Generation Y-ine

At home with winemaking

KAT DUGGAN

ALUN KILBY started his winemaking journey in his childhood kitchen. Living in the Matakana area north of Auckland, he spent a lot of his time as a child making fruit wines with his mum.

He has a lot to thank her for when it comes to his career, because she then took him further into the world of winemaking as a teenager. “When I was in high school my mum was working as an accountant at a winery in Matakana, and one summer she managed to get me a job working in the vineyard of that winery,” he says.

“I didn’t really enjoy the vineyard so much, that wasn’t really for me… That same summer, I was working at a café that the winemaker [from the winery] owned. I had a chat with him and from there on out, started working in the winery every summer.”

Alun felt much more at home there. “I loved the aspect of that sort of work, getting hands on and working with the wine. With mum, we always made fruit wines at home, and it’s always been something that I have been interested in.”.

The experience inspired Alun to learn more about the industry, leading him to complete his Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University. During that time, Alun took on his first vintage with his now full-time employers, Marisco Vineyards, in 2014. “I absolutely loved it, I loved the vibe, I loved the people. I realised, ‘this is me’. I just loved this career path… I really wanted to move out of the cellar and into winemaking but I was still a bit green then,” he says.

After finishing his degree in 2015, Alun worked in Central Otago for a short time before reaching out to Marisco once again. He made the move to Marlborough late in 2015 to take on his new role in the cellar, thriving on the variety of the job.

Following a sabbatical in Germany in 2017, Alun returned to the Marisco cellar for a short time before being promoted to assistant winemaker in 2018. He learned a lot in Germany, and is now enjoying the opportunity to get stuck into his true passion of winemaking.

He is particularly enjoying working with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, putting his own mark on some of Marisco’s blends. “Since I came back from Germany, I have been lucky enough to play around with about 2,000 litres of Sauv each year and do funky things; whatever I like with it,” he says.

“Marlborough is the home of Sauv, and I really like working with it. You can get quite experimental with Sauv Blanc as it’s such a hardy grape. I’ve been doing a lot of oak ferments and barrel ferments, but you can also get a lot of expression in [to the wine] from the vineyard,” he says. “I also really enjoy working with Pinot Gris.”

This year, Alun placed third in the Marlborough Young Winemaker of the Year competition, in his third attempt at the title. “I’ve sort of fallen around the middle [previously], but last year I won the speech competition, which I was pretty happy with, as public speaking has never been my forté. This year I felt there was a big step up and I really pushed myself,” he says.

At just 27, he’s planning on using his remaining opportunities for a go at the top spot. “I love the Young Winemaker competition; it’s great for young people just starting out in the industry. I’ve got three more years to give it a go.”