of grit and acidity there. I mean this a fantastic aperitif. Again you might, thinking about the food, you might want to have this with a bit of salad, something quite light.

H: You are right there an aperitif. This is just a great opener for an evening isn't it.

C: It is a wee bit heavier than you might be used to. I think it is a bit bigger. New Zealand isn't like some countries where they produce lots of cheap wine. New Zealand wine makers are focused on the top end of the industry, of the wine quality spectrum. I was thinking a bit of fennel on there. An aniseedy type of thing.

H: Yes there is. I just wish that when they invent scratch and sniff on wine…This is going to be a winner every time it really is. I have got another question, from Jackie actually. "It seems to me that women tend to favour white wines…" which was what we were hearing before "whilst men prefer red. Do men and women taste things differently?"

N: Yes they definitely do and I think there is no doubt about it actually ladies certainly pick up more of the senses really. I think they provide a much more complex tasting on the pallet and what they are actually getting on the nose. So there are definitely differences on what a woman picks up to a bloke in terms of taste.

C: It is a sort of a genetic thing. In the old days the women had to taste the food to make sure it was safe to eat, when they were harvesting, and as a result they are actually quite sensitive, particularly to bitter foods. What you find is we sometimes classify people as non-tasters and super tasters and more women are super tasters and they taste bitterness a lot more than blokes which is probably why they prefer white.

H: Super tasters. They are all smiling. You are just playing to the gallery now. So super tasters.

C: And non-tasters.

H: Yes and non-tasters. Don't look at me when you say non-tasters.

C: It is mainly the bitterness though and that comes through in red wine. Red wines have tannins in that give that bitterness and I think that is why a lot of women prefer white wines to red wines. Not always, but there is a tendency.

H: It strikes me straight away that we have tasted very different wines from very different parts of a very small country, New Zealand, which makes it a great country to go and visit. Obviously you are a home town boy so you are going to say this anyway, but in terms of going there and getting around and actually getting to sample wine while you are there presumably that is possible in New Zealand? Or is it a bit closed door and you can't go in?

N: No they are completely flexible. They love people coming to visit their wineries. I think that is one thing to say about the new world and particularly in New Zealand. That has certainly changed in terms of people knocking on the door and saying "Can I come in to your winery please?" because in New Zealand it is pretty much open house. They want people to come in and taste the wines, they want to tell them how they have made their particular wines. And the other thing as well for me is, when people go to wineries they have got great restaurants as well, that's the other thing so they can have a really good food experience and they can also actually match up the wines with the food as well. It is very much an open house there. One other thing is that there is an opportunity in actual fact, I ought to just mention this really because it is a great chance, there is an opportunity for 6 people and their partners to go to New Zealand next February and they can go to the Montana Brancott Estate, and it is going to be harvest time, what a fantastic time to go to a vineyard, and they are going to spend a week in New Zealand and they will be spending some time on South Island and also be going to North Island as well which we talked about in terms of the Pinot Grigio looking at some of the vineyards there in terms of Chardonnay and they will be doing some great travelling as well I believe.

C: The nice thing about New Zealand is that you can go from area to area pretty easily and cruise around. You can either, I often hire bikes when I am in Marlborough just so I can ride around and visit the different wineries. I know it sounds crazy but….

H: A great way to see the place.

C: It is good fun. The food is good. Everybody is there "Just come in and try the wines". It is open door New Zealand, Australia and America are very, very good at wine tourism and it is a great place. Also New Zealand is one of the only places where you can go surfing in the morning, skiing in the evening and do a bungee jump on the way home. How good is that?

H: I'll do everything but the bungee jump. I was just going to add if you do want to be one of those lucky 6 people there is a competition running is that right.

N: There is and what people need to do is go on to Montanavintageexperience.com/win and they can answer 3 simple questions.

H: Ok we will give you that right at the very end again just so you have got time to write it down. You will also find it on the website, so you have got many ways of finding it but it is montanavintageexperience.com/win. Alright we will give that right at the end of the show as well. Good luck to anyone who enters that. It sounds like a great competition.

N: The thing is in terms of the wines we are tasting here today, the variety of wines you are getting out in New Zealand, whether it is white or red, North or South Island. And the fact is like Chris said it is a fantastic place to go to in terms of travel. You know when you talk to mates and they say look we went out to New Zealand and we can't wait to go back again. So it is a great opportunity.

H: Well we have gone all over the place in terms of wine, Red, Sauvis, Pinot Grigios, Is there anything left? There is a chardonnay down there?

N: There is a Chardonnay yes. Let's stay on North Island actually. It is funny, you know, we have talked a lot about Sauvignon Blanc we have talked about Pinot Grigio and now what we are actually going to talk about is this auburn almond Gisborne Chardonnay 2004

H: 2004, so it's -

N: Yes

H: A 4 year old white?

N: Yes it's very interesting this -

H: Yes

N: Because what they're doing here is, in Gisborne, it's a really good area for growing Chardonnay, it's very ripe there. What they've done with this wine as well, they've actually aged this wine, and fermented this wine in oak casks. Now what they want to do is just get that toastiness there, on the nose, on this wine, and you get all that lovely vanilla, almost peachy fruit on the nose as well. This has been a gold medal winning wine, it's done very, very well this 2004, but it certainly will last. I mean it's got this acidity as well to keep going for another 3 or 4 years

C: Yes definitely

H: Well peachy

N: Hey yes, let's get some peachy in there - but it's true

C: New Zealand Chardonnay has probably been overlooked a wee because of the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot, but New Zealand Chardonnay is up there with the best of them. Hawkes Bay does some of the best of them around, and it's a real shame that people don't drink more New Zealand Chardonnay because it's really good stuff. This is a lovely wine

H: So smooth

N: Yes. I mean that's a very sophisticated glass of wine, very complex and I love just that acidity that's kicking in there as well, it's got great structure, it will go well with food, and this is great with some chicken, veal dishes

H: It's really buttery isn't it?

N: It is really buttery, and what they've done really well here is balance that fruit and oak which is the key, and just, you know, that's the thing that people want to get, and with that acidity - hey you're going to enjoy this for a while yet

H: Whilst we're enjoying this, question in from Sara Barker, Sara thank you for your question - "what's the difference between the classic and the reserve wines?"

N: Well what they're doing with the classic wines is, that's the entry level for Montana, so they have a range of wines, like a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio which we've also tasted tonight. There's also a Pinot Noir as well. What they're doing with the reserve wines is, they're tending to - that's going to be a little bit more vineyard selection as well, it'll pass from particular vineyards, and particularly as I say with the reds, you'll get some oak aging in there as well with the reds on the reserve wines, so you're probably in most cases getting something with a bit more intensity there in terms of, for example with the reserve Chardonnay there's a bit of oak aging with that as well. So more intensity and probably more foodie wines as well at that level

H: Right, question, Chris for you, and it's from Isobel who says "I know it sounds daft" - it doesn't Isobel, it really doesn't, trust me, but "I know it sounds daft but what does oaked and unoaked mean when you see it on the label?"

C: Sure. It depends a wee bit on whether it's white wine or red wine, but generally with white - red wines, you make your red wine, you put it into an oak barrel, and oak barrels are porous, so a wee bit of oxygen gets in there, but it picks up flavours from the barrels, and it can be vanilla, it can be coconut sometimes depending on type of oak, toasty flavours as well from heating / charring the barrel on the inside. And with white wines, sometimes actually ferment it in the barrel for example

N: Which they've done here

C: In this case, and it just softens a wine, it makes it a more rounded wine as well, and the oak integrates more beautifully with the wine if it's fermented, but you only really ferment white wines in the barrel, so oak is normally putting the wine into an oak barrel to pick up flavours

H: Ok, I hope that answers your question. One final question comes from Lloyd - "bearing in mind you can usually tell a good vintage by how good the summer was, are you predicting 2008 will be a good year for the wine?"

N: We said it was a good year in New Zealand, no doubt about it, it was an exceptional year, but over in this country,

C: In England, I'm a big English wine fan

H: Right

C: And it's rubbish!  Sorry

N: Challenging times unfortunately

C: Yes I think they call it a challenging year rather than rubbish, so -

H: That's it, so give us a compliment then bat it straight back again, that's fine

C: But yes I think -

H: New Zealand wines, good year, 2008?

C: Yes, I think Europe's going to have problems this year, just because all through the year it wasn't a great year, but New Zealand's good, I think Australia's good - well apart from the draught, and Chile, Argentina looking quite good

H: Ok. Gentlemen, before we go, I want to thank our tasters - thank you very much indeed to our tasters

G: Thanks a lot

H: For coming along and enjoying the wines, and continue to do so. Gentlemen thank you very much indeed. Just give us that competition address again, because that's really interesting

N: Yes it is, it certainly is - montanavintageexperience.com/win - that's where people need to go

H: We implore you, we implore you to go and have a look

N: Absolutely

H: And have a go on that.  Thank you very much indeed for your time. Guys, thank you very much indeed for the tasting

N: Pleasure

C: Thank you very much

H: For me, the Chardonnay, it's a real classic. And to all of you who've been watching us thank you very much indeed. Cheers!

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