Bicycle Race Pinot Gris

Bicycle Race Pinot Gris

Bicycle Race is a dry, textural Marlborough Pinot Gris made using deliciously ripe Pinot Gris grapes, seasoned with a touch of Pinot Blanc and a smattering of Pinot Noir.

The wine was vinified in old oak using multiple yeast strains and rested sur lie to add texture, aromatic complexity and intrigue.

What does Bicycle Race Pinot Gris taste like?

The resulting wine has delicate aromatics of spiced pear and apricot with nutty undertones. On the palate, the wine is dry, medium-bodied and deliciously textural. Delicate floral notes augment the spiced pear and nutty opulence that carries through to a long, dry, rounded finish.

Food match

This is a versatile table wine that can go well with fish, white meat, mushrooms, risotto and quiche Lorraine, or it can be enjoyed as an aperitif to get the digestive juices flowing.

The story behind Bicycle Race

Bicycle races were once, not so long ago, new and cutting edge … kind of like SailGP or wing foiling today. They struck awe and wonder in the throngs of spectators vying to view the spectacle.

Early bicycle races became huge public spectacles, drawing eclectic crowds, sometimes in the tens of thousands, made up of factory workers, society women, gamblers, children and gentlemen, all transfixed by the looping riders.

Wine, like this Marlborough Pinot Gris, can also attract an eclectic mix of imbibers who can become transfixed by the swirling, sniffing and sipping of the wine in their glass.

My favourite bicycle race, though, has to be the Queen song penned by the inimitable Freddie Mercury, full of innuendo — another of his great songs — and pop culture references.

I’ve never been a competitive cyclist but have always ridden bikes as a way of getting around. The closest I’ve been to a bicycle race is doing Auckland’s Bike the Bridge event on my fixie. It was a good 115 km ride.

The standout memory, though, was getting grief from other cyclists for not wearing lycra. If there is one thing I never anticipated getting stick for in my life, not wearing lycra would be it. But stick I got. Not being a cyclist, I just wore normal clothes — boardies, a T-shirt and a pair of Chuck Taylors.