Q&A with the legendary Tony Bish

Above: Tony Bish with his concrete eggs at The Urban Winery in Napier.

I first met Tony Bish in the mid-1990s when I attended a wine tasting restaurant in Ponsonby, Auckland. The wines on show were new releases from Sacred Hill – the wines were excellent, but my most vivid memory of the occasion was how knowledgeable, gracious and humble Tony was. My questions were simple, and as a Sommelier, I was hungry for knowledge – Tony answered all with incredible detail.

Nowadays, Tonys owns Tony Bish Wine and The Urban Winery – both housed in the same building in Napier's Ahuriri. You'll love the Urban Wine Company venue, not only for its food and wine but the opportunity to see a working winery. Also on site is Tony's collection of concrete egg fermenters and French Ovum wooden egg. Next door is a distillation company worth a look-see as well.

Tony is a leading vigneron of Chardonnay. My favourite is the Skeetfield with its complex, flinty, leesy, and mineral led bouquet, a core of citrus and white-fleshed stone fruits, layers of wood and a long detailed finish. His current release of the Zen Chardonnay is fantastic, a special wine for your cellar or to enjoy now through to 2028.

Tony is always generous with his time – most recently offering his wines for tasting at the Winetopia festival in Auckland and spending 30 mins with me last week as we discussed his journey with wine and his varying styles of Chardonnay.