International Riesling Day struck the owners of Nga Waka winery as the ideal time to release their new 2024 Riesling last month. It was also a good reason for a Riesling inspired pizza by the uber talented Roving Pizza, which parks up at Nga Waka every weekend and never fails to deliver the wow-factor on the plate.
Like the Riesling, the pizzas are made in limited numbers so it pays to get in quick.
The 2024 Nga Waka Riesling is the first to be made in significant volume from a relatively newly-acquired vineyard site, if 84 dozen is significant. The vineyard it comes from has been named the Mike Kershaw Block after the eponymous local viticulturist, who oversaw plantings in a five-way split: Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gamay and Pinot Noir. Most of these grapes are business-as-usual but Chenin Blanc and Gamay are extremely rare in this part of the wine world and the 2025 vintage will be the first for both at Nga Waka.
The winery’s owners, Jay Short and Peggy Dupey, were excited to see both the Gamay and Chenin Blanc. “I’ve always liked Margrain Chenin Blanc so I’m looking forward to seeing how our first wine tastes,” Jay told me, when we tasted the new Riesling.
In a country and a region devoted to a relatively narrow range of grape varieties, it is heartening to see investment into lesser known grapes and wines, such as Chenin Blanc and Gamay. It’s also exciting to see a wider range of flavours looming on the wine horizon. Three new releases from Nga Waka:
2024 Nga Waka Riesling RRP $30
Nga Waka Riesling is one of literally a handful of consistently dry Rieslings made in New Zealand over the past 30 years. Its first release was 1993 and long term winemaker Roger Parkinson (now just-retired) has never deviated from a bone dry style. Purity and freshness define every sip of this zesty, citrusy tasting Riesling with its medium body, impeccable freshness and dry taste. It contains 1.8 grams of residual sugar and is the result of collective winemaking experience between Parkinson and his successor, Paul Mason. This wine can be cellared with confidence for 10+ years.
2024 Nga Waka Sauvignon Blanc RRP $25
This wine is made from Nga Waka’s Pirinoa Block, south of Martinborough. The grapes were fermented at cool temperatures to preserve the exotic fruit aromas of passionfruit, guava and a citrusy twist of freshness in each sip. It’s dry with 2.2 grams of
RS and zingy acidity, driving each mouthful to a lingering finish.
2024 Nga Waka Rosé RRP $30
This fresh medium pink rosé is bone dry in taste with 0.5 grams of RS per litre and flavours of summer red fruit such as dried cherries and a twist of citrus. It’s made from Pinot Noir grapes grown on the Pirinoa Block vineyard, a cooler site which preserves freshness in the wines made from there.
