D&N Portfolio Sensorium 2023: That’s a wrap!

Our Dhall & Nash inaugural Sensorium Tasting Event was a blast, thanks for being part of it – we truly value your time & outstanding participation. Whether it was in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, or Wellington – We really couldn’t have done this event without you all – customers, suppliers, colleagues, friends & whanau!

As esteemed Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas said on the day:

Thanks Cam, you’re right… so, watch this space!

We would like to express our gratitude towards all attendees for making the event so darn informative & fun. Our D&N valued suppliers really tickled quite a few hundred tastebuds all around the country. They worked hard – they chatted, they poured wines, they joked & cajoled! How lucky are we to represent such hardworking quality artisanal producers. We’ve actually exhausted the superlatives. Here’s a huge heartfelt thank-you from D&N to:

Duckhorn, Bogle Family Vineyards, Pares Balta, Champagne Billecart-Salmon, Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Easthope Family Winegrowers, Collaboration Wines, Bohemian, Folium, Hawkshead, Knappstein Enterprise Winery, Zema Estate, Chambers Rosewood, Coravin, Poppies, 144 Islands, Clevedon Vineyards, Columbia Crest, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

for taking the time, effort and energy to attend attend in person, celebrate and support this endeavour.

And another warm thank you to those who weren’t able to attend but contributed in other ways to making sure this event was full of delicious offerings:

De Martino, La Marca Prosecco, Sartori di Verona, Quinta do Crasto, Cillar de Silos, Frank Cornelissen, Schloss Lieser, Champagne André Clouet, Digby Fine English, Digby Fine English, Wines of Substance, Cristom, Causse Marines, Domaine de Noiré,Tania et Vincent Careme, Col d’Orcia, San Felice, Pelissero, Bibi Graetz

And even though our international and local suppliers have headed home, and we’ve taken down the signs, tidied up, relived some super-duper tasty wines, then reluctantly gone back to our daily routines, we’d love to share some special event memories with you…

Our design whiz kid Aimée certainly covers how the whole D&N team felt:

“It was an absolute whirlwind before, during and after! Usually as a very behind-the-scenes persona I don’t get to see a lot of the ‘action’ so it was really amazing to see the team at the forefront doing what they do best – not just our DN team but our wider team of suppliers, winemakers, customers and visiting producers. It was a really wonderful reminder that we really are surrounded by such awesome folks and products!”

• To Takaki from Folium, for turning up hours early and helping with event prep, and then staying hours late to help with pack down. A humble hero!
• To Julz from Collaboration for being kind enough to work Sensorium with us on her birthday! 🥳
• To our new portfolio additions, 144 Islands and Clevedon Vineyards – they’ve already made a big impression & we’re extremely excited to introduce them to the rest of NZ.
• To our international representatives who travelled from far afield to little Aotearoa – you made it a truly unique experience for our trade show attendees.
• To the hardworking crew at each venue who made it all look seamlessly effortless.
• To the dog lovers’ group, Denis from Hawkshead, Karl from Duckhorn, Sonja & Aimée from D&N sharing proud puppy pics. It’s not just about the wine you know! 🐶

• Aimée had some stand-out bevvies on the day: “I slammed a few Pentire+Tonics during the day, I will admit! For someone that works in this biz I don’t drink a lot, and it can make me feel like a wet blanket sometimes, so to have such a swishy drink that isn’t just a coke and looks and tastes very ooh-la-la is still quite novel to me! For the harder stuff, I did enjoy some classic Bille’ Rosé. It just simply never disappoints.
• From the BECA group of hardcore Bordeaux buffs who attended the Bordeaux Masterclass: “those were bloody delicious wines & we learned more about the region & the vintage!”
• For D&N Content Specialist, Sonja, it was too tough to choose: “It’s hard to pick a favourite child when there were so many divine wines – here’s but a few, starting with the ethereal, elegant, Tuscan producer Bibi Graetz’s Colore & Testamatta. Such precision & purity from Sangiovese is mind boggling. Then Julz’s Collaboration Verdant chardy knocked my old cotton socks right off – classy. And how about Easthope’s Paddock Six Syrah – soaring out in the stratosphere!”
• Our senior Auckland account manager, Tori, was at all the events & succumbed to the charms of the Italians – “Looking after the Italian table was dreamy… Sangiovese heaven. From Chianti Classico to Brunello di Montalcino, and a very special Bibi Graetz.”

From Brandon (a.k.a. the wild DJ of Wellywood):

“Wellington Sensorium was buzzing! A sensational day in the Capital City. Massive thank you to all the customers and suppliers of their support and to the Public Trust Hall for having us at their fabulous venue. Special shout to our loyal out of town customers who made the effort to come down from Hawkes Bay, Whanganui, Bulls, and Palmerston North.”

Of course, a shout-out must go to the ‘last-(wo)men-standing’, who have such stamina to keep the party going even when everyone was ready to turn into a pumpkin – no naming or shaming 😉

Our resident American specialist & Auckland Account manager Melissa, summed up our sentiments well:

“What a special opportunity to have some of our fabulous suppliers and makers, from near and far, all under one roof to share their stories, anecdotes and wines with our customers.”

Hear Hear to that!

After these intense multi-city series of events, we would love to keep our conversations going – you know – those crazy wine geek talks we managed to squeeze in whilst jostling, pouring, & 3-way explaining that scintillating bottle of obscure vino to eager young wine enthusiasts planning new listings for summer.

Let us know if you tasted something fresh & delectable at the show from a new producer perhaps or revisit an old favourite from a new vintage? We want to keep our chats humming & the wine pouring.
Please stay in touch with your Account Managers & don’t forget to check out our D&N Upcoming Events page on our website.

If you haven’t already, feel free to share any thoughts & give us your feedback so we can do it even better next time! Your feedback does count.

Our sincerest thanks to ALL ♥︎