Wine & Food Society of Rotorua (Inc.)
P O Box 1886 Rotorua NZ
The Rotorua Wine & Food Society provides members and their guests with opportunities to enjoy good food, good wine, and good company six or seven times a year at different times, places and prices. It also provides members with an occasional newsletter, which is distributed with notices of functions.
It does these things through:
  • an active committee that seeks out suitable venues for and arranges functions
  • an extensive cellar that enables members to drink at cost a wide range of quality wines, appropriately aged and seldom currently available
  • the coöperation of hoteliers, restaurateurs and resort managers who host our functions
  • membership and financial support of the NZ Federation of Wine & Food Societies
 
FUNCTIONS
Our functions, all accompanied by meal-matching wines from our cellar, are very good value, not least because the wines are billed from our cellar at cost. Recent functions have included:
  • formal dinners at Bistro 1284, Millennium, Sheraton and Novotel ($90-120 per person)
  • wine tasting evenings (Grange Hermitage, Stonyridge Larose, a French Burgundy and Irongate and Swamp Road Chardonnays featured at the most recent) ($35-50, depending on the wine selection)
  • restaurant meals (You & Me and Skyline Skyrides were awarded the Federation of Wine & Food Societies' Certificate of Merit following a recent memorable evenings), one of which each year is "ethnic" - we have enjoyed Japanese, Indonesian, Indian and Korean food in recent years ($40-65)
  • winemaker's evenings, at which a winemaker presents his/her wines at a suitable restaurant meal; most recently, we have hosted John Kemble. (Kemblefield), James Milton and Simon Nunns (Coopers Creek), Richard Tustain (Villa Maria), Stephanie Hagen (Burnt Spur Martinborough) ($45-60)
  • Christmas "party" at Grapevine (2002), Skyline Skyrides (2001) and brunch at the Heritage (1999) ($40-55)
  • an annual summer "wine trail", in which we enjoy the scenery and sights of a tourist resort or private properties, with snacks and wines on the trail leading to dinner-Waimangu, Fairy Springs, Hamurana, Te Amorangi Museum and Kawaha Point garden properties have featured in recent years ($40-50).
 
CELLAR
Our cellar plays an important part in our social life. It is maintained at around 100 dozen bottles (worth about $20,000 at cost) and includes a wide range of prize NZ wines supplemented by a selection of Australian, French and other overseas wines. Some examples:
  • Atarangi Wairarapa '01 Pinot Noir
  • Babich '91, '96 Irongate Cabernet/Merlot
  • Babich Mara Estate '94 Merlot, '95, '96 Cabernet/Merlot, Syrah & Chardonnay
  • Bilancia '00 Pinot Gris
  • Brookfields '94 reserve Cabernet/Merlot
  • Burnt Spur Martinborough '02 Cabernets/Merlot, Pinot Noir & Riesling
  • Chateau Nenin-Pomerol & Chateau Potensac '94 Bordeaux
  • Church Road '99 reserve HB Chardonnay
  • Collard's '97, 98 Queen Charlotte Marlborough Riesling, '96, '97 Pinot Noir, '99 Rothesay Chardonnay
  • Coopers Creek Hawkes Bay '97 Wild Ferment Chardonnay, '99 Merlot
  • Corban's '95, '96 PB Amberley Riesling, Huntaway Gisborne '96 oak aged Sémillon
  • Esk Valley '97 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc, '98 reserve Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon, '02 Merlot
  • Felton Rd Central Otago '98 Pinot Noir & '99, '00, '01, '02 Block 3 Pinot Noir; '99, '0, '02 Dry Riesling
  • Fenton Waiheke '98 Cabernet/Merlot/Franc
  • Goldwater Waiheke '93 Cabernet/Merlot
  • Kemblefield HB '98, '00, '01 Gewürztraminer
  • Lindeman's '96 Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz/Cabernet
  • La Consulta (Argentina) '00 Malbec
  • Matua Valley '96 Judd Estate Chardonnay, '87 Dartmoor Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Mills Reef '99 Elspeth Syrah
  • Milton Gisborne '00 Gewürztraminer
  • Montana '95, '96 & '98 Tom Cabernet/Merlot,'97 Reserve Merlot
  • Muriette's '91 Zinfandel
  • Penfold's '95 Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz
  • Stonyridge Larose Waiheke Cabernets '89, '00
  • Te Kairanga '98 Martinborough Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Te Mata '00 HB Cabernet Merlot
  • Vidal '99 reserve Cabernet/Merlot
  • Villa Maria '98, '02 reserve HB Chardonnay, '98 reserve Cabernet/Merlot, '00 reserve Merlot
 

GENERAL
The Society was founded in 1962. Membership varies around 80. Occasional guests are welcome if the venue has the capacity. Prospective members may attend two functions as guests prior to applying for membership.

New members contribute $35 towards a "share" in the cellar. The current annual subscription is $46 per member if paid within two months of billing. (Part year membership is rebated at $3 per month.) The subscription covers rent and insurance of the cellar, regular circulars, a contribution to the cost of the NZ Federation of Wine & Food Societies and general administration. Occasional small surpluses are invested in cellar enhancements.

Notices of functions include a slip to return with your cheque, with details of any guests accompanying you, and confirmation that you wish to use the Super Shuttle transport to and from the function that we arrange for a small extra charge. Its use is strongly recommended by the Committee.
 
TO PARTICIPATE
To join, or to seek an invitation to attend a function as a paying guest, please let any member know, or one of the Society's office bearers:

Office Bearers:      
  • President
Elliott Pollard 357 4163 pollards@ro.pl.net
  • VicePresident
Pauline Evans 345 6060 rotorua.rentals@xtra.co.nz
  • Immediate Past President
Bernard Ivory 348 4116 bernard.ivory@xtra.co.nz
  • Secretary
Clive Smith 348 4970 smith34@xtra.co.nz
  • Treasurer
Phil Painter 345 6755 family.painter@xtra.co.nz
  • Cellar Master
     
  • Committee Members
Jan Grigg 348 6640  
  Gwen Ross 347 2895  
   
       

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