Profile: Kieran Clarkin, amphora
Somellier Kieran Clarkin, who grew up in Kirikiriroa, has returned after years in Melbourne to open wine bar Amphora. Situated at the entry point of the mess hall, you’ll see him loving pouring his ever evolving selection (Greek wines are his specialty), while kindly and expertly redirecting the odd confused punter wanting beer to Hapi down the end. We asked him about wine, life and being back.
So, Kieran, you have opened what is Hamilton's first wine bar, after a long time in Melbourne building up an impressive CV. We're so lucky to have you back! What brought you home?
We were planning to return at some point and Covid was a bit of a catalyst, for a number of reasons. We wanted our son to have an Aotearoa upbringing.
What's changed the most about Hamilton since you were a teenager here?
The roads.
What excites you about Hamilton now?
Passionate people doing positive things.
Who's become/how would you describe the Amphora regular?
We have some absolutely lovely repeat guests who are all quite different, but they all tend to be looking for something new and different or unusual.
What are you excited about serving in the coming months?
We have Amy from Halcyon Days coming to pour on Feb 10 which is very exciting. Amy, Olly and their cohort have brought a liveliness and sense of community that has made NZ wine very exciting in recent years. They also make spectacularly delicious wine.
What are you drinking at home?
It's hot at the moment so light red wine from the fridge and cold brew coffee.
Apart from Amphora, where else do you like to eat and drink in Hamilton?
I've enjoyed exploring the Mess Hall vendors at Made, as well as Mezze (gozleme, dips, dolmades) and other folks at the Market. I also frequent Rudi's, Rosie's, Mr Pickles and I've had some lovely food at Sage recently.
What's the most underrated wine at the moment? What's an unexpected pairing that works really well?
Riesling is eternally underrated, particularly the rich, dry styles from New Zealand that benefit from lengthy ripening periods.
This is quite typical in its home but sweet Pedro Ximinez sherry and salty anchovies is one that often surprises folks.
I know that a lot of my very clever wine friends have been chilling certain reds for ages, but drinking the chilly red at Amphora over summer got me really excited about it. Any advice for what wines you can pop in the fridge at home? (I've just been doing it with all my pinot noirs, lol).
You can chill anything, and to different degrees of chilliness. Speaking from experience, red wines that are fruity and aromatic (rather than savoury) and lighter in body and tannin tend to benefit. Broadly speaking it's less about the grape and more about the winemaking but Pinot, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and (light) Syrah tend to work well. If you can see through the bottle then its probably good to chill.
We know that you’re a big fan of Te Huia. Tell us more…
I'm a big fan of Te Huia, I took it last week. I'm thrilled that there are additional services beginning this month and hope that the gradual improvements are winning over the skeptics. I would love to see more expansion in regional passenger rail and a rebuilding of the rail network. I think Te Huia is a good symbol of that, as it has succeeded despite a lot of opposition.
