The Wellesley Wine Press: Tasting Report: Forrest Wines from New Zealand

Accolades

I was quoted in The Boston Globe about legislation that would permit winery direct sales to Massachusetts:

“This is good news for Massachusetts wine enthusiasts, who will now be able to purchase wines they currently don’t have access to,” said Robert Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine. “This is also good news for Massachusetts in general since it will mean new revenues.”

I wrote this article in WellesleyWeston Magazine featuring local food & wine experts like Chef Ming Tsai, Mike O'Connell Jr., Chris Minervino, and Austin Moran. Check it out!

I shared my thoughts on the direct shipment of wine to Massachusetts with CBS Boston during hearings at the State House.

This site was listed as one of the Top 100 Wine Blogs:

https://alawine.com/wine-blog-rankings.html

Our Scoop the Spectator contest was mentioned on Palate Press:

"Bob Dwyer, a Massachusetts-based wine blogger, has created the coolest parlor game in wine, and for once it’s a wine contest that does not involve blind tasting.

I used to think the entire concept of a Top 100 list was silly. This year, mine was the first guess on Dwyer’s site."

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reached out for a quote on the expansion of the number of licenses each retailer in MA can hold:

"Robert P. Dwyer of Wellesley, who blogs about wine at thewww.wellesleywinepress.com, calls the state’s liquor laws bizarre and favors a wider availability of wine. For consumers, it would be more convenient to be able to buy wine at a supermarket while shopping for food, he said."

“You have this strange exclusion of wine, which in Europe is considered a grocery item,” said Mr. Dwyer. “Here it’s considered the demon rum.”

Wine Spectator picked up on our 2011 Scoop the Spectator contest with these remarks:

"trying to predict the annual Wine of the Year is a popular parlor game among enophiles. This year, blogger Wellesley Wine Press held a contest, with New York wine retailer Grapes the Wine Co. awarding a prize of a Kindle Fire e-reader to the first commenter to correctly guess this year's top wine before it was announced. Unfiltered was impressed with the number of Top 10 wines prognosticated by Wellesley's readers. "Senelwine" guessed Château de St.-Cosme Gigondas 2009, our No. 10 wine, "Mike M" guessed Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional Douro 2008, our No. 7 wine, "James Z" guessed Baer Ursa Columbia Valley 2008, our No. 6 wine, and "RichardPF" nailed it, winning the Kindle, and the respect of his wine-loving peers. Looks like Wellesley's readers know their wine."

Boston's CBS affiliate WBZ-TV stopped by to discuss why wineries still can't ship wine directly to MA consumers more than a year after courts ruled they should be able to.

WBUR, Boston's NPR news station, did an audio interview with me for a piece discussing MA Question 1: Repealing the Alcohol Sales Tax.

The Chicago Tribune's Bill Daley mentioned the site in Rosé: A wine for more seasons. I said "For me, they're like pumpkin spice coffee drinks: best enjoyed early in the season". Bill alsogave the site a shout-out for a piece the Capitol Case Clubcontributed about restaurant wine service. I thought it was a great example of how print wine writers can effectively engage wine bloggers.

The nice folks at Foodista, The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit, named this site Wine Blog of the Day for this entry featuring GoBYO. Thanks!

Budget Bacchus named this site Wine Blog of the Week. Check 'em out!

Boston University wine educator Stacy Woods mentioned this site alongside wine blogging powerhouses Vinography and Fermentation. Wow- that's great company to be in! Thanks- I appreciate it.

WBZ-TV, the Boston CBS affiliate, interviewed me aboutMassachusetts wine shipping laws. It was kind of surreal having a camera crew in our kitchen but we enjoyed it! Check it out:

Wine Enthusiast Magazine called me a "wine accessory guru". Thanks! I appreciate it.

NPR's Public Radio Kitchen linked to my pieces on "Syrah: The Steroids of the Pinot Noir World" and "Watching the Wine Community Rumble". Thanks for that! I am humbled, and I feel just a little bit like the Car Talk guys do when they say "And even though Roger Clemens stabs his radio with a syringe whenever he hears us say it, this is NPR: National Public Radio."

The Boston Globe's website has been linking to my recent entries as part of their expanded local coverage includingWellesley. I truly appreciate that as it has driven a lot of local traffic to this site.

It was really nice of Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator to leave a comment and then check back and answer some questions I had. Awesome guy! Check it out here. And here.

Thanks to The Boston Globe for including The Wellesley Wine Press in their list of local blogs in the Food & Drink section. Check it out here.

The Wellesley Wine Press was just added tohttps://wine.alltop.com. Alltop is an interesting topical take on sorting through the best sites on the Internet- check it out and see which sites are listed for topics you're most interested in.

New Zealand is an exciting wine region and a promising area to explore for value hunters. In addition to their notable Sauvignon Blancs, they're producing excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in addition to Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurtztraminer. I had a chance to taste through 3 wines from Forrest Wines over the course of a week. My notes are below.

2008 The Doctors' Riesling Marlborough
20,000 cases produced
8.5% alcohol
$17.99
My Notes:
I don't think I've ever seen a wine label so spot-on in its description: "Lime sorbet and juicy green apples...some lovely sweetness balanced by the fine acidity..." Indeed. This was the first of the 3 bottles I tried and I was on a major Riesling kick at the time. Comparing this wine to (what else) a German Riesling, this one didn't quite have the density or "zing" that my favorite Germans bring.
A touch of sweetness for sure, which I liked, but more flavor and weight and I would have enjoyed it more. Still, a very enjoyable bottle.
87 Points WWP: Very Good

2008 Forrest Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
1,500 cases produced
13.5% alcohol
$17.99
My Notes:
Okay, now we're on to a grape variety that New Zealand has done very well with. Although the classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc delivers intense, pungent aromas, this wine showed restraint. In discussing this wine via E-mail with Trevor Loomis from Forrest Wines, he described the wine as one that bucks the trend in New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and goes for a more Loire Valley style wine. Yeah- I can see that. I could easily mistake this for a Sancerre blind. Very clean, nice acidity, and enjoyable citrus aromas and flavors. Really nice stuff.
89 Points WWP: Very Good

2007 Forrest Pinot Noir Marlborough
3,000 cases produced
14% alcohol
$23.99
My Notes:
I'm thinking of going on a New Zealand Pinot Noir kick after trying this (and other wines) recently. If I tasted this wine blind and had to guess whether it was from Burgundy, California or Oregon I'd likely guess Oregon. It's lower in acidity and more full-bodied that red Burgundy, yet it brings enjoyable mushroom/forrest floor aromatics that I really enjoy. I don't find these characteristics in most California Pinot Noirs I've tried.
I would have rated this one a little higher if it delivered more flavor, but what I tasted I liked very much.
88 Points WWP: Very Good

Where to Buy:

These wines are available in the following states:

California
Nevada
Arizona
Texas
Southern Illinois
Iowa
Ohio
Washington DC
Pennsylvania

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