Christmas Countdown: Te Awanga Estate wines

From the Rod McDonald stable of wines comes Te Awanga Estate, who have released some absolutely beautiful new vintages that are perfect for summer.

The vineyard itself was planted 25 years ago by a group of friends in one of Hawke's Bay's oldest winegrowing areas, where they make a range of single estate wines that are “rich, mouth filling and long-lived” i.e. absolutely a treat on the tastebuds and most definitely made to be shared.

I was lucky enough to try a glass of the stunningly simple Te Awanga Estate Rosé at designer Ingrid Starnes’ perfume launch at The Department Store in Takapuna on Saturday, and then on Sunday popped the top on the Gewurztraminer, which winemaker McDonald says “might be my favourite”, as well as fantastic with summer salads, coriander, ginger, chilli and Asian spices. The perfect summer food wine for darn near-perfect summer food choices? I love that.