EAST COAST PALATE

Well, after a pretty long hiatus of no writing (except for my bimonthly City Living Magazine articles), I've had a realization that I cannot lose sight of the vision... the transformation of an amateur palate into a connoisseur... someday.
In the meantime I'm enjoying working as a wine professional, selling, sipping, spitting almost every day.  Always learning and always enjoying the fact that I work with a product that I love.  Why my words came to such a sudden halt, I don't know, but I hope to be back and as prolific as possible.
Okay, to what matters.  This bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir will run you about 20 bucks.  Wild Rock is a sustainable winery affiliated with Craggy Range (one of the more prestigious establishments from New Zealand). It hails from the Central Otago region of the North Island (think Lord of the Rings), which has a cooler growing climate.  So you get a fresh Pinot with bright acid.  You get cherries, a resinous allure, and something slightly floral on the nose.  But no umami, i.e., no meaty deli meat aromas. 
The flavor is lush and fruity with a raisiny, spicy finish.  The tannins are light, and the wine is almost see-through clear.  Overall, it is a pleasant wine.  Good for stirfry, good chilled down just a bit to combat this summer humidity.  I give it a B+.
Question to anyone who might happen by:  Are you drinking more South African wine because of the World Cup?  if so, which ones?

Technically speaking, last night I really was in New Zealand, attending a charity wine auction sponsored by the Washington D.C. Rotary Club.  There was plenty of good food and wine to choose from, but only two wines stood out to me as being noteworthy:  The Lil' Rippa Pinot Noir and the Lil' Rippa Sauvignon blanc. 
The latter, a crisp Sauv. blanc loaded with crisp zestiness, was the perfect glass to kick off my evening of meeting a few of the members of the club.  The pinot noir was a wine I returned to after some eating and bidding on silent auction items, but it startled me with how dank and deep the aromas were.  Bacon fat and musty basement smells mingled with some fresh red berry... a for-sure A wine in my book.  Now I just need to find out where I can find it aroud here...shouldn't be too hard