Spies in the House

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Spy Valley Winery

Spy Valley makes some excellent QPR wines. I’ve been really pleased with everything I’ve tried so far from the line. I’m looking forward to tasting the Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir that I still have left. I’m not sure if the Riesling is available in the US as I don’t see it for sale online. The 2008 Spy Valley Riesling clocks in at 12% alcohol by volume, has a screw cap closure, and looks to retail for around $20.

On the nose i found lemon, spice, white pepper, white flowers, wet stone, and peach. In the mouth I found peach, pear, lemon, orange, honey tones, stones, and lime on the finish. The wine was crisp and a really nice effort. I enjoyed it with grilled chicken marinated in Italian spices, probably not the best match, but it worked.

Filed under: New Zealand, Riesling, White, Wine |

6 Responses

Evan Dawson, on July 13, 2009 at 7:10 am said:

Hard to read the labels because your pictures are back-lit. My wife is a photographer so I tend to look for details like that — but in this case it’s actually hard to read.

At $20, it’s certainly not a typical value wine, right? Any idea on how big their case production is?
Chris Butts, on July 13, 2009 at 11:23 am said:

I love Spy Valley! Love their Sav Blanc, definitely a very good value for under $20 a bottle.
Blogiche, on July 13, 2009 at 12:43 pm said:

You have got a nice blog. Give it more exposure on Blogiche
Spy Valley, on July 14, 2009 at 6:07 pm said:

@Evan – We produce 120,000 cases per year. Sauv Blanc is our largest production with riesling in much lower quantities.
@Chris – Great to hear you enjoy our Sauv – the winemakers are busy making their final decisions on the 2009 blend at the moment – we’re all hanging out to try it!
Dee Wineo, on July 15, 2009 at 8:02 pm said:

I love New Zealand wines, and will now be looking for this one in my local area. I was privilaged enough to live there for 4 years, but unfortunitly I was too young to drink. So now I am stuck in the mid west searching for great NZ wines.

On another note, I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your blogs, I have been reading them for about 2 months and wanted to say thank you.

on another side note I was wondering if you have any advise for someone starting a wine and food blog?
Sonadora, on July 16, 2009 at 8:14 pm said:

Hey Evan-Yeah, I’m not much of a photographer and with my current camera I really struggle with the lighting aspect. I think I read about 17,000 cases for the Riesling. I’m not even sure it’s exported and the $20 was the price for New Zealanders only…if sold here I’d bet it would be more in line with the pricing of the rest of their line.

Chris, I love that one too!

Thanks for stopping by Spy Valley.

What is Blogiche?

Dee–Thanks! I would be happy to give you some advice, why don’t you shoot me an email and we can chat.