Good magazine caught up with it’s very first cover star, Robyn Malcolm, to talk all things wine ahead of her being part of the ‘Share a Glass’ discussion at this year’s Winetopia festival in Auckland.
Three years ago Good magazine introduced a wine section because let’s face it, wine is wonderful and there’s a lot of wonderful organic, biodynamic and natural wines produced in NZ. At Wineotopia this year, you’re hosting a ‘Share a Glass’ talk. What does that entail?
From my understanding I’m going to be jumping up on stage on Friday night to have a chat with Russell Brown whilst enjoying a glass of my favorite drop from Winetopia with the crowd.
If you only had the choice of red, white or rose, which would be your preference?
I only drink red. White makes my heart go funny now and I get terrible hangovers from white. But I will drink bubbles sometimes
What is your personal favourite wine varietal and why?
Southern French Wine called Madiran A’ydie. Its like a big rustic old school red. Bit like a Cab Franc. I imagine it tastes like what French Aristocracy would drink 200 years ago. I call it my “live forever wine” – there’s been a whole bunch of studies on this particular wine from this particular region that suggest there’s something in this one which is phenomenally good for heart health. I drink about five glasses a week and haven’t had a cold in three years. Plus I love it. Other than that I love malbecs, and some pinots noirs.
Wine enthusiast or wine expert? How would you describe your relationship with wine?
Lover of!
Opening a bottle of wine is often associated with celebration. What’s one highlight moment in your life where opening a special bottle of something was called for?
A dear friend and I used to have Sunday night dinners together, her with her 2 kids and me with mine. All roaring around in the back garden in the summer, with the garden sprinkler on… usually in the nuddy. We’d open a really really bloody good bottle of something (back then it was often a Martinborough Chardonnay) to celebrate the fact that we’d made it through the week and hadn’t ballsed up our mothering too badly and our wee ones were still alive and happy. I find the big celebrations tend to go with the popping of a bubbly bottle… but when a really good wine is opened the celebration is just that… I guess that’s an excuse for saying… I don’t need an excuse! The wine’s the excuse.
Ten years ago you graced the cover of the inaugural issue of Good magazine and wished us luck. Thank you! In that issue you spoke of the ways you were reducing your environmental footprint through saving energy, buying local, driving a car with a small engine and just consuming less. Fast forward to today. What other eco-friendly initiatives/practices have you adopted personally in your home/life since then?
Small house, small car, walk where possible, recycle, buy ethically, NZ grown, NZ Made, keep the conversation going at home, the kids are pretty aware… and then I ruin all of it with a big carbon footprint from air travel.
For more on this year’s Winetopia events in Auckand and Wellington, visit winetopia.nz
