SUN AND FUN IN NELSON WINERIES

Charmian Smith Visits Nelson Cellar Doors

There are gems to be found at Nelson’s cellar doors. Many wines, especially from smaller wineries, are not available elsewhere except in a few local restaurants. I loved the aromatics - riesling, pinot gris and even sauvignon blanc. There are excellent chardonnays and pinot noir can be a star. It’s exciting to discover unusual varieties such as albariño, chenin blanc, würzer, zweigelt, and the increasingly rare gewürztraminer. Cellar door opening hours are volatile in today’s Covid climate. Check websites or phone before visiting. Some, not included here, require appointments if you want to visit.

Neudorf

Neudorf is Nelson’s most acclaimed winery. Tim and Judy Finn planted it in the 1970s and are still at the helm with Todd Stevens as winemaker and general manager and daughter Rosie (after whom Rosie’s Block vineyard is named) has returned from London to join the team. The cellar door opens on to a lawn shaded by a large box elder tree planted by the Finns some 40 years ago. Here you can enjoy a tasting, a glass of wine and some light local snacks with the organic vineyard alongside. For those wanting a more in-depth experience, Jude has recently transformed Tim’s old lab into a five-seater, private tasting room. Neudorf’s wines are precisely balanced, fresh and textural, all fermented with indigenous yeast, and often in older barrels - or even clay amphora as is the wonderfully poised, textural and seriously delicious unoaked Rosie’s Block 25 Rows chardonnay. Don’t miss the delicately floral and unexpectedly powerful 2000 pinot gris or the mouth-watering fruit of the fragrant Rosie’s Block dry riesling 2021. A newcomer to their portfolio a few years ago was the Rosie’s Block albariño. The 2021 is refreshing and textural, oozing citrus blossom and elderflower, with a bright, crisp finish.Chardonnay is Neudorf’s most acclaimed variety. There’s the charming, nutty, creamy, citrusy Tiritiri chardonnay 2019 from young vines, and the prized Home Block Moutere flagship. The 2020 Moutere is gloriously harmonious, all citrus, stone fruit and nuts, textural and complex with a mineral backbone and taut, integrated finish. Like earlier vintages this has all the marks of developing beautifully over the next decade or so. Tom’s Block pinot noir 2019 is one of the most delicious Nelson reds, oozing red cherries and red currants, intense, crisp, taut and textural with savoury undertones and a surge of flavour at the end. neudorf.co.nz

Riwaka River Estate

Paul Miles and Amber Robertson’s family-oriented lifestyle on their vineyard, hop garden and olive grove is about as far as you can imagine from their former corporate lives in risk management in London.“Once you’ve tasted childhood here you don’t want your kids to grow up in London,” Amber said.

They came home in 2008 with their first child and bought the small 18-year old vineyard nestled at the foot of the limestone Takaka Hill. Now with three young children, they offer accomodation and sell wine from their modest tasting room in an old hop barn.

Their philosophy includes regenerative agriculture, staying small and sustainable, producing fine but well-priced, approachable wine released when it is drinking well rather than just after bottling.

Their wine brand, Resurgence, is named after the famous cave just up the road, where the Riwaka river emerges cold, clear and pure from the limestone hillside. It was a place of healing for the Maori, Amber said. Riwaka may be the smallest winery in the region, but both Paul and Amber are involved in Nelson Wine Growers - he’s the chair and she’s the operations manager.

Obviously they haven’t quite relinquished their former business backgrounds! I was blown away by the Resurgence sauvignon blanc 2021 - the vibrant pungent aromas of ripe gooseberries leap out of the glass and the palate is restrained in comparison - mineral, lime, dry, with lingering fruits on the crisp finish.

The minerality of their wines is due to the limestone soils, Amber says. The 2017 chardonnay is complex, opening to nutty, slightly smoky aromas then hints of spice, marzipan and a crisp, flinty finish. The 2019 pinot noir is rich, hinting of red currants and forest floor but still with that characteristic mineral undertone.

FLAXMORE

Another small, friendly artisan winegrower established by a former corporate couple, Stuart and Patrica Anderson, is Flaxmore.

Stuart is from Christchurch and brought his English wife to Nelson on a visit some years ago. She mentioned that if ever they lived in New Zealand, this would be the place - a suggestion Stuart stored away, he said with a laugh.

Leaving their former life on their own terms, they bought 28ha of sloping land in the Moutere Hills in 2006 and planted 9ha of vines in the following couple of years along with 60 different species of native and exotic trees. Beside their modest cellar door with attached art gallery, there’s a vineyard walk with sweeping views across the Moutere to the snow-topped Mt Arthur and Kahurangi Ranges.

Focussing on vineyard quality, they sold grapes to Neudorf and still do, but since 2018 have produced their own label, with Stuart working alongside winemaker Todd Stevens. Their wines are fragrant and textural. I loved the Flaxmore pinot gris 2021, aromatic with hints of mineral and spicy fruit, a velvety texture and dry finish. 2020 is the first vintage of their own chardonnay - Neudorf wanted all the grapes, according to Patricia. It’s spicy, with hints of gunflint, intense, complex and textural, beautifully balanced with an elegant fresh finish.

flaxmore.co.nz

MOUTERE HILLS

Tucked away up a narrow road in the Sunshine Valley is Moutere Hills’ cellar door and the busy Forsters restaurant - people even arrive for lunch by helicopter. Alistair and Fiona Forster run the acclaimed restaurant in the secluded valley. Glass walls open to a shady courtyard for summer dining, vineyards and views.

It pays to book ahead here, but there’s also a cheese platter available for those who haven’t - if there’s a table free! Below the restaurant is the winery and in the old hop barn the Fox ’n' Grape wine bar opens on Friday evenings.

In 2012 Rusty Rayne and Lisa Goodson bought the Moutere HIlls vineyard, planted 1995, and adjacent hop gardens. Their wine range includes the reserve Sarau label, named after the original German name for Upper Moutere. Standouts were the Sarau Reserve chardonnay 2019, creamy, intense, nutty with a juicy acidity; the chenin blanc 2019, oozing apple and pineapple with a crisp, juicy finish and versatile with food; and the syrah 2019, fragrant, textural, redolent with fresh red berries and a suggestion of black pepper and a fresh but velvety finish.

mouterehills.co.nz