Six friends and wine-industry professionals joined forces in New Zealand’s Waipara Valley to create the Tongue in Groove label. Since launching in 2012, the label has been immensely successful. Lynette Hudson, considered to be one of the best winemakers in the country, is winemaker at Tongue in Groove. We were lucky enough to get in on the secret early and convince them to part with sizable chunks of their production to ship across the world to California for our enjoyment. The wines have been staff favorites for several years now, but we didn’t have the opportunity to feature them in the club until recently, when our New Zealand buyer Thomas was able to reserve for us a larger than usual allocation of the “Cabal Vineyard” Pinot Noir. This single-vineyard Pinot from the Waipara Valley in North Canterbury is grown in gravelly soils along the Waipara riverbank, and is influenced by the long sunlight hours and cool nights of this South Island wine region. Cabal has always been among a favorite Pinot Noir made by Tongue in Groove. It’s a perfect balance of dark fruit, minerality, delicate aromas and smooth, fine-boned tannin. It’s effortless to drink, and so elegant that it will pair best with delicate dishes such as salmon or mildly seasoned roast chicken.