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Wednesday 14th June, 8 pm Start | Door Price: Members $12 / Guests $16
Askerne Estate Winery commenced in April 1993 when wine lovers John and Kathryn Loughlin purchased the original 11.6 hectares site in Te Mata Mangateretere Road. John and Kathryn had studied winemaking and viticulture in the previous years, with Kathryn, as the more diligent student, achieving the higher grades.
They called the property Askerne, being the olde English name of Kathryn’s birthplace, Askern, in Yorkshire, England.
John took up the role of Finance Manager of the large Richmond Limited meat company to provide the finance for the developing wine venture, and Kathryn assumed management of the vineyard operations.
Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted in late 1993, Semillon and Riesling in 1994, Chardonnay in 1995 and Gewürztraminer in 1996. The first wines were made at the Waimarama Estate Winery (then owned by Dr John Loughlin, John’s father) in 1996. These wines were released under their initial white label with green trees.
2015 Rebecca, the second Loughlin daughter joined the Askerne team working in the cellar door.
In February 1997, the Askerne cellar door was opened to the public, and it also sold Waimarama Estate’s red wines, including the then-famous Waimarama Dessert Cabernet.
The 1997 vintage produced very fine wines from Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay which confirmed the potential of the site.
Askerne commenced exporting with wines from the 1997 vintage and in 1998 Dr John Loughlin sold Waimarama Estate Winery and from the 1999 vintage Askerne’s wines were made on site.
John last presented to the Club in February 2019 and his presentation was a delight, both because of his delivery and the wines themselves. This month’s tasting promises to be equally compelling as we get the chance to taste the following wines:
2022 Askerne Sérieux Rosé
2020 Askerne Sémillon
2022 Askerne Reserve Chardonnay
2021 Askerne Gewürztraminer
Askerne Merlot Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon
2021 Askerne Cabernet Franc
2019 Askerne Late Harvest Sémillon
This selection of Hawkes Bay wines promises a lot and I’m sure we will not be disappointed by their taste or quality. Make sure you are there to find out which will be your favourite.
This was an evening of tasting grape varieties from around the world but produced right here in NZ.
Adding to this international flavour was our presenter Carlos, who was born in Chile and came to NZ in 2010, and now resides in Marlborough with his wife and daughters. Carlos informed us that Forrest is now second-generation owned and operated and that they loved working with many different grape varieties.
As a reminder of the wines we sampled during the evening:
Forrest Botrytised Riesling 2018Forrest has approximately 150 ha of grapes plants in Marlborough, with additional plantings in the Waitaki Valley, with the latter having limestone ground, similar to Burgundy conditions.
Visit Forrest
70% of their Sauvignon Blanc goes overseas each year, with 100 cases to Waitrose per year!
Notably, most of their Forrest Botryised Riesling, with a honey/marmalade taste – is made for and sold to Air NZ. So when COVID19 hit NZ, the unwanted stock was stocked by NZ based stockists – a bonus for the NZ public.
There were 15 orders from Club members for this tasting, evidence of just how much this tasting was enjoyed by our members.
Thank you to Carlos and Forrest Wines for your support of our club.
MERMAIDMARY lauds the delights of lesser-known white wine variety chenin blanc.
Like many of the grape varieties we know and love, chenin blanc originates in France, hailing from the Loire Valley. And like other European wine varieties, chenin has found its spiritual home in the New World wine regions – South Africa produces one-fifth of the world’s chenin, twice as much as in its native France. Here in New Zealand, just a few passionate producers are devoted to this lesser-known white wine.
You can describe most New Zealand wines in a few words that refers to their signature style. For example, sauvignon blanc is zesty and vibrant, chardonnay is buttery and oaky and so on. Chenin blanc, however, is hard to narrow down due to its remarkable versatility.
On the vine the chenin grape is akin to chardonnay with high acid and a neutral palate. As a result of this neutrality the grape is influenced by the terroir in which it is grown as well as winemaking decisions. In the glass, chenin comes in a range of guises, from the perfect base wine for crisp dry sparkling wines to lusciously sweet dessert wines – and everything in between. There truly is a chenin blanc for every wine lover.
Chenin is best served chilled, but not cold, so as to preserve its complex aromatics and rich flavours – about half an hour in the fridge will suffice. Chenin is also a fantastic food wine, complementing a range of different cuisines. Off-dry examples with a hint of sweetness are particularly sublime with Southeast Asian cuisine.
Although delicious young, chenin has an incredible ability to age. A dry chenin could hold its own in the bottle for 10 years, with sweeter examples cellaring beautifully for decades.
Essentially, you can drink chenin in any style, at any age with any food, so there’s no excuse not to try one.
Blenheim-based Yealands wants to eventually absorb more greenhouse gas than it emits, making it climate positive. That’ll require the winemaker to cut its footprint by 5% every year, sustainability head Michael Wentworth tells Olivia Wannan.
When did Yealands’ sustainability journey begin?
In 2008, when we launched, it was Peter Yealands’ vision to lead the world in sustainable wine production. We have a philosophy: think boldly, tread lightly.
We were the first winery in the world to be certified as carbon-zero, from day one.
In sustainability, there’s never a finishing post. There are always improvements.
What are the major contributors to a winegrower’s footprint?
Michael Wentworth, Yealands sustainability general manager, is excited by the vineyard’s green plans.
Our operations here – the vineyard and winery – make up about 35% of our footprint. Of that, diesel and electricity are key.
That leaves 65% – the primary emissions are packaging and freight. This is challenging, because you have to work with multiple parties and countries. The big gains are beyond our vineyard boundary.
How do you get that to net-zero?
Diesel powered our irrigation pumps, though we’ve electrified those. We’re using smaller tractors, better suited to lighter work. Before, we had large agricultural tractors.
We reduced diesel emissions by planting wildflowers and legumes down the vineyard rows, so you don’t have to mow as regularly. The beauty of that is it naturally increases biodiversity within the vineyard and carbon and water in the soil.
We’ve got a significant composting operation.
Winemaking can be electricity-intensive. Right throughout the process, you’re regularly either warming wines or cooling it, depending on where your wine is at. That requires energy.
At the moment, we produce 20% of our energy requirements on site. We’ve got a solar system on our winery roof – and it was the largest array at the time, when it was installed. Within the next two years, we’ll be installing something that’s 10 times larger, on land opposite the winery. We’ll get to about 60% self-sufficient.
But what’s unique to us is that we bale a portion of vine prunings, dry them and use those as a heating source in the winery – rather than using LPG.
Increasingly, we are bottling in the market. When you’re shipping long distances, you want to be as efficient as possible. Sending packaged wine overseas means your container is full of air, or the air gaps between bottles – plus you’re shipping a heck of a lot of packaging.
By shipping more wine in less packaging, we reduce our freight footprint by 30%. In the foreign markets, you get more choice. For example, in Sweden a lot of their premium wine comes as cask wine – which is one of the lowest-emissions forms of packaging.
We calculate all our emissions and for all unavoidable ones, we purchase registered carbon credits. We’ve done that from day one. But we want to be carbon-positive by 2050 – we’ll achieve that without offsetting.
By 2050, we’ll have to sequester carbon: whether that’s planting native trees or using biochar, which locks carbon away in the soil.
2050 sounds like a long way away. To get there we need to reduce our carbon footprint by at least 5% every year. And by 2030, we want to reduce our emissions by at least 50%.
From 2013 to now, we’ve reduced our footprint by about 25%. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
What happened with Yealands’ eco bottle?
Yealands already has solar panels on its facility roof – but will expand its generation at a nearby site.
It was a PET plastic product, which had emissions advantages. A lighter bottle uses less resources, and when you’re moving that bottle, you produce fewer emissions transporting it.
It was always a starting point, in our quest to find a biodegradable product that stopped the wine being oxidised.
The public wasn’t really ready. We found people were buying it more for convenience, than the environmental aspect. It was easier to use outdoors, and doesn’t break.
Shoppers’ acceptance is key. There was a push against plastic. Ultimately, we didn’t progress.
How will a warming climate affect wine production?
Over the last six months in Marlborough, we’ve had three significant weather events that have impacted our ability to get to the winery and our ability to export our wine via Nelson.
Our industry is very reliant on the weather. A small change in temperature or the environment has a noticeable impact on the flavour profile of your wine. Marlborough sauvignon blanc is so distinctive on the international stage, so a small change in climate has the potential to affect the wines we produce. It is scary.
People are looking at ways to adapt – but the argument should be: what can we do to prevent it?
We believe that a more biodiverse vineyard is a more resilient one. The more we plant native trees and wildflowers, the less inputs we need to make and the better our vines will be.
On Wednesday, 3rd August, some Club members attended the last evening meal put on by WelTec’s Bistro52 Training Restaurant for this year. It was a well-balanced and portioned meal with well-matched wines.
The food was prepared, presented, served to a high standard, and was top-grade! The menu we savoured included:
Tasting Menu Sourdough Bread, Cultured Butter, Kapiti Sea Salt
Course One Prawn Chorizo Sausage, Puffed Pork Skin, Scallop XO, Almond Crema, Nashi Pear Compression Wine Match: Sauvignon Blanc Green gages on the tongue, this wine took away some of the saltiness of the food and smoothed things out.
Course Two Salt-Fish & Potato Churro, Fennel Bulb Confit, Saffron & Tomato Sofrito Miso Wine Match: Te Mata Chardonnay Wine toned down the spiciness of the food on the back of the throat, nice.
Course Three Slow Cooked Lamb Rump, Leek Custard, Lost Bread, Puy Lentils, Pickled Mushrooms, Red Wine Salt Wine Match: Babich Syrah Smooth, divine, blackcurrants on the tongue, the food made the wine almost caramelly.
Course Four Hangi – Kumara Steamed Pudding, Kumara Skin Infused Buttermilk Ice-Cream, Spiced Caramel, Torched Mandarin Wine Match: Veuve du Vernay I’m sure we’ve had this at the Cellar Club; bottle fermentation left a light fizzing on the tongue, and the food brought out extra fruit flavours in the wine.
The only query I had for the Maître that evening was course three: at our table, we debated if the ‘lost bread’ that accompanied the lamb rump was a euphemism for mountain oysters! It wasn’t, but the Maître was both amused and said he would speak to the chef about perhaps changing the description of the petite loaf that came as part of the meal!
Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family-owned, producing internationally recognised wines exclusively from its Hawkes Bay vineyards. The Chambers family, the original owners, sold the property in 1919.
TMV Te Mata Vineyards was established, and the property had two other owners until it was acquired by the Buck and Morris Families in 1974 – the two families behind the modern interpretation of this historic NZ estate.
Te Mata Estate is committed to improving its performance in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability through the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme, established in 1995 as an industry-initiated programme directed by NZ Winegrowers. Te Mata Estate’s vineyards were amongst the first to be accredited in 1995, as was the winery in 2005.
This evening was going to be presented by Te Mata vineyard but is now being covered by Eurovintage with Keith Tibble and Brett Newell hosting the evening for us.
Indictive wines for the evening, still being worked on at the time this newsletter went out:
Starting with Estate Range Sauvignon Blanc
Premium Sauvignon Blanc
Two premium reds – Awatea and Bullnose ranges
Estate Range – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon
The above selection is indicative only as it will depend on the availability of stock at this time.
This will be both a surprising and informative evening with great wines to taste across Te Mata’s different wine ranges and looks to be an experience that you wouldn’t normally get anywhere else.
Under new ownership, Villa Maria captures a global market
When Matthew Deller decided it was time to bring his family home from Napa Valley in California, there was only one place he wanted to work: Villa Maria.
He made his move in January 2020 after seven years as chief operating officer at Tor Wines – a winery globally renowned for its single-vineyard chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.
And so, after a roller-coaster journey of sorts, he’s perfectly placed to oversee the first global launch of Villa Maria’s single-vineyard series of wines from tomorrow.
Deller, a master of wine, is Villa Maria’s chief global sales and marketing officer. In his almost two years with the brand, he’s experienced the rapid change brought by Covid-19 as well as seeing Villa Maria pass out of family ownership.
Villa Maria Estate Winery’s Blenheim acreage. Image: Brya Ingram/Stuff/Marlborough Express
Villa Maria’s parent company FFWL, owned by founder Sir George Fistonich, went into receivership late in 2020 and as part of that, Villa Maria was sold to Indevin, New Zealand’s largest wine-making company, in September.
“When we decided we wanted to move back to New Zealand and I was thinking ‘who would I want to work for?’ Deller says. “Villa Maria was the only option. There’s no other winery in New Zealand that makes the calibre of wines that Villa Maria does and that’s not going to change in under the new ownership.
“We’ve all been on a roller-coaster over the past 18 months. But the management at Villa Maria wasn’t exposed too much to that financial side as that was between the family and the banks.
“Indevin is very protective of the brand and what drove its success: it’s all about quality and global critical acclaim. And that’s not my opinion, that comes to us from our wine intelligence research.”
Other significant changes include the way Villa Maria is marketed.
“We’ve renovated every brand,” Deller said. “We’ve brought out Earth Garden range this year which is our first 100 per cent Biogrow-certified brand and fully vegan. And we’ve really ramped our global fine wine programme.”
As part of that global push, this year marks the first time that Villa Maria is doing a worldwide launch of its single vineyard series. That will involve events around the world throughout November. “We’re there in New York, London, Europe and there’ll be dinners, wine-maker tastings with a unified release of these single-vineyard wines.”
Indevin had been on the lookout for a quality New Zealand global brand for some time, says chief executive Duncan McFarlane.
Single vineyard releases are a winery’s way of showing what a particular block of land delivers. The 10 wines Villa Maria are releasing come in tiny volumes – just hundreds of cases for some styles. The grapes are mostly handpicked and many are fermented with wild yeasts.
The idea is to create a series of bespoke wines that Deller says are chosen for their elegance and as “the greatest expression of a particular vineyard”.
The release features vineyards in Auckland (Ihumātao), Gisborne (McDiarmid Hill) Hawke’s Bay (Braided Gravels, Keltern) and Marlborough (Attorney, Taylors Pass, Seaspray, Seddon, Southern Clays).
Deller said it was the right time to make a global push as New Zealand wine – particularly Marlborough sauvignon blanc – was at a “tipping point” in terms of appreciation by critics and collectors.
“Now that New Zealand wines are getting really high scores from international critics, all of a sudden they’re of tremendous interest to the fine wine community, British wine merchants and top New York restaurants. The market has been created by those global critic scores.”
And that maturation of the industry, in terms of quality, has dove-tailed with Covid-19 to create a perfect storm of desire for New Zealand-made wines.
“What happened last year was a huge shift in awareness of, and demand for, New Zealand wine and Brand New Zealand was on fire last year. The insights I have from the US is that a significant part of that is our sustainability story.
“What’s happened this year is another seismic shift – and perhaps one that’s more exciting and of more significance for New Zealanders. We had a small harvest in 2021 but it’s high quality. And with that, we’ve reached a tipping point where New Zealand wines are now recognised as really good. They’ve always been regarded as good but now they moved to really good.”
The Villa Maria Keltern chardonnay.
He noted that one of the world’s leading wine commentators, Jancis Robinson, wrote a glowing report on New Zealand wine, focusing on sauvignon blanc and pinot noir which helped push Marlborough sauvignon blanc from a supermarket staple to standing proudly alongside the best France could offer.
“Marlborough sauvignon blanc had already surpassed France in terms of mass awareness but the more conservative critics have always considered the fine wines of Sancerre as superior to Marlborough sauvignon blanc but that seems to have changed and Marlborough sauvignon blanc is now a fine wine benchmark as well as a reliable benchmark.”
The other thing that’s happened is that a number of factors – including increased costs of packaging and shipping – drove up the price of New Zealand wine and no one blinked. In fact, demand increased.
Deller says not only are people in love with the flavours of New Zealand wine but they are “buying an experience they can’t get from anywhere else” and part of that is a story of sustainability, ethical employers, and a focus on quality.
For Villa Maria, a critical part of that story is staying New Zealand owned. When the receivers came in at FFWL they needed to find over $200m to pay back bank loans. Selling Villa Maria was critical to raising that money and there was a fear an iconic Kiwi brand could end up offshore.
But it stayed in New Zealand thanks to Indevin, a giant wine-maker that most people have never heard of.
Indevin’s model is to grow grapes and make wine. It leaves the sales and marketing to third parties including brewing giant Lion – for whom Indevin produces the Lindauer range, among others – as well as Waitrose and Tesco supermarkets in the UK.
Chief executive Duncan McFarlane says Indevin had been on the lookout for a quality New Zealand global brand for some time.
“Rather than Indevin doing the brand building and holding the sales expertise in-house we’ll partner with someone who has that, and we’ll focus on the parts of the supply chain where we have the expertise and can create value,” he explains.
“But that meant there was a significant part of the New Zealand category that we weren’t participating in – that wasn’t a problem as such as we’d been successful with our model – but we believed that as the New Zealand wine industry matured, with the right brand, the right proposition, there was a lot of additional value to be created.
“Our long-term strategy has been if the right opportunity came along to acquire a genuine global New Zealand brand then that would be a very interesting, exciting and rewarding acquisition.
“Identifying that and actually having the opportunity are two different things.”
McFarlane couldn’t have hoped for a better opportunity than the unexpected sale of Villa Maria after 60 years of family ownership. “We felt that not only was it an amazing opportunity it was an unparalleled opportunity.”
McFarlane says Indevin and Villa Maria will continue to walk their own paths when it comes to sales and marketing, with Indevin remaining a business-to-business model and Villa Maria being a business-to-consumer operation.
But behind the scenes, on the production side, there is huge room for efficiency and growth.
“In many cases, the two businesses literally have vineyards next to each other or in the same street – so it makes sense that the production side of the business will come together over time to work as a team.”
Villa Maria single-vineyard Taylors Pass sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, part of a range of 10 it’s releasing globally.
Adding Villa Maria’s vineyards and expertise to Indevin’s means a diversity of supply that “de-risks” the business on one hand while “putting you in a strong position to maintain and provide consistent quality season-to-season”.
As the ultimate boss, McFarlane has no qualms about Villa Maria hosting a series of global launches during a global pandemic.
“Like any business, we’re conscious of Covid, and management of risk is at the forefront of how we do things, but at the same time there are growth opportunities overseas and where we can do it, and do it safely, it’s business as usual.”
As for his pick of the single-vineyard wines, the chardonnay lover says he’s “quite honestly staggered” by the Keltern Chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay.
Sidebar; The Villa Maria Single Vineyards
Auckland – Ihumātao
Located on Auckland’s Manukau Harbour, Ihumātao sits within a shallow, sheltered volcanic crater with a soil profile that is diverse with a calcified shell and ancient scoria on the edge of the basin, with heavier peat and clay soils toward the centre layered above a volcanic basalt rock base. The immediate proximity to the Manukau Harbour provides a cooling influence, favourable in the retention of fruit acidity during the ripening season.
Gisborne – McDiarmid Hill
Home to expansive fertile plains framed by forested hills on one side and 200km of coastline on the other, the province has an abundance of natural resources. Gisborne’s climate is characterised by warm summers and mild winters. McDiarmid Hill is positioned on an elevated north-facing hillside slope in Patutahi. Taking full advantage of sunlight, drying wind conditions, slightly cooler temperatures and natural water drainage, the additional elevation provides a wonderful advantage for producing this consistently outstanding wine.
Hawkes Bay Braided Gravels | Keltern
The Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District is characterized by arid, stony gravels laid down over millennia then exposed by a huge flood in 1876 that altered the course of the Ngaruroro River. East of the Maraekakaho region, Keltern is a warm inland site, buffered by the Ngaruroro River. Established on an ancient riverbed that is very dry, but not as hot as the Gimblett Gravels.
Marlborough is surrounded by the inland Kaikoura Ranges to the south and the Richmond Ranges to the north. These rugged mountains are responsible for New Zealand’s driest and sunniest climate with an average of 2435 hours of sunshine, regulated by the cooling ocean influence, elongating the ripening period. Marlborough is composed of three sub-regions, each with its own distinctive characteristics and nuances, which are experienced in every taste.
Kiwis motivated to make delicious and interesting wines under their own labels are changing the way we think about négociant winemaking.
The business of winemaking can be, well, a little dry. Especially if what you are looking for is just something good to drink. But the truth is, who owns and does what can make a qualitative difference to what ends up in your glass. My first job in wine was in a shop that proudly only sold “estate bottled” wine, which meant that all of the wines were made by the same people who grew the grapes. The alternative is probably best described by the French term négociant winemaking, where wine is made with grapes grown by someone else.
In the old world (Europe), a lot is made of the difference between these two models, and despite winemaking being the endpoint of both, they are – for legal and taxation purposes – recognised as different types of businesses.
The cost of land and plant can act as a prohibitive barrier to entry for young adventurous winemakers.
In terms of quality, the general consensus is that wines made by the people who grow the grapes on their own land are better. It makes sense; the farmer who is also the winemaker is invested in the final product from start to end, they understand best how the quality of the fruit they grow determines the quality of the wine they make.
It is also a fair assumption that the grape grower and the négociant winemaker might have conflicting financial motivations that don’t add up to better wine. Beyond this simple idea of quality control, there is also a sense in which an “estate bottled” wine is a unique expression of the specific place and people that it came from, in a way that wine made from purchased grapes won’t be.
In Aotearoa, there is less focus on the difference between these two models of how wine gets made. That is probably to do with small artisan farmer-producers, including winemakers, cheesemakers, and other producers, not historically had the same status here as in Europe.
It is also the case that our winemaking history is simply shorter, and so it makes sense that we’ve looked for trusted brands and flavour profiles, rather than focused on place and tradition as markers of quality, as those places and their traditions are still being established.
What’s more, the accessibility of vineyards and winemaking facilities is not the same here as in the Old World. Where in parts of Europe, forgotten or neglected wine regions have provided an opportunity for young adventurous winemakers to establish themselves at a relatively low cost, here the cost of land and plant can act as a prohibitive barrier to entry.
Kiwis motivated to make delicious and interesting wines under their own labels have however found another way and in doing so, are changing the way we think about négociant winemaking.
Corofin
corofin.nz
Mike and Anna Paterson of Corofin in Marlborough, like the other producers featured here, have neither a winery nor vineyards. Perhaps counterintuitively, it is precisely this lack of a stake in a vineyard that is fundamental to them making wines that are uniquely connected to the sites they come from.
Corofin works mainly with Pinot Noir, with a little chardonnay, and each of their wines come from single sites, small corners of vineyards, all located in the foothills of the southern valleys of Marlborough. Their approach to winemaking is to dial back fruit character and varietal expression, believing that more reserved, savoury wines show better the differences made by the specific geography and geology of the vineyard sites that they want to promote.
This model for making site-specific wines is reflective of the best parts of the négociant model in Burgundy, where law and tradition codify the unique nature of specific parcels of land, and farmers and négociant-winemakers are left to focus on their part in allowing those places to best reflect themselves.
The Patersons go a step further by promoting not just the physical growing conditions of their chosen vineyards, but also the family winegrowers who farm those sites. Not only are they in this sense advocates for the most interesting places to grow grapes in their region, they also shine a light on growers who are committed to best quality farming practices.
The best Corofin recommendation I can give you is to take the opportunity to taste each of the site-specific Pinots of a given vintage. The differences between each of the wines tell the story of those unique sites. A fascinating and delicious exercise.
This particular one from the meticulously farmed Wrekin vineyard is bold, savoury and concentrated, reflective of the relatively low yields taken from the site.
A Thousand Gods
athousandgodswines
Lauren and Simon Sharpe’s story is increasingly familiar. New Zealanders who spent a significant part of their lives and careers learning their craft overseas, in their case France, returning with their young family to put those skills to use in their homeland.
Of course, a return home can be challenging for a number of reasons, not least of which is the cost of starting afresh and wanting to establish your own business.
A Thousand Gods, Blanc, 2020 (Athousandgods.com) $36
The opportunity to purchase fruit from Churton vineyard in Marlborough, one of the best growers and vineyard sites in the country, and to lease space in a shared winemaking facility, meant that the Sharpes were able to establish their label A Thousand Gods relatively quickly after their return, and without the prohibitive capital outlay of purchasing a vineyard, or the lead-time of planting one according to their no doubt exacting standards.
Which is all the better for us, as already their wines are some of the most thoughtful, interesting and delicious in the market.
Being able to get their label underway has also allowed them the time and resources for what is next, which is establishing their own small winemaking facility, opening up further opportunities to experiment and show off their well-honed craft.
Sauvignon blanc, but not as we know it. A precise balance of texture, perfumed aromatics, and just right acidity that adds up to a glass I just can’t put down.
Bryterlater
Some of the freshest and most interesting new New Zealand wines are being made under labels that are a side-hustle for their talented producers.
James + Olivia vintage ’21.
Ambitious young winemakers, such as Bryterlater’s James Graves Opie, are holding down demanding viticultural and winemaking jobs and making their own wine on the side. Connections made in the industry through their ‘day jobs’ provide access to both information about where to source the best fruit, as well as access to expensive equipment and unused space, not to mention a network of seasoned professionals willing to lend advice and the odd hand where needed.
Bryterlater, Swell, Sauvignon Blanc Pet Nat, 2021 – $39
Opie, situated in North Canterbury, sources premium organic fruit from local growers, and with it is crafting some impressive wines. His work with Sauvignon Blanc, especially in his sparkling wines, show new and delicious sides to a varietal many of us may have tired of.
I believe it’s partly the freedom of financial pressure associated with buying land equipment that gives Opie’s approach an air of experimentation, trial and error, and ambition. Like an increasing number of similarly minded winemakers, he’s not letting the absence of his own vineyard and winery stop him from producing his own wines.
The result is more exciting wines to drink, which is always a good thing.
Yeasty creamy texture and fine bubbles in this delicate sparkler are complemented by gentle pear flavours, all of which offset the shouty fruit-forward character normally associated with sauvignon blanc. Really impressive, and super refreshing.
We had a well-attended evening for the wine and food match, with 41 people attending.
It was notable that the vineyard used compostable plates and utensils for the tasting, so our green miles are good! And this goes in with the vineyard’s practices of being vegan friendly and on their way to being organic certified. Great for the planet.
The wines we tried were:
2020 Waipara Sauvignon Blanc
2018 Waipara Sauvignon Blanc partnered with toast and Bruschetta
2020 Waipara Pinot Gris partnered with Indian dahl
2020 Waipara Viognier
2016 Waipara Riesling partnered with Beef Thai salad
2020 Canterbury Pinot Noir partnered with Pulled Pork slider
2019 Waipara Pinot Noir partnered with spicy lamb koftas with couscous
2017 Waipara Pinot Noir
2016 Dr Khols Waipara Riesling partnered with Banoffee pie
While it would have made the evening more interesting to have a bit more banter about the wine from the presenter, this was a very enjoyable evening and the members were fed well.
A special note of thanks to Nicola Fraher and friends for the food, as well as to our pourers Carolyn & Terry and our food servers Fiona and Evelyn. It really was a great effort by everyone involved.
And it was pleasing to see all that mahi result in significant wine orders on the night, coupled with requests for personally signed cookbooks.
Drink up NZ’s rich history with a trip to one of our venerable vineyards, writes Jo Burzynska.
Sauvignon Blanc has the wow factor in Marlborough. Photo / MarlboroughNZ
On September 25, 1819, the Anglican missionary Reverend Samuel Marsden recorded planting the first grapevines in New Zealand in the grounds of the Stone Store, Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. Sadly these never produced wine, allegedly being gobbled by local goats. Nevertheless, the promise that Marsden perceived for wine in Aotearoa has now been amply proven, and can be experienced alongside its history at vinous milestones that span the length of the country.
Bay of Islands – Vine Zero
Marsden Estate in Wiroa Road, Kerikeri. Photo / Supplied
Greater wine-growing success was achieved with the arrival of British wine enthusiast, James Busby to the Bay of Islands. He made New Zealand’s earliest recorded wine from vines planted in his grounds at Waitangi in 1833, described by French explorer Dumont d’Urville as “delicious”. While the wine industry followed more suitable climes and moved south, good wines still hail from this historic region. Head to Marsden Estate in Kerikeri, established 176 years after its namesake planted his vines. Select six wines to try at its cellar door, or grab a glass to savour in its subtropical – and goat-free – vineyard gardens or at its restaurant.
Gisborne – Organic Trailblazer
Millton, New Zealand’s first biodynamic vineyard. Photo / Supplied
Long before the New Zealand wine industry promoted its wines as the riches of a clean green land, James and Annie Millton were walking the talk. The couple established the country’s first organic and biodynamic wine estate in 1984 with the planting of their first vineyard near Manutuke where earlier settlers had planted grapevines in 1871. They now combine classic wines like their chardonnay with edgier examples in the skin-fermented whites of the Libiamo range influenced by the younger generation of Milltons. Sample these at their cellar door, set in beautifully landscaped grounds complete with olive grove.
Hawke’s Bay – Oldest Winery
Mission Estate Winery in Hawke’s Bay. Photo / Mission Estate
Christian orders helped spread the vine as well as their religion around the world, and it was Marist missionaries that transplanted vines from Bay of Islands to Hawke’s Bay, and in 1851 built the country’s oldest winery, Mission Estate. Its cellar door, housed in an imposing former seminary building, offers seated tastings that include insights into its history. Visitors can then wander through its underground cellar and extensive gardens that look out to sea, with an option to dine in its recently refurbished restaurant.
Wairarapa – Pinot’s First Place
Guests enjoying the sun at Ata Rangi vinyards, Martinborough. Photo / Pete Monk
New Zealand’s potential for Pinot Noir can be traced back to Wairarapa, where in the early 1880s Frenchwoman Marie Zelie Beetham and her husband William, planted the country’s first pinot vineyard near Masterton. Temperance put paid to that endeavour, but pinot noir grows once again at one of their vineyard sites, now Lansdowne Estate. Martinborough pioneers, such as Ata Rangi’s Clive Paton, then founded the modern pinot industry in 1980s. Ata Rangi continues to produce some of the country’s finest examples, which can be explored, along with its history, through intimate tastings held in their charming old winery cellar door.
Nelson – South Island Pioneers
The Neudorf Winery, Nelson. Photo / Supplied
In the early days of New Zealand wine, most vineyards were planted in the North Island as it was considered grapes couldn’t ripen further south. However, in the 1970s some brave souls started to plant vines on the mainland, including Tim and Judy Finn who founded Neudorf in Nelson when nobody knew what varieties might thrive there. Now they make some of the country’s top chardonnay and pinot noir.
These can be enjoyed at their cute cellar door overlooking their first Home Block vineyard, where picnic fare can also be selected from the “baby deli”.
Marlborough – Sauvignon Country Roots
Sauvignon Blanc has the wow factor in Marlborough. Photo / MarlboroughNZ
Our flagship Marlborough sauvignon blanc is a fairly new phenomenon. Planted there in 1973, on what is now Brancott Estate Vineyard, it went on to wow the world when Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc won the UK’s prestigious Sunday Times Vintage Festival in 1986. Hunter’s still excels at sauvignon, as well as sparkling wines, which are shared in its farmhouse tasting room set in tranquil native gardens. The next generation continues to innovate, with the experimental Offshoot range that includes a naturally sparkling sauvignon “pet-nat”. Marlborough’s earliest history can be encountered at Auntsfield Estate, the site of the region’s first commercial vineyard and winery founded by David Herd in the 1870s. Take in the historic sites, such as the restored 1873 rammed earth cellar, on a vineyard tour and taste the impressive wines made by the Cowley family who re-established vines on the property.
Canterbury – Humble Beginnings
Take a trip around New Zealand’s oldest vineyards and wineries. Photo / Graeme Murray
An important chapter of Canterbury’s contemporary wine history started three decades ago in a Christchurch garage. This belonged to neurologist Ivan Donaldson, whose winemaking hobby resulted in Pegasus Bay, which went on to become a flagship winery of the region. Knowledgeable staff at its Waipara cellar door can talk you through its exciting range of wines. These can also be partaken of in the winery’s fabulous gardens or inside by the fire as part of a picnic of local fare from the mini deli it launches in December.
Central Otago – Natural Succession
Looking down over its sloping vineyards to Lake Wanaka, the views from Rippon vineyard are iconic. Photo / David Wall
It’s rare for a family to spend over a century cultivating their land, never mind close to 40 years in the wine-growing industry in New Zealand – and even rarer in Central Otago, where the wine industry only took off in recent decades. However, Rippon has long and strong ties to their special land, now managed biodynamically by second-generation winegrower Nick Mills. The views from Rippon Hall, where its cellar door is situated, are iconic, looking down over its sloping vineyards to Lake Wānaka and the mountains. Rippon’s site-expressive wines are equally spectacular.
The presenter is Lyn Timms of Lyns Consulting, assisted by Nicola Fraher, daughter of The Crater Rim owner. Nicola is the person preparing the food and wine matches for this evenings wine and food match – the food is appetiser-sized tasty morsels to pair with the wines.
The Crater Rim is a family-owned boutique winery situated in the rolling hills of Waipara, in the South Island. They grow, make and market limited quantities of terroir-specific wines produced from their own two vineyards and contracted sites in the Canterbury sub-regions of Waipara, Omihi and Banks Peninsula and Central Otago.
These sites have been carefully selected for their particular mix of varietal, topography, soil and microclimate – creating high quality, site-specific wines of individual character and drinkability. The Crater Rim manage their vineyards and work closely with each grower to ensure that vines are cropped low and managed sustainably, guaranteeing the best quality fruit possible from each vineyard site. The result is exceptional wines from exceptional regions.
Crater Rim recommended that their wines are enjoyed with a meal that best brings out their flavours and have produced a book so that those who drink their wines may have a range of options to do this.
With the growth of The Crater Rim’s success, it was only natural that Nicola Fraher, one of the daughters of The Crater Rim’s owner, saw an opportunity to combine her passion for food and wine by producing a book that not only told that story but brought the wines together with nutritious recipes that can be easily made and enjoyed. Nicola is a trained nutritionist with her own business; she also works in a marketing role for the family enterprise.
The food and wine matches for the evening:
Start with a tasting of From The Ashes Sauvignon Blanc
Tasting of Waipara Sauvignon Blanc matched with Tomato and Garlic Bruschetta
Tasting of Waipara Pinot Gris matched with Spicey Vegetable and Lentil Dahl
Tasting of Waipara Riesling matched with Thai Beef Salad
Tasting of From The Ashes Pinot Noir matched with Pulled Pork Sliders
Tasting of Waipara Pinot Noir matched with Spiced Beef Kofta on Tabbouleh
Tasting of Dr Kohls Late Harvest Riesling matched with Key Lime Pies
Renowned sailors, the Butterworth Family (Brad & Warren), is the new custodian of Julicher vineyard, planted in the iconic soils of Te Muna. The J-Knot on every bottle, the strongest knot you can tie, is a tribute to their vineyard’s founder, Wim Julicher.
Wim Julicher originally planted the Te Muna vineyard as an Olive Grove, but the site’s unique aspect made it far too cold for the olive trees. Luckily, it creates the perfect amount of pressure for the divine struggle required to produce world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The Butterworth Family has a viticultural heritage dating back to the founding days of the New Zealand wine industry – the original 1890’s vineyard property is still in the family today.
The wines for our evening are from their Te Muna (Butterworth formerly Julicher vineyard and Layline ranges:
