Hawks Nest Wines of NZ

End of the Line

2009-04-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

If you have visited this blog in the last few months you will note that the last post was back in Sept. 08. I am sorry to have stopped posting but wanted to post this last note before closing the blog. We have sold Hawks Nest Vineyard to our long time manager there--Jeremy Noakes. I will continue to serve as US manager for Hawks Nest and it will continue to be imported by Lipman Brothers of Nashville. My wife and I are pulling back from New Zealand and have put our home there up for sale. After 10 wonderful years in NZ it is time to move back to the states so we can spoil our grandchildren who live in Denver even more than we have in the past.

The commute from Nashville to NZ is long and hard and going three times a year is getting too much for the ole bod. I am now 65 and need a new hip and find the long flight leaves me washed out and sore for days. So, now we will go to NZ at least once a year in the NZ summer to keep up with our friends and spend the rest of our time in the states.

Do keep drinking good red wine--such as Hawks Nest- to keep you in good health.

Sincerely and goodby.

Dr JIm

TWO THINGS I WILL MISS NEXT WEEK!!!!!

2008-09-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

We go back to NZ next week and I am really looking forward to getting back to the NZ spring and digging in the dirt, driving the tractor, and watching for coming bud burst of the emerging grape vines. Fall is in the air here in Nashville and that means springtime in NZ. My wife and I do miss certain things in Nashville but know we will be coming back in two months or so. Here are two things I do miss.

We have the cutest dog here in Nashville called Smudge. She is a terrier/railroad dog according to the rescue center vets where we got her four years ago. She loves to sleep on our bed and especially on my pillow as you can see in the photo. Yes, we do miss Smudge when we are gone but she has a second home down in Franklin with Janelle, Kevin, Mo, Massey, and MIA who also love her bunches when we are away. She is sort of a coop dog now and loves both lives it seems. (but dogs never do complain much anyway as we all know)

The other thing I miss in hanging out in some local bottle shops here in town just talking to folks coming in the stores to buy wine. Thanks to those stores that let me visit on occasion and "smooze" with the clientele. This second shot is of the infamous ED Frier who loves to talk wine with his customers in Green Hills at WI. He has a true love for the business of tasting wine and enjoying life to the fullest. Hey Ed???? Who is that lovely customer that you are "consulting with"in the photo.???????

So, my next post will be from down under in the GodZone. Have a good fall if you are stateside and we will start a new spring!!

Dr Jim

more botttle signing

2008-09-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

WELL, I WENT TO THE WINE SHOPPE OF GREEN HILLS THIS LAST FRI AND "WORKED THE CROWD" A GOOD BIT SIGNING BOTTLES AND KISSING BABIES . I TOOK THIS ONE PHOTO WITH A LOVELY CUSTOMER ALONG WITH THE INFAMOUS MR. ERIC BIDELMAN.

I love Eric's hair style--just like mine. "God made a few perfect heads and the rest he put hair on" Anyway it was fun and I induced a good number of visitors to give Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red a try.

We leave for NZ in two weeks and I can't wait. Jeremy, our manager, says the weather has cleared and the vineyard is drying out and spring is in sight. Time to start the old packing routine.

More soon:

Dr JIm

LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN TENNESSEE

2008-08-29T13:29:00.001-07:00

IT is the starting of Labor Day weekend here in the states and that marks the end of summer here. I went over to Ed Fryers neat wine shop in Hill Place next to Whole Foods today and talked to a lot of neat people who dropped in to get some wine. I was able to talk a good number of shoppers into trying a bottle of our Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red. Even with weather still hot and humid here I can smell fall in the air (almost!!!)

Soon it will cool off here and more wine drinkers will think of reds and hopefully Orchard Block. Do remember our wine as you consider a good wine to pair with fish, poultry, or of course lamb and red meats this fall. We are down to about only 40 more cases of our good 06 vintage so stop in today to your local wine store here in Nashville and get some good Orchard Block.

Many thanks to you who let me take your photos today in the Ed's store. As you can see as usual he insisted in getting in one of the photos. He is such a ham it is hard to keep him away from the front of the camera. Oh well , it is his store so I guess he should be allow to get in the shots occasionally. The three lovely ladies in the two first photos with me and then Ed are Whitney Ott, Sarah Manda, and Susan Manda who are all part of a soon to be bridal party--what a lovely threesome!!!!! Thanks for trying our wine--maybe think of a honeymoon in NZ and come work at our vineyard for a few days!!!!!!!

That handsome guy with less hair than me with two ladies on each side was one of "America's finest serving in Ramstein, German in the USAF. He was in there looking for good German RED wine-shows he knows more about German wines than me as I never even tasted any good German reds while living in Wiesbaden, Germany myself for three years from 73 to 76 back when I was delivering babies in the USAF myself. Fond memories!!!

So, all of you have a good long holiday weekend in Tenn and those of you reading this in NZ lets pray for an early dry spring. See you very soon!!!

More soon;

Dr Jim

LOVELY NEW ZEALAND

2008-08-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that NZ is scenic but I just wanted to post a few shots that prove that point. I have waxed poetic in this blog on may occasions about the how lovely the countryside is all across NZ. This weekend here in Nashville I have been cleaning out my computer photo files and find I am having a hard time "letting go" of some of the old shots. For example here are three shots taken by our son, Brandon, over the last decade. The rainbow shot is just as random road scene on the south island where a rainbow suddenly popped up. That is Brandon on the Franz Josef Glacier working on his roping technique. He does a bit of climbing in the Southern Alps and thus has acquired advance rope safety skills. This shot was mid summer in NZ up high on the glacier. The last shot is of Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps. Wanaka is our favorite spot down south in NZ and most overseas tourists miss it even though it is just over an hour from nearby Queenstown. Be sure to include Wanaka in any tour of the South Isle of NZ.

We are still in Nashville enjoying the US summer. Hard to believe it is mid winter down at Hawks Nest Vineyard. We are counting the days now until we go back down under for NZ spring. Only a month to go for us!!!

More soon!!!

Dr JIM

SOOOO SORRRY

2008-08-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

To the millions of readers to my blog I must apologize for no postings for so long. We got back to the states in June and have been full on with grandkids, children, parents, ectc. It has been a long hot summer here in Nashville. We did have fun at the beach so I better show some shots of the family!!!

So the shots show my wife and daughter on the sand, our two grandchildren, Baylor and Cadance along with their keepers, Megan and Andy- our fine breadwinning son in law. Such a crew!!

We did have a good time but now I have to get back to work as a doc here in Tenn. Down in NZ at Hawks Nest all is quiet as it is dead winter there with lots of cold rain and wind. The vines are sleeping and the wine is ageing!!!! All is well in our two worlds.

More soon;

Dr Jim in the US summer

NZ 07 wine harvest

2008-06-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

I just noted this report on posted last week on the NZ web site and wanted to share it.

www.truewines.co.nz

It looks like the best year ever in our little corner of NZ called Matakana. Our yield was over two tons per acre and we did a lot of bunch thinning just before picking to drop the bad bunches on the ground before our selective hand picking. That is what one does to get the best of fruit for the best of wine. Remember we are about quality not quantity at Hawks Nest. From talking to the local other growers it seems all the whites did really well in Matakana and of the reds the only ones that did poorly were the Merlot. Lucky for us we only have Cab Franc and Malbec which were perfect.

Below is that report I mentioned.

More soon:

Dr Jim

ANOTHER RECORD NEW ZEALAND VINTAGE

Date: Fri 13 Jun 2008

The 2008 New Zealand grape harvest will help the wine industry meet strong export demand and produce a vintage of high quality, New Zealand Winegrowers announced today.

285,000 tonnes of grapes were harvested in 2008, up 39 per cent on last year, according to Winegrowers’ 2008 Vintage Survey. The increase is due to a combination of an increased producing area and favourable growing conditions in most regions over the summer months, which bodes well for the new season’s wines.

New Zealand Winegrowers CEO, Philip Gregan, said that nature had delivered an unexpected bounty in 2008.

“The harvest is larger than forecast pre-vintage as a result of the favourable growing season. This reflects the upside of agricultural risk in our industry which in recent years has often worked against us with spring frosts or cool weather during the critical flowering period.”

The increase in the harvest in 2008 is principally linked to the rise in the production of Sauvignon Blanc. Significant production rises were also recorded for Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, both of which are enjoying strong export sales. The Chardonnay harvest was smaller than 2007.

“The increased harvest is a real opportunity to grow sales in new and existing export markets in the year ahead towards our target of $1 billion of exports by 2010. At the same time, the larger harvest will present a challenge to winery sales and marketing efforts to ensure that New Zealand’s premium image continues to go from strength to strength.”

Regionally, Marlborough produced 195,000 tonnes of grapes in 2008, up 61 percent from 121,000 tonnes in 2007. However, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions were down 8 percent and 18 percent respectively, due to a combination of frosts and cooler weather at flowering.

Other regional increases included Central Otago up 177 per cent, Wairarapa up 111 per cent, Waipara up 304 per cent, Canterbury up 304 per cent and Nelson up 35 per cent. In most cases these changes reflect a rebound to target levels after weather reduced crops in 2007.

WINE AND JOINTS

2008-06-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention with the title of this post I can share with you this very interesting news item in the paper here this week. It seems that a little wine may actually be good for Joints of the medical type that is.

The article below outlines the conclusion that smokers have less arthritis symptoms if the are also drinkers of alcohol. The abstract below is a bid dense but sure is good news to me. I don't smoke, I do have arthritis, and I definitely consume a bit of alcohol daily when I can. Heck, I guess I have been doing the correct think all along.

More soon

Dr JIM

ARTHRITIS

Date: Fri 06 Jun 2008

A study headed by Hanrik Källberg of the Karolisnka Institute in Stockholm, Sweden suggests that drinking alcohol may limit the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in smokers. Källberg says that moderate drinking should not be stopped by those with a genetic disposition towards the condition.

"Concomitant genetic and questionnaire information on alcohol and smoking was obtained for 1204 cases - 879 female and 325 male - and 871 controls - 645 female and 226 male," the researchers said. Of the participants tested in the studies, the quarter found to more regularly consume alcohol were 40 to 50 per cent less likely to develop RA over participants with a lower intake.

The study concludes; The observed inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of RA and the recent demonstration of a preventive effect of alcohol in experimental arthritis, indicates that alcohol may protect against RA. This highlights the potential role of life-style in determining the risk to develop RA, and emphasises the advice to stop smoking, but not necessarily to abstain from alcohol in order to diminish risk of RA. More generally, the evidence of potential RA prevention, urges for additional studies on how this can be achieved.

WINE GOOD FOR LIVERS???????

2008-06-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

As a doctor I have always been led to believe that any alcohol was dangerous to liver cells. Now it seems that for certain types of fatty liver disease that a little booze may be helpful. When you think of it a bit it does make sense that all these very obese people are getting fat in their arteries as well as in the liver. Soooooo, maybe this article makes a bit of sense. Anyway, this news report caught my eye and I wanted to pass it on.

The solution is to limit fats in your diet (not much fat in a glass of wine) and protect both you liver and arteries. At the same time do take in that good ole glass or two of Hawks Nest Orchard Block red wine!!!

More soon

Dr JIm

]

WINE CAN HELP YOUR LIVER OUT

Date: Thu 29 May 2008

Those who are at risk already of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) face the extra possibility of experiencing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

This is the most common liver disease in the US, affecting over 40 million adults, but was almost unknown 20 years ago; it is thought to be linked with obesity.

There appears to be no mention in the relevant literature of any study being carried out to examine the possibility of there being a possible relationship between modest wine consumption and the incidence of NAFLD. Accordingly, scientists at the University of California, San Diego decided to look for this by analysing data collected in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Their study sample consisted of 7,211 non-drinkers and 945 drinkers of modest amounts of wine, selected from those surveyed who reported that they either were abstainers or consumed daily up to ten grams of alcohol.

Multivariate analysis was adjusted for age, caffeine intake, education, income, neighbourhood, physical activity, race and sex.

The possibility of NAFLD being present was based on levels of unexplained serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) being above the cut point of the reference laboratory (ALT > 43) and the cut point based on the 95th percentile of healthy subjects (for men, ALT > 30 and for women ALT > 19).

As a result, based on the reference laboratory cut point, NAFLD presence was suspected in 3.2 percent of the non-drinkers and in 0.4 percent of the modest drinkers of wine. Consumers of beer and spirits were four times as likely as wine drinkers to have suspected NAFLD.

Using the healthy subject cut point, NAFLD presence was suspected in 14.3 percent of the non-drinkers and 8.6 percent of the wine drinkers.

The researchers conclude therefore that there is an association between the modest consumption of wine and a reduced prevalence of suspected NAFLD. They suggest that one glass of wine taken daily offers some cardio protection for people who are at risk of suffering CHD and NAFLD but warn that more work needs to be done to identify the specific compound in wine which confers beneficial health effects.

Hepatology 47(6):1947-1954, 2008 : Modest wine drinking and decreased prevalence of suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / Dunn W, Xu R, Schwimmer JB

FALL HAS COME IN NZ

2008-06-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today is sad for us as we pack up and fly back to Tenn for the NZ winter. OUr wine is now fermenting in the barrels- in the photo you can see me siphoning off a bit to sample. It is not tasting soo good just now as it needs to settle and age for a year in our French oak barrels. Someone has to taste is so why not me?????

The other shot shows our golden orange Malbec leaves which are starting to drop off now. Early reports from all our Matakana Wine Growers membership is that it was a mixed season. Most all the local whites were excellent but some reds did not fare too well this year as there was a wet week just as they were ripening. For us we did well with really nice Cab Franc grapes but only average for our Malbec. Now we will just have to wait and see how the wine ages with time.

If you are reading this in NZ, we wish you a happy and warm and dry winter. If you are one of our US readers you know it it stormy and already pretty hot in the south. Our son in Washington DC told us last night on the phone that it was supposed to get to 98 F. in the DC area this weekend. Man!!! That is hot for so early in the US summer. Oh well, with my creaky joints the hot humid weather will be good for me. I will surely be sweating when I do my next post. Do remember that more and more evidence suggests that red wine is good for the brain and arteries so even in this warmer weather do drink a glass of red wine daily. Hawks Nest is of course what I suggest to all my patients. (could that be considered a "conflict of interest"??? Never!!!!

More soon from Nashvegas.

Dr Jim and Miss Sandra

BEST TRAVEL AGENT IN NZ!!!

2008-06-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

Many of my friends in the states now ask me about travel to and in NZ. I always tell them that NZ travel agents are fantastic to work with and know the country better than far away US expensive "travel experts" Here is our NZ travel agent--Michelle Beretta of Holiday Shoppe, Warkworth, NZ. She is just fantastic and I wanted to post her on my little blog.

We recently had to cancel a trip to AU. and thought we had proper trip insurance. BUT!!! we found out the "small print" in the policy sold to us by Michelle did not cover us for ill parents back in the states. However, you will never beleive it but she was able to retroactively convince the insurance company to change their policy and thus refund our trip expenses in full. I can assure you that this would have NEVER happened in the states. So, Michelle "THIS ONE IF FOR YOU" as the song goes. Thanks for really going to bat for us. You are now stuck with us for ever and ever.

What do this have to do with Hawks Nest Wines, not much but I can say the Michelle is now a good fan of our wines and will be getting a lifetime supply of our good reds!!!!!

More soon;

Dr Jim and Miss Sandra

PS that is Michelle hard at work in her office on her headphones selling someone a good trip overseas most likely. As you can see in the other shot she does like her alcohol:):):)::)

WINES ON LINE IN NZ NOW FOR HAWKS NEST

2008-06-02T21:42:00.000-07:00




We are excited the now have our wines now listed on New Zealand's most popular internet wine sales site--True Wines.
I have listed the link below so you can just click and go.  If you are reading this in NZ, you can now order our wines and get them delivered to you for less than retail prices here in NZ.  Unfortunately, if you are in the States you are out of luck--sorry!   I sure wish Tennessee offer wine sales by mail or on line.  That sure would be nice.
Anyway, I just wanted to put this good news up so you would know where to go to order our wines in NZ the easist and cheapestd way possible.

More soon;

Dr JIm


http://www.truewines.co.nz/winery.php?wid=232713

WIINTER ARRIVES TO MATAKANA

2008-05-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since my last blog as we were traveling back to NZ and had to recover from the trip. I must say doing 6 flights across the Pacific annually is getting to be a hard slog on the old bod. We go coach and take lots of drugs but it never gets any easier it seems.

We missed the fall grape picking at Hawks Nest but did get to taste our fermenting barrel samples with our wine making team today. The three blokes in the photo are Darryl (in the middle who owns Ascension Vineyards that is the nicest and neatest place in Matakana Valley) , Mike, and good ole Jeremy- our vineyard manager on the left. They are holding glasses with fresh samples from our fermenting 2008 "wine in progress'" They are pretending the "wine" tastes good but beleive me it does not as it is still undegoing Malalactic fermentation and tastes gassy and acid-like. Thank goodness we don't try to sell it as it tastes today!!!

As I have noted before we were first an orchard and we are into our fall harvest of mandarins, limes, and Asian persimmons--which is our cash crop. We sell a little fruit to locals from our honesty stall. You can see Jeremy toping up the bags of fruit for weekend customers. It is so nice that we can sell fruit by the roadside with no one in attendance. Honesty still rules here in rural NZ and this is a holiday weekend so we will have lots of roadside traffic and collect a lot of coins over the weekend I am sure.

The third shot is also one I just took today from the roadside of our vineyard showing how our Malbec grape leaves turn a lovely golden orange just weeks after the harvest. Gee, as I look closely at the photo, I must say it is a lovely shot. These three photos capture the essence of what we love about Matakana. Nice people to work, play, and socialize with; lots of fresh fruit, fish, meat, and other products from the clean land and sea; and finally the lovely land, sea, and sky vistas all around us. Come here yourself and you will truly understand why New Zealand gets called the God Zone by more and more people who come to visit and often even stay!!!

More soon;

Dr Jim and Miss Sandra

NEW SIGN AT HAWKS NEST

2008-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

We now have a new sign at our roadside. The old sign with the rainbow over it was nice but predated our grapes. It was used to alert those who passed by our site that we had various fruits for sale but said nothing about wine or where to taste and buy our wine.

Now that we have several vintages to sell in NZ, we needed a place so that people could sample our wines. We don't have cellar selling (yet) and thus many potential customers drove by but did not know we sold wine.

In the village of Matakana is the wonderful wine bar called The Vintry. It sells only local wines and we have been lucky to get our wines placed there for sale. So, on our new sign we have our wine label on the sign and add the fact that people can drive on about two miles to The Vintry to get samples, glasses, or even bottles of our wines. You can see the new sign in this photo sent to us by a couple that lives in Nashville but were visiting our area of NZ.
We love it when people stop by our place to take photos--it is scenic there for sure as you can see in the third photo. After the harvest our Malbec grape leaves change to that lovely burnt orange color.

More soon.

DR JIM

Fall in NZ

2008-05-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

WELL, it is turning fall in NZ and I sure missed not being there for our harvest this year. We are still stuck in Nashville due to Sandra's mom being ill. Fall is stunning in our vineyard. Note in the two photos of our vineyard from this time last year to see the lovely colors. Our label reflects why you would see driving by our roadside in late May or Early JUne. The pale orange grapes are the Cab Franc and the brighter orange ones closest to our chimney are Malbec. I think Malbec could be the official grape for the Tennessee VOLS.

We have about 2 acres each of Malbec and Cab Franc and this year we good really good cropping from both grapes. Now that the crush is finished and the juice is fermenting in tanks, we can tally up volumes. WE have 2957 liters of Malbec and 2108 liters of our Cab Franc. If that was all blended together as our future 08 blend we would be able to produce about 6800 bottles or 560 cases. So, we now let our winemaker work his magic and get the barrels ready for the wine that will soon be pumped to start the aging process.

We will follow the progress of the wine carefully over the next year as it is barrel aged in French oak. Finally in Sept of 09 we will get it bottled and off to retailers in NZ and Tennessee. It takes a patient person to wait out all this delay in the true wine making process. Me? I am very impatient by nature.
What about that third photo? Well, our son, Brandon, took that one earlier this year while treking on the South Island of NZ. Gives you a sample of why we love the GOD ZONE so much.

Happy Mothers Day to you all. All of us either are or have a mother. So lets celebrate with a glass of good red wine---Such as Hawks Nest Orchard Block on Sun

More soon;

Dr JIm and Miss Sandra

Still in Nashville longing for Matakana

2008-04-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

That old saying of "into each life some rain must fall" has just hit our family. We were looking forward to going to NZ on April the 30th to get back there and into the wine making process that has now started for our just picked Cab Franc. Our Malbec was picked about two weeks ago. Our manager there, Jeremy, says both crops of grapes looked super with our tonnage being better than last year by about .5 tons. So now, it is out of our hands and in the care of our expert winemakers. They are probably glad we are here in Tenn and not getting in their way with the serious business of making a good wine.

What bad news has hit us? Sandra's 84 year old mom fell three days ago and broke her upper arm near the shoulder joint and fractured the floor or her orbit (eye socket bones). She has been in intensive care getting stabilized and we are on family sitting and support duty. Lucky for me as a long time practicing gyn doc in Nashville I have good specialists to call in to see here and organize her complex needed care. Do wish her and us luck and keep us in your prayers.

Meanwhile I will be at Frugal McDougal's this Friday from 4-6 kissing babies, signing bottles and talking about our good 06 Orchard Blocked wine. The wine is selling very well here and is moving off the shelves at under $20 a bottle. If you are reading this in Nashville, do drop in to gt some soon. It is really getting some age on it now and tasting better each week. ( I have upped my intake due to the family stress so I get to closely monitor the wine's progress.)

More soon;

A sad Dr. JIm

FUN AT Vn WINE STORE TODAY + Tennessee Politics

2008-04-12T13:55:00.001-07:00

Today I went to the new wine shop called Yn next to Whole Foods in Green Hills here in Nashville to promote Hawks Nest. Yn is the new store of Ed Fryer who used to own the Wine Shoppe in Green Hills. In Tennessee a person can only own one bottle shop so he sold his old store to his wife-Virginia. The neat thing about Yn is that they just sell rare unusual wines all under $20 and no liquor at all!!!! Hawks Nest just made the cut for his store as we retail for right at $20.
Today was my first real visit to Yn and I got to do a bit of browsing while there. He has sooo many wines that I have never heard of so it is a very unique shop!! I took a lot of shots and here are some of the better ones. No one was imbibing in the store but that one lady in the yellow blouse was pretty cool to pose with the wine bottles in her ears. That was her spontaneous pose but I bet she is a party animal.
That is Ed smiling in all the photos. (he is smiling because his new store is a hit and he may make some money eventually) The outside shot with the two lovely ladies flanking Ed shows the neat signs and their unique way of spelling wine. (note that Ed always gets to stand by the lovely ladies)

A BIG "THANK YOU ED" FROM ALL OF US AT HAWKS NEST!!!!! We do appreciate you stocking our wine.

The last photo of the cool station wagon needs a bit of explanation and has nothing to do with wine. But!! it is of great importance to me and this is my blog. So, lets talk Tennessee politics.
I have been a life long Republican except for my one vote for Jimmy Carter. Also I have mostly be a listless and only casual voter and never donated to or actively supported any sort of local or national US politician. However, we can all learn from our past mistakes as Susan Tuke tells me!! Thus I am going to work actively this year for Bob Tuke for US Senator. I have already donated money and wine to his campaign and plan to volunteer for him the rest of the race. If you live in Tennessee you will know of Lamar Alexander our career politician current senator. He is ok but pretty boring. Lamar has voted against wind energy which really pi #%ed me off for starters. Then I learned that he has not voted for increased aid to returning Iraq US war vets. That was the last straw for me even though Lamar is my neighbour.

Bob Tuke is a long time friend of mine and is a good, hard working, honest man with a long stellar career as soldier, constant volunteer, family values man, and very respected legal professional. ( can you believe it?--I am voting for both a lawyer and a Democrat!!!) Please go to his web site and listen to him talk on YOU Tube to see and hear him speak for himself. Bob is going to be "the man from Tennessee" this US fall as we have a "Change of Power" in Washington. So join me in supporting him!!!!!!!!

www.tukefortennessee.com

Sorry to divert into politics but it is my blog:):)

More soon;;

Dr JIm

THE PICKING BEGINS!!!!!!!

2008-04-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

WE JUST just talked to Jeremy, our manager, back in Matakana and he told us the they picked our Malbec yesterday. With the warm NZ fall the grapes got ripe about 2 weeks earlier than in the past. He said that we got 4.2 tons of grapes so that is fantastic. The brix level was 24 which is very good. (brix level=sugar content of the grape) One ton of grapes will give about 600 liters of wine which is around 70 cases. So, we could have a pure Malbec if we wanted and get over 250 cases. That is a small amount wine but we are happy to have such a good volume of grapes this year. We thought that we had bunch thinned enough to get small cropping but I guess we should be happy with that volume.

We will be picking the Cab Franc in about two weeks and should get 6 tons of that. If we do blend both together for our future 08 wine we could have 600 cases again!!! More on that in a long time as we won't have that wine ready for well over a year.

Sorry to be slow with postings but I have been busy with medicine. I do have three wine promotion events setup here in Nashville. I will be signing bottles tomorrow - Fri the 11th at Grand Cru here in Nashville. On this Sat from 1-3 I will do the same at the wine shopp next to the new Whole Foods Store in Green Hills Place. Finally on Fri the 25th of April I will be at Frugal McDougals from 4-6 also to promote Hawks Nest.

Here is what Frugals sent out as a pr promotional email about that coming event. Pass it on and do come to one of these three events if you want a signed bottle!!

More soon;

Dr JIM

Dr. Jim Daniell of Hawks Nest Vineyard to Appear at Frugal McDougal’s Liquor Store- Nashville, Tenn. April 25^th, 2008

Nashville physician and New Zealand wine producer Dr. Jim Daniell will appear at Frugal MacDoogal's Nashville store, Friday afternoon April 25th, from 4 to 6 p.m. for a meet-and-greet and autograph event. There is no charge for the event and everyone is invited.

Dr. Jim will be signing bottles of his Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red wine, which is really quite rare. In fact, we're lucky to be able to buy it in Nashville. Hawks Nest imported just 160 of the total 600 cases of the 2006 vintage to the USA, and all of that came to middle Tennessee. The lion's share remains in New Zealand where it has received numerous accolades and sells out quickly.

Orchard Block Red (available for $19.99 at Frugal MacDoogal's) is a signature blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc, styled to be enjoyed by itself or paired with the bounty of local New Zealand meats and fish. If you're looking for a red that is ideal with New Zealand lamb, while also versatile enough for fresh seafood or free range beef, take the doctor's advice and get some Orchard Block while it's available.

The Doctor, Winemaker, Bottle-washer and Orchardist

Hawks Nest gets its name from the native birds that soar over the hills of the scenic New Zealand coastal area where the vineyard is situated. Hawks Nest is nestled on gently sloping north facing soil in a working orchard block in the midst of picturesque Matakana Valley. At 37 degrees south latitude, Matakana Valley has a climate and soil not dissimilar to some of the great wine growing regions of the world. Less than an hour's drive north of Auckland, the Matakana region is blessed with pristine beaches, grass covered hillsides, and small pastoral communities for which New Zealand is renowned.

A native Tennessean, Dr. Jim semi-retired from medicine and moved with his wife Sandra to New Zealand part time in 1999 to seek a life "no less sophisticated but far less complicated." The Daniells go back and forth a half a dozen times each year from Nashville to Matakana, taking advantage of the opposite weather patterns of the northern and southern hemispheres. Dr. Jim still practices medicine 3 days a week for 4 months out of the year. "I am only 64 and still in my medical prime. Thus I have the best of both worlds," Daniell points out reflecting on the duality of his lifestyle.

When in New Zealand, days are spent in the Hawks Nest orchard and vineyard, tending to the raising of avocados, limes, olives, Asian persimmons and wine grapes. The grapes came most recently to the property, planted in 2001. "We only began to think of growing grapes in 2000 after meeting all our neighbors who grew grapes who told us we had perfect land for grapes." Now a typical April day will find Dr. Jim dressed in scrubs, with his trusty terrier in tow, surrounded by friends, harvesting grapes.

Jim's wife Sandra is a gourmet cook and the Daniells love fine quality fresh food. "All cows in New Zealand are free range and seafood is fresh and local. Don't forget the lamb and green lipped mussels for which New Zealand is famous. We sought to make a wine we could enjoy alone or paired with either meat or fish."

The Daniells have a blog you can visit to follow the happenings at Hawks Nest, and get a taste of life in both hemispheres. Check it out: http://www.hawksnestvineyard.blogspot.com.

BACK IN TENNESSEE

2008-04-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

Well, sorry for no blog is two weeks but we took a bit of time to get over the jet lag of coming back to Tennessee this time and I had t focus on medicine a bit. Here are two good spring shots of Hawks Nest that I found on file as I was preparing a talk on NZ wines for a group here in Nashville this week. It is funny to come back for out second spring in 6 months but Sandra is all excited about digging in the dirt again.

Our wine has been well received here in Nashville over the two months since we left. We have gotten good feedback and the article in the Nashville Wine Press seems to have been read by a lot of my patients. You can read the Nashville Wine Press on line anytime so check it out!!

www.nashvillewinepress.com

Now that I am caught up with family and medicine here in Tenn, I will get back to blogging about wine soon.

See you later.

DR JIM

The Vineyard nest door!!!!

2008-03-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

The nice thing about Matakana Valley is that it is so small and made up of very friendly people. There are not many Americans around but those that are here fit in well. Our very closest neigbouring vineyard is called Heron's Flight and is owned by a lovely couple from Calif. who settled her way back around 1990. David Hoskins and his wife Mary were pioneers in growing grapes in Matakana and reciently opened a lovely modern cafe to compliment their vineyard. They are famous for their good Italian wine and food in their new well sited cafe and wine education center just a half mile from our front gate. A great place to sit and view the valley while sampling good food and wine.

It seems that good happenings in life are often from random events. A doctor friend of ours back in Nashville emailed me a few months ago to say that a daughter of a friend of theirs was wanting to work and live in NZ. In Feb, I got to meet Courtney Battle (that young lady) when she first ventured to our little Valley and was able to introduce her to David at our Saturday morning Matakana Farmers Market. Now, things have worked out well for all and Courtney is working at Heron's Flight and "learing the business of wine and food" from an expert with years of experience. They even speak the same brand of English!!! Everyone seems to benefit and now we have another Nashvillian living in Matakana!!!! It is a small world.

The photo shows David and Courtney at the door of Heron's flight cafe this Sunday. They both have a nice smile as they should. Courtney has a neat informative job in NZ and David has a attractive young American lady with a degree in events planning fresh off the boat so to say and enthusiastic to work and learn. (actually Courtney really is fresh off the boat as she sailed in a small boat accross the Pacific to arrive in NZ--not the usual arrival method for Americans for sure!!!)

I went to Heron's Flight on Sun to see their enteresting set up to sell wine straight from the tank into used bottles brought in by customers. This was the second time that David has set up a day to offer the public the chance to come in and "pour your own" wine so to say. We thought it was a neat idea and a fun way to both sell wine and meet people. It was a very good deal for the wine drinkers as they got good red wine for only $12 a bottle and clearly "fresh out of the pot"
The one photo shows their roadside sign with the announcement and the other shot is of David's son demonstating the method of help yourself wine. Kudos to you David and Mary for the idea. I just wish I could copy it!!!! We have no roadside sales or license so unfortunately we can't offer "take a way, do it yourself wine"

Sandra and I are off to the states in the AM so the next post will be from Nashville once we get over jet lag. We leave NZ with a clear blue sky and lovely soft surf down at the beach at the bottom of our hilll. (I am looking at the waves as I type this!!)

More soon;

Dr JIm and Miss Sandra

A GREAT NZ WINE BLOG SITE

2008-03-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

GOOD MORNING!!!!

Every morning (well, that is most mornings to be accurate) I get up and check my email, then Google News to see what's up in the world, and finally I go to Sue Courtney's neat blog on NZ Wines at the link below. I have mentioned Sue before and even encluded one of her in depth writings on the history of NZ wines on this blog in the past.. Sue has a very informative post EVERY day on NZ wines or wine related information. So, if you want to really be up to date on NZ wines you should bookmark her "Blog of vinous ramblings" --(even the name is cute). She even adds a few jokes occasionally like this latest one that she saw in the Auckland main daily paper-The NZ Herald.

"Had to laugh on reading the humor column Sideswipe in this morning's NZ Herald. It went something like this.

A foreign language couple from Europe, only in the country for three weeks, asked the host what to bring to a party they had been invited to.
"Oh, sauvignon blanc would be nice," said the host to the husband of the European couple.
"What kind of party is it," exclaimed the wife when her husband said he was asked to bring along 'seven young blondes'. ( From Sue Courtney blog of March 13th, 2008)

Anyways I due suggest you visit the links below as Sue really gets around to taste a lot of NZ wine and give good reviews of the wines as well as general wine related information about the wine industry here in NZ. She also edits the wine of the week site as well which is really the same home page as her blog but with tons of news on all things wine in NZ. So check both of these urls out soon and pass on the links to others with interest in NZ wines.

http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm

http:// www.wineoftheweek.com

More Soon from the states as we go back to Nashville for about 5 weeks on March 18th.

Dr Jim and Miss Sandra

How to find a rare wine on line

2008-03-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

If you are like me you occasionally want to get a really unusual and hard to find wine. So, what do you do besides call your local favorate store and ask them to get it for you? Well, you can actually go on line and do a seach at wine-searcher.com. Did you know that one of the world's most popular wine websites is based in New Zealand? . It's a site called www.wine-searcher.com, and it's loved by wine buyers throughout the world but particularly by collectors in the USA and the UK. But it may surprise many people that it is a New Zealand operation.

It is free for a store to list on the website and users can dial up www.winesearcher.com and look up for free where they can buy a certain wine. So how does www.wine-searcher.com make money?

They make their money from users who buy the 'Pro Version', at US$29.95. This version provides much more information and more 'hits' and pricing information for a searched wine. There are many other 'Pro Version' features including 'alerts' if a sought after wine suddenly becomes available. Retailers can also advertise.

It's obviously working because www.wine-searcher.com has over 10,000 subscribers. The site attracts over half a million visitors each month with over 55 million page views each year. Revenue for 2007 is expected to exceed $2million.

"We are a profitable, debt fee company with positive cash flow from our operations," says Martin. Independent statistics show that www.wine-searcher.com is well ahead of competing sites, www.winezap.com and www.cellartracker.com.

Sixty percent of the users are from the USA. The UK, with almost 14% of users, is in second place. New Zealand users don't even figure in the Top Ten user countries.

"We'd like to increase our New Zealand usage considerably," says Martin Brown the founder. "The world knows about us but many kiwis don't".

Dial up www.wine-searcher.com, type in your favourite wine into 'Wine Name', add a vintage if you wish, and see what results you get.

(Incidentally, the most searched for wine is Chateau Margaux.)

Finally, I got this cute one below by email last week and wanted to pass it on to readers in my age group (64+!!!) Seems very appropriate these days!!!!!!

More soon; Dr Jim

New Wine for Seniors
California vintners in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic.
It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night.

The new wine will be marketed as

Pi No More

(I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE)

Nashville Wine Press Article

2008-03-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

IF you live in Nashville and buy much wine you will see the Nashville Wine Press in stores. The editor, Jimmy Collins, and his staff produce a very first rate and interesting journal in my opinion. Also, the price is right as it is free and a new edition comes out every two months. The edition that is now in stores has a nice intereview by Jimmy Collins with me. He did a good job of writing the article about Hawks Nest and I thought that readers of this blog who are NOT in Nashville might like to get some background on Hawks Nest and our journey into wine from medicine. So, here is that online version of the article that was in the recent NWP. Hope you learn a bit about me that you might not have known.

More Soon;

Dr JIM

Nashville Wine Press People You Oughta Know
Hawks Nest Vineyard-Dr. Jim Daniell

by Jimmy Collins

Hawks Nest Vineyard, on the main road that leads to Matakana Valley, New Zealand, is the other side of the world from Middle Tennessee. But thanks to Dr. Jim Daniell, it’s never been closer. Dr. Daniell, born and raised in Tennessee, never imagined he would own a winery—let alone in New Zealand. But as his story reveals, sometimes life is serendipitous.

After attending medical school in Memphis, Dr. Daniell served in the military stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. It was there he was introduced to wine, not even knowing how fate was beginning to play its role. After selling his practice to his younger partner over 6 years ago, he jokingly refers to his career as a physician as “his past life.” “I was very active around 1980 in developing lasers through a surgical telescope that is called a laparoscope,” he explains. “I was the first person in America to clinically use a laser through the laparoscope which was great for my medical career and it got me invited all over the world—including New Zealand.” Semi-retiring in 1998, the Daniell family settled on New Zealand. “There is no crime or poverty. It’s clean, green, has good seafood and entertainment, and is devoid of extreme cold or hot weather. That, my friend, is New Zealand,” declares Dr. Daniell proudly.

Hawks Nest Vineyard was initially created for tax purposes. The Daniells were running a successful fruit orchard in Matakana and with taxes at 51.5%, they needed to invest in something that would take some time to be profitable. “We had four acres of vacant land that, when tested, seemed to be suitable terrain for Cabernet Franc and Malbec.” Dr. Daniell began planting in 2001 and remarks, “Our plan was to sell the grapes to our neighbor and have him make some wine for us in New Zealand, never thinking of exporting to the U.S.” Once again, the hands of fate intervened. John Worth, who had studied at the best wine school in Australia and worked in Bordeaux, France, suddenly showed up at the Daniell’s door. “He saw our grapes and wanted to make a demonstration wine. We asked what it cost and he said it would not cost us a thing except for the barrels. I should have asked what barrels cost,” quipped Dr. Daniell. At the time, a new French oak barrel cost approximately $1300. They produced two hundred cases of wine and were extremely satisfied with the results.

Robert Lipman of Lipman Bros., Inc. was traveling to New Zealand and decided to stop at Hawks Nest to taste the 2004 barrel samples. Impressed with the results and knowing his portfolio did not contain Bordeaux-style wine from New Zealand, Mr. Lipman was the catalyst to bring Hawks Nest to Tennessee—providential to say the least.

So what are the results? “The Orchard Block Red is a blend that creates some good, but not too high, tannins and a softness and what I think is a really good wine—but I’m biased,” states Dr. Daniell. Actually, two of New Zealand’s most well respected wine writers concur, giving stellar reviews of Hawks Nest. One in particular, Michael Cooper, the “Robert Parker of New Zealand,” gave the Orchard Block Red four stars out of five. This is no small feat as history has shown that Mr. Cooper only gives out four stars eight percent of the time to New Zealand wines.

The 2005 Orchard Block Red is completely sold out and the 2006 has just been released—in screw-cap form. Primary locations to purchase it are The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills, West Meade Wine and Liquor Mart, Grapevine Wine and Spirits, Grand Cru, Woodland Wine Merchants, and Red Dog Wine and Spirits. If your wine store does not carry it, they can contact Lipman Brothers directly to inquire about ordering some.

Life now for the Daniell family involves traveling across the Pacific six times a year and working two harvests—one for grapes at the end of March and early April (this is New Zealand, remember) and the second for their fruit, whose harvest carries into May and early June. Although semi-retired, Dr. Daniell still practices in Nashville periodically throughout the year. There often are wine dinners and bottle signings when he is here in town, so if you happen to run into him, just consider it serendipitous.

First Matakana Wine Festival

2008-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

We had our first annual Matakana Wine and food festival here in our little valley. The only hitch was the rainy weather. We were happy about the rain ourselves as our water tanks were low but it sure cut down late minute attendance from Auckland. The event was from 10:30-6:30 ( yes, a long day in our booth for sure). People were there when the gates opened and all seemed to have a good time.

We printed up some shirts at the last minute that were a hit with everyone. The black shirt and the phrase on the back can be seen in the one photo. We had 8 people out selling away from our booth using plastic buckets who were wearing our shirts and selling wine. Some of the ladies said they got a few "squeezes" over the day as the back of the shirt suggested!!!!

We also sold Scarborough Fair Chocolate and found that giving free samples led to a lot of wine sales!!!! You can see the choc sitting on the bar in the one photo-that is Mike our wine maker holding up the bottle of bubbly that he produced and sold as well. The other photo shows Sandra and I with our NUMBER ONE SALESMAN--Bart Blommaaert who owns the best B and B in Auckland called Ascot Parnell. We stayed with Bart and his lovely wife, Therese, long ago when we first came to NZ and have become good friends. Bart could sell a frig to an Eskimo!!!!

The final photo shows me loading up our truck at the end of the day with our unsold wine. For those of you in NZ who missed the day, you need to put it on your events calander for the Jan-Feb summer of 2009 as it will be held before school starts next year and on a Sat. and not a Sun as this last week. Admission will also be lower next year. Stay tuned for info on that event in a few months!!

So, now we just watch the grapes grow and sit back and rest for a bit as we are all caught up at the vineyard as we prepare for our 08 harvest in about a month.
More soon.

Dr Jim and Miss Sandra

BIRD BURGLARS

2008-02-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have talked before a a bit about bird netting. All around Matakana Valley you can see white netting over and along side the rows of grapes. Here is a article in this week's local paper that gives a good overview of the bird situation here--burglars is the right name for those feathered devils!!!!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY here as it is the day of the first MatakanaWine Festival. The bad news is it is now raining cats and dogs outside so we will have a soggy site tomorrow. Oh, well at least it will be cooler and we should have a better demand for our red wines. It is been mostly around 80 here this week and that favors the consumptioin of whites.