Greywacke pinot gris ... what a great wine

The temptation to over-indulge when the weather gets warmer is hard to shake … OK, nigh on impossible.
I just had a couple of weeks and a bit in Vanuatu and, given that it was warmer there than in Melbourne, I over-indulged in everything … strong drink, kava, food, sleep, the beach … you get the picture.
It was on the agenda back at home to pull it back a bit and get healthy, you know, cut back on the wine, eat lots of fruit and healthy meals, no more beer (reckon it would be impossible to have more, given what I got into when I was away), regular exercise, but bugger it.
This past week I’ve enjoyed French rosé, WTF shiraz, Oomoo sparkling shiraz, a Margaret River chenin blanc, Aussie rosé, a semillon-sauvignon blend, oh, and some bourbon and some tequila. Reckon I feel all the better for having cut back. . I also feel good for having discovered an absolute cracker of a wine.
I took a wander to my local wine shop (in Albert Park) and sought a recommendation (thanks Ange) for something good to go with the san choy bow that I was planning to cook. Enter Greywacke 2010 pinot gris, from Marlborough in New Zealand.
Greywacke (you’ve gotta love the name; it’s pronounced grey-wacky) is a reference to sandstone, and English geologists apparently reckoned greywacke was an "uncouth foreign term". Well, they would, wouldn’t they, given that London offers up names such as Back Passage, Mincing Lane, Mudchute, Percy Passage, Swallow Passage, Cock Hill, Cockbush Avenue and my favourite from Norfolk, Harlot’s Hole, but I digress.
Let me tell you, there’s bugger all uncouth about Greywacke pinot gris. It’s a robust 14% alcohol (not at all to its detriment) and, depending on whom you believe, it offers hints pears, figs, apricots, jasmine, nutmeg, white pepper, apple, two turtle doves and a partridge in a … (I smoke rollies, so the jury’s out when it comes to my palate.) I’d say it’s pleasantly fruity (yeah, I found some of the above), has plenty of body, feels good in the mouth (don’t they all?) and has a bit residual sugar that perfectly complemented the san choy bow (a recipe that I mahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifde up as I went along).
I paid a premium of about 34 bucks for a bottle (OK, it was a welcome-home treat), but it varies from about $25 upwards if you can be bothered checking this interweb thing.
But I reckon I’d pay the $34 again because it is that good.
Oh, and if you’re keen to try my version of san choy bow, it’s in the recipes section below.
PS: I have been treating myself to freshly made fruit juice at home, thanks to the inspiration of Crikey’s juice boy and cinema fanatic, Luke Buckmaster, who makes a different juice daily, so all is not lost.