Winepress - October 2024

From the Editor

GROWING UP in Marlborough in the 1960s and 70s was a very monocultural experience. I got to know some Māori girls playing hockey and working in a shearing gang, but there were very few Pacific Islanders living here, let alone French, Bulgarian or Chilean residents.

That has all changed now, thanks in a large part to the growth of the wine industry. While we may have lost the diversity of sheep, orchards and grain crops in the landscape we have gained a much more multicultural community. There have been a range of wine migrants, including the European vintner families purchasing land and keen to try growing new world wines; British and American romantics dedicated to putting down their roots and planting their dream; and large overseas companies who picked up on the opportunities. As their vines have grown so has the need for labour, with international workers coming in for each vintage and RSE crews from the Pacific and Asia putting the hard yards in on the vineyards.

This growing diversity is reflected among the tamariki of Redwoodtown School who took part in the Welcoming Communities project featured in this month’s cover story. As well as getting creative with welcoming posters to greet this summer’s RSE workers, they’ve found out what life is like for RSE workers at home and the differences they face in Marlborough. Welcoming Communities aims to create a place where everyone feels included, and as their teacher Lucy Smith says: “It’s all about embracing different cultures. It makes for a much more interesting place than when I was growing up in Blenheim.”

As with the nationalities in the wine industry, the original vineyard plantings were diverse, including Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc and Malbec, alongside Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. But 50 years on that diversity is narrowing down as older vineyards are taken out and in many cases replanted with the money-maker Sauvignon Blanc. Viticulturists Stuart Dudley and David Bullivant provide a guide to vineyard redevelopment on page 12.

We also count down to the trophy announcements for this year’s Marlborough Wine Show. The emphasis is on Sauvignon Blanc, but I’m hoping there will still be room in our future vineyards for a diversity of varietals to keep showing the many flavours of the region.

BEV DOOLE