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Generation Y-ine Visiting winemakers take shelter in Marlborough NEW ZEALAND was to be the last travelling harvest for winemaking couple Laura Ricci and Mihalis Bitsis, and it’s been a vintage like no other. Laura, from Italy, and Mihalis, from Greece, arrived in New Zealand on February 18, despite Laura’s parents’ suggestion she might want to defer the trip as Covid-19 crept into headlines. Two weeks later, the couple had explored (and adored) New Zealand’s South Island and Covid was rapidly spreading through Europe. By the time they started their vintage at Giesen in Marlborough on March 4, the world was a different place, and some vintage staff had already returned home. Mihalis and Laura never felt unsafe in their work or life in New Zealand, but were very aware of the different situation for their families, who were in quarantine, out of work, and required permission to go to the supermarket, says Mihalis. “We never experienced that.” Instead, they were immersed in a vintage where strict distancing rules were obeyed, personal protective equipment was always on hand, and they caught up daily on the Government’s regulations. “It was a strange vintage but everything went very well,” says Laura. “In my opinion they handled the situation exceptionally well,” agrees Mihalis. “Their main concern, to a certain extent, was the welfare of their employees.” For Laura, who had dreamed of seeing Sauvignon Blanc made in Marlborough, the experience has been amazing, despite the extraordinary circumstances. She says the technology she has experienced here is unlike any she has worked with before. The couple were similarly surprised by the speed in which high volumes of Sauvignon are turned around for market, says Mihalis, impressed by the quality despite high volumes. And because Giesen runs smaller projects of high tier wines, they experienced more than the commercial cellar work, he adds. Earlier this year, Immigration New Zealand extended visas to September 25. Laura and Mihalis took some time off post-vintage, when there was high demand for work, but the visa extension meant they could be re-employed by Giesen at the beginning of June, with contracts through to August.
“If you are caught out in the open during a thunderstorm and you are lucky enough to find shelter, it would be unwise not to take it.” Mihalis Bitsis Last month, employer-assisted temporary work visas were extended another six months, and Laura says she would happily stay on for the next vintage if she could. “It would be beautiful; to do the winter here and see the process of the winery.” She’s bewildered that friends who came to New Zealand for a two-month vintage in previous years left once the work was done, instead of exploring “one of the most beautiful countries on the planet”. But they also understand and support the New Zealand Government’s decision to prioritise New Zealanders for employment opportunities, says Mihalis. “It’s not like New Zealand took advantage of us. A decision has to be made and if a decision will be made it is for all of the people on essential skills visas, not just those in wineries. The Government has to consider the wellbeing of Kiwis and the long-term stability of the country.” Mihalis says the couple now faces a dilemma of where to go next. He’s travelled to 60 countries, made wine in several of them, including recent work consulting in Japan, and thought New Zealand would be one of his last travelling vintages. Laura has done several vintages, including in Italy, Spain and Australia, and met Mihalis on a Californian vintage in 2018. They had though they might return there to settle down, but Covid-19 has unsettled that plan. So they will stay in New Zealand for as long as they can. “We have been giving this a lot of thought and we both agree that if you are caught out in the open during a thunderstorm and you are lucky enough to find shelter, it would be unwise not to take it,” says Mihalis. “We will try and stay here until the storm is over and by the end of it, who knows, maybe we will have found our place to settle down.” Winepress August 2020 / 23
