On the beach at Piha, three men concocted a plan to bring Kiwis their first taste of Fairtrade fruit. People called them, well, bananas. 

But they had an idea that Kiwis might get behind other people getting a fair go…It turns out they were right.

In 2009, not many New Zealanders knew where their bananas came from, or how hard it was for growers and their families to make a fair living from their produce. So Chris, Simon and Matt decided that day on Piha that it was time for a change.

New Zealand used to source its bananas from the Pacific, but increased demand and better shipping meant importers started looking to cheaper producers in South America and the Philippines.

When they started their search, they looked to the Pacific first. They worked with the Samoa’s Women in Business cooperative to create organic banana chunks, but sadly there aren’t enough of the beautiful, sweet Misiluki bananas to satisfy New Zealand’s appetite for fresh fruit.

Their quest then turned to the other side of the Pacific and El Guabo, one of the world’s oldest Fairtrade cooperatives. They landed the first bananas in February 2010, and heaps of Kiwis asked their local stores to stock us.

All Good believe Fairtrade shouldn't be a special term and that all businesses should be fair. That's why they've worked hard to bring Kiwis Fairtrade bananas from the El Guabo cooperative of small farmers in Ecuador because they do more than just fair trading, they make a difference to the lives of growers, their kids, our kids and the land.

Good for the Growers

Fairtrade gives farmers and workers the security of a stable price all year round but it also gives them something else: independence.

On top of the price of bananas, the El Guabo cooperative earn a fairtrade premium (7-10 cents per bunch). Since All Good started importing New Zealand's first Fairtrade bananas in 2010 they've given over $940,000 back to the El Guabo community in Fairtrade premium funding. This has helped to support school kids, a free medical centre, a special needs school and sustainable farming initiatives too.

Good for the Land

El Guabo's small plantations in Ecuador believe in sustainable farming and biodiversity. The cooperative do not use any of the hazardous agro-chemicals listed in the dreaded 'dirty dozen' and Fairtrade standards ban the use of over 120 chemical commonly sprayed on fruit.

Good For You

All Good Bananas are packed full of the good stuff. They are a great source of fibre, vitamin C, potassium and manganese, and a very good source of vitamin B6, making them perfect energy food.

With All Good fair trade bananas you are able to eat healthily with a healthy conscience… and that really is All Good!

Moore Wilson's are proud to stock only fair trade bananas in our Fresh Markets.

Kombucha is a fermented beverage of black tea and sugar. It contains a colony of bacteria and yeast that are responsible for initiating the fermentation process once combined with sugar. Kombucha has become popular recently for its probiotic qualities. Its fizzy bite makes it a great alternative to sugar-laden soft drinks.

A wealth of research can be found online around the benefits of drinking Koumbucha. Possible benefits include improved digestion, prevention of disease through reduced inflammation, mental clarity, and mood stability.

Kombuchas that are raw and unpasteurised are a living product that must be refrigerated at all times, these varieties are said to have the greatest health benefits.

Following is a guide to the Kombucha brands available at Moore Wilson’s Fresh:

Daily Organics

Situated in the quiet rural countryside of Matakana New Zealand, Daily Organics is a unique micro brewery creating traditional wild fermented kombucha. Each small batch is hand blended, individually brewed to a bespoke recipe taking over two months to mature. With no added sweeteners, preservatives, flavourings or additives, Daily Organics Kombucha is 100% Organic Bio Gro Certified and contains no gluten or dairy. Raw and unpasteurised.

Their Original flavour is a traditional brew using a bold blend of black tea, delivering an uncomplicated full body taste with a subtle hint of peachiness. Winter and Summer brews available when in season.

Happy Belly Ferments

Our most local Kombucha, Happy Belly produce both Kombucha and Kefir Water in the Wairarapa.

Happy Belly Kombucha is a raw, natural and active brew, meaning each batch will be slightly different. Unlike Kombucha which is made of tea, Water Kefir is made with  water and sugar which is fermented out, fresh lemon juice and fresh ginger. Typically both contain the bacteria lactobacillus.

Organic Mechanic

Finely craft-brewed and fermented Organic Mechanic Living Probiotic Kombucha from Parnell, Auckland. Ginger infused for extra digestive anti-inflammatory support.

Kombucha King

Kombucha King was first company to brew kombucha commercially in New Zealand. They began production in 2009 in Hawke’s Bay and in 2015 became organically certified under AssureQuality. Low in sugar, have no artificial flavours or sweeteners, have no colourings or no preservatives, gluten free and dairy free. Naturally carbonated via the fermentation process. Not pasteurised or heat treated. Flavours available include original, berry and ginger.

Rene’s Kombucha

René Archner is an internationally well known living foods chef and advocate for raw eating. René’s Kombucha is fermented/cultured for 6-8 days. This, and the use of our selected organic teas, assures a very pleasant flavour. René’s Kombucha is not pasteurised and hence contains the live cultures provided by the SCOBY. Available in red berry, pomegranate and lemon ginger.

Goodbuzz

Good Buzz has become extremely popular around New Zealand and can be found in cafes, healthfood shops, supermarkets, gyms, even some bars! It takes a little over two weeks to make a bottle of Good Buzz. A symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast is put in a sweetened tea brew and the bacteria feed on the sugars converting them into organic acids, which gives kombucha its iconic tang.

Every Good Buzz is certified organic by BioGro NZ, fair trade certified by Fairtrade NZ, approved by the Coeliac Society (certified gluten-free) and approved by the Vegetarian Society of NZ. This is a great one to try if you’re new to kombucha with a range of pleasant flavours—feijoa, original, and raspberry lemon.

Due to its live nature, Kombucha is available in store only. Look out for our full range in the fridge at Moore Wilson's Wellington Fresh Market. 

Sweet white chocolate cream, tart lime curd and crunchy caramelized oats - combine them all in one mouthful and your taste buds will sing. A perfectly balanced dessert from the Havana Bar team. Serves 4, generously.

Recipe featured in the Moore Wilson's Recipe Collection Tin and 2017 Recipe Calendar.

Fresh, colourful, and full of flavour! This stunning salad from Regal Marlborough Salmon is perfect for summers entertaining. Serves 2.

Paneton Bakery owner, Dominique Colombie set up his first patisserie, La Tarterie, in Auckland's Kyber Pass in 1986. French-born Dominique learned the art of making pastry from his father, whose Patisserie Colombie was an institution in the village of Montesquieu-Volvestre in South-west France.

Today, Paneton enjoys success as NZ's leading French Bakery combining the best traditional French baking with the best New Zealand ingredients.

They have built on their range of traditional French bread and patisseries by now offering Ready to Rise (frozen) pastries and Ready to Bake (parbaked) breads for the convenience of customers anywhere in New Zealand, including Moore Wilson's Fresh in Wellington.

At Paneton, Dominique is always looking to the future, to improve systems and technology in baking but managing to keep the business simple and concentrating on core products using the best ingredients and simple recipes that taste great.

Enjoy this tasty recipe featuring Paneton's ready-to-use pastry!

Ruth Pretty's famous Tomato Chilli Jam is the perfect accompaniment to these summer sweetcorn fritters. Makes 10 fritters.

A new destination bottle store, waiting to be explored.

Our Porirua Wine, Beer & Spirits store has undergone an exciting nautical makeover. The regions sea-side setting is celebrated in store with replicas of the iconic Mana Boatsheds, stunning imagery of the inlet, a custom built boat counter, historic photographs, and more!

The nautical overhaul of the Porirua Wine, Beer & Spirits store, located opposite the main store, was carried out by Miramar’s Human Dynamo Workshop. Human Dynamo were also the creative force behind The Chook Wagon and Miki’s Sushi Kiosk at our Tory Street store.

Moore Wilson’s Wine, Beer & Spirits is home to a top range of quality wines from New Zealand and abroad. NZ craft and imported spirits also feature, as do specialty liqueurs. Craft beer fans will be excited to find a great selection of craft beer along with a regularly changing line-up of fresh craft beer, available by the rigger.

We hope you will enjoy the experience of visiting our new Wine, Beer & Spirits store as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.

More exciting developments are planned for our Porirua store so be sure to keep an eye out next time you visit us!

Moore Wilson's Porirua is located at 65-69 Kenepuru Drive. Open 7 Days. Click here for store hours.

Award-winning craft chocolate from Nelson!

When Nelson fisherman Karl Hogarth left for his OE to Southern and Central America he never imagined he’d be coming back with a career-changing passion for chocolate (and a new wife but that's a different story!)

It was tasting ‘real’ chocolate in Guatemala that spurred said change in career for Karl from catching fish to crafting fine chocolate.

Once back in Nelson, hard graft ensued as Karl studied and practiced his new art until his dream of producing his own quality bean-to-bar chocolate was realised.

Karl, along with wife Marina, source the highest quality cacao beans from around the world to create small batches of chocolate using traditional techniques. Their small factory in Nelson, New Zealand is where they sort, roast, crush and classify, winnow, grind and conche, age, melt, temper, mold, and wrap by hand.

The Hogarth’s search for exceptional cacao has lead them to the jungles of South America, the tropical islands of the Caribbean and sun drenched valleys of Northern Madagascar.

Each origin is carefully evaluated to see which combination of roast, conch and sweetness will bring to life the bean’s true nature, to create a chocolate that is a reflection of its origin.

Hogarth’s dark chocolate is made using only three ingredients: Cacao, Pure Cane Sugar and Pure Cocoa Butter.

Golden and crispy on the outside, gooey mozzarella on the inside - what’s not to love! Boulcott St. Bistro Head Chef, Rex Morgan, transforms his arancini balls from a street side snack to fine dining experience by pairing with minted yoghurt dressing and mushroom duxelle (recipes for these accompaniments included in the Moore Wilson’s Recipe Collection).

Sitting just at the end of Italy’s boot, Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, and is one of Europe’s oldest viticultural regions. The island has more vineyards, and more indigenous grape varieties than any other region of Italy.

With its volcanic soils and warm climate, Sicily has long been renowned for its red wines especially. Sicilians have an amazing number of local grape varieties to work with, including the famed Nero d’Avola, Nerelo Mascalese, Frappato, and Nerello Cappuccio, to name but a few, though common international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz and even Chardonnay are increasingly being planted in Sicily.

NERO D’AVOLA – SICILY’S ICONIC RED GRAPE

If this grape isn't on your radar, it should be! Named after the city of Avola in the far South of Sicily, this grape excels in the warm conditions, with the ability to soak up plenty of sunshine and produce powerful fruit-lead wines with added complexity of pepper and spice character. As a result, it is often called Sicily’s Shiraz, and with the influx of international grape varieties, many Nero d’Avola/Shiraz blends can be found on the market, the two grapes complimenting each other well.

Mont'Albano Nero D'Avola 'Terre Siciliane'
Full bodied, rich wine with smooth tannins. Delicious plum and earthy blackberry flavours.

There are very few plantings of Nero d’Avola overseas, but with its ability to cope so well with hot dry conditions, there are experimental plantings in South Africa, and Australia. We have an excellent example from up-and-coming South Australian winery Unico Zelo who specialise in producing wines from
Italian varieties.

Unico Zelo ‘The River’ Nero d’Avola 
Proudly from some of the most ancient soils on this earth - The Riverland, a complete underdog region that epitomizes what it is to craft fine wine on the edge. Rich red earth, sandy soils covering limestone. A succulent, juicy, aromatic and supremely refreshing wine.

Don’t just take our word for it, the ancient winemaking traditions of Sicily are back on-trend! NZ Chef Ben Bayly and Auckland Restaurateur Michael Dearth (The Grove, Baduzzi) visited the island last year and selected a number of wines for their tables, including the estate of Tasca in Regaleali…

Tasca "Guanaccio" Perricone 
Perricone (or Guanaccio) is one of Sicily's lesser-known indigenous grapes, and we're delighted to have this powerful example on our shelves. Ripe and fruit-forward with thick extraction and rich spiced texture. Perfect with steak or lamb.

SICILIAN NATURAL WINES

Sicily has been instrumental in the resurgence of ‘traditional’ winemaking techniques in recent years, with Natural wines made in Roman era clay amphorae becoming found as far afield as New Zealand –Pyramid Valley winemaker Mike Weersing ferments some of his in these large clay vessels “wines from the clay have more umami character and complex aromatics."

COS Frappato 
This now-legendary natural wine producer was formed in 1980 when three school friends Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Pinuccia Strano started experimenting with grapes from their families’ vineyards. The entry to their range, this straight Frappato is light and plush but with so much intensity, complexity and style it is full of cherry and raspberry fruit, herbal and floral notes, and sappy tannins.

Occhipinti SP68 Terre Siciliane Nero d’Avola Frappato
Arianna Occhipinti says that her love for wine was sparked when at the age of 16 she went with her uncle (Giusto Occhipinti of COS) to huge wine trade fair Vinitaly. Probably the most well-known of her wines, the SP68 red is purple/red in the glass showing aromas of wild cherries, plum and mulberry with just a touch of raspberry lift. There are hints of flowers, leather, smoke, spice and herbs with wafts of liquorice, earth and mandarin rind. In the mouth the initial attack of fruit is awash with wild cherry sheathed in tobacco leaf with supporting fruit flavours of dark plum and blackberry.

Shop online for delivery nationwide, or visit us in store to see our full range of Sicilian wines!