Last month we were warmly welcomed by host and Yealands Chief Winemaker, Natalie Christensen, who flew all the way over from New Zealand to present a remarkably charming wine tasting event at Ping Pong, Covent Garden.
Natalie Christensen, named by The Drinks Business as one of the World’s Most Influential Women in Wine in 2018, is a truly gifted winemaker with well over a decade of winemaking experience under her belt. She was also Winemaker at La Cana in Rias Baixas, Spain making Albariño for the Jorge Ordonez group. With a Masters of Science degree, a Bachelor of Music from Canterbury University, a Graduate Diploma in Oenology, as well as being a classically trained double bass player, we quickly learned that Natalie is far from being your average winemaker.
.jpg "Yealands Wine Tasting Evening presented by Natalie Christensen, Winerist")
During the Yealand’s wine tasting event, Natalie toured us through the delicious and refreshing wines of Marlborough and got to pair them with the flavoursome dim sum bites floating around! The tasting included all the favourites, including Yealands’ delightful Sauvignon Blancs and their silky Pinot Noirs.
Whilst we sipped, Natalie took us on a journey of winemaking in New Zealand and we got to discover just how these wonderful wines came to be. We also learned that although she became a part of the fulltime Yealands winemaking team in 2015, and at the beginning of 2018 she became Yealands Chief Winemaker and continued to demonstrate her ingenious blend of science and music to facilitate the creation of wines, making them both technically excellent and artistically exciting.
Overall, the event was both insightful and relaxed. It was a truly wonderful way to spend the evening with old friends and new faces.
If you are interested in New Zealand and its delicious wines, check out this piece on Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. Also, discover New Zealand’s wine reagions by reading this article!