Second labels are about as old as wine making itself.

There are a variety of reasons for wineries to produce a second label, but a couple of the primary ones are to make some money on young vines that may be considered too young for the flagship wine; and to offer the consumer a chance to try a winemaker’s wine style without having to break the bank buying the platinum top tier label.

It is common practice in many of the wine regions of France to not even consider grapes until the vines are at least 10 years old, but that is not really an option (financially) in Australia or New Zealand.

Second (and third) labels litter the New Zealand & Australian wine landscape, so you just need to keep you eyes peeled and track down a few of the better ones for very affordable and enjoyable early spring drinking.

In many cases second labels (especially from top notch producers) offer extremely good value for money, the Martinbourough Te Tera (which means ‘the other’ in the Maori language) and the Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noirs are truly magnificent examples of this.

The Te Tera is made with all of the same exacting quality steps (hand picked fruit, French oak) of the Martinborough flagship wine, but at less than half the price ($75).

Pretty much the same can be said of the Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot, with the added bonus that all the Crimson sales go to support the work of Project Crimson, a charitable conservation trust established in 1990 for the protection of New Zealand’s iconic native red-flowering trees.

So go ahead & make yourself feel good – imbibe a bottle or two of Ata Rangi Crimson!

Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera Pinot Noir 2008

Vintage 2008 in Martinborough was a cracker and this wine shows all the evidence - stunning rich cherry & berry fruits, with a hint of what the French call ‘barnyard bouquet’ (that’s a good thing) with just enough oak coming through, richly textured, a velvety and viscous, juicy palate pleaser. As one critic wrote – we think it’s Ter-iffik! Is ‘affordable luxury’ an oxymoron? $35

Ata Rangi Crimson Young Vines Pinot Noir 2008

To throw a wee bit more gas on the fire of how good the 2008 vintage was, this wine was included in Decanter’s Top 50 New World Pinot Noirs and Tyson Stelzer of Australia’s Wine Business Magazine gave it 93 points & included it in the magazine’s Top 100. He went on to say ‘the consistent 2008 season is responsible for the most delightful Crimson to date. It's beautifully perfumed on both the bouquet and palate, with roses, strawberries and raspberries. The palate is under laid by very fine, firm tannins and a note of savoury complexity that builds all the way through its persistent finish.’ Let the drinking begin!!! $33

+ 1

+ 1