Pioneer - Warwick Foley

Industry Pioneer

European roots to ground-breaking Picton winery

BRENDA WEBB

SUNDAY AFTERNOON pilgrimages to his parents’ home brewing friends instilled a love of wine in Warwick Foley as a young teenager. “You’d end up trying a black doris plum red wine in their living room. And my dad made gorse petal wine.”

These days Warwick and business partner Edel Everling produce a small quantity of high quality wines under the Johanneshof label from their Koromiko vineyard and cellar. They’re passionate about what they do and remain true to their roots, which are immersed in traditional European methods.

But back in 1978, when Warwick planted grapes on his parents’ Koromiko hillside, he was taking a punt in an industry making it up as it went along. “I just thought I’d give it a go.” The “naïve” 19-year-old, just out of school, approached what was then the Rural Bank for money to buy an 8 hectare block at Omaka Valley, which was selling for $30,000 with a 15-year contract to grow Müller-Thurgau. The bank asked what experience he had, then turned him down flat. Undeterred, Warwick went back to Koromiko and did soil tests before planting an odd array of vines, despite grape growing not being allowed north of the Wairau River at that stage. “It was the time that Phil Rose and all those guys were battling the council,” recalls Warwick. “You had to get a permit for change of use and it was hard.”

In the 1970s and ‘80s, the Wairau Plains were patchworked with orchards, cropping, and sheep and beef farming, and grapes were the exception. Allen Hogan was in his early days at Te Whare Ra and Ernie Hunter was starting out on Rapaura Rd. “I met Ernie – an affable Irishman – and we charged up to Massey (University) in an old Range Rover to go to some winemaking and viticulture courses,” Warwick says. “It was a really nice industry back then – everyone knew each other and there were no egos.”

In 1982, Warwick asked Ernie if he could take cuttings from his Riesling, propagated new plants then grew them on

“We are still very passionate about what we do.”

their own roots at Koromiko, having pulled out his original vines. “Everyone thought I was nuts – planting on a hillside in an area they thought was too cold.” His faith was driven by a photograph he saw in a Wines of the World book given to him by his parents. The photo showed Riesling vineyards on steep and cold hillsides in Germany.

A few years later he met Edel, from Rheingau in Germany, who was in New Zealand on her OE. And he followed her back to her home country, where his planned five-month stint turned into five years, as Edel undertook a degree in viticulture and oenology, while Warwick cherrypicked the subjects he wanted. “Edel was studying technical subjects like organic chemistry, maths, physics and German wine law, while I just needed to know how to make the bloody stuff.”

During holidays and weekends off, the couple would visit wine growing regions in France and Germany and it was during this time they developed their love of Gewürztraminer. “We’d go to Alsace regularly and eat and drink really well and go to great wineries and we fell in love with Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. Gewürztraminer is an awesome variety – we loved its headiness and opulence – it’s so powerful and weighty.”

The couple also loved the underground cellars they visited, especially doing tastings where it felt very tactile and hands-on. They used their time in Germany to buy machinery and came home with a container full of equipment, including a press bought from Oppenheim. When they arrived back in New Zealand in 1990, the industry was still in its infancy, says Warwick. He got a job with Corbans through Alan McCorkindale, who he’d met in Germany. “We thought we were pretty big doing 1,500 tonnes,” he laughs. Finding work wasn’t easy for Edel though and the couple became disillusioned. While well qualified, Edel wasn’t French, and “it was a hard road for a

woman back then”, says Warwick. “It was bloody hard work and those first few years were quite soul destroying.”

The couple replanted the Koromiko block with Pinot Noir, mainly because it lent itself to three varieties - sparkling, red and Rosè - using contract growers to buy in other fruit. Building an underground cellar became a priority, as it suited the landscape and they felt it provided a perfect environment for fermenting their wines, as well as being a great place for tastings. “Everyone in New Zealand ferments above the ground but you get great thermal affect and high humidity underground- it’s a perfect environment,” Warwick says. In 1993 Johanneshof created New Zealand’s first underground rock cellar, and over the years the couple have been frustrated to see others claiming such firsts for themselves. “We don’t do things because we want to be the first – we are not like that,” says Warwick. “But we do get annoyed when we see others claim to be the first.”

About then they looked at an 8ha property in the Waihopai Valley that was selling for $60,000, but didn’t buy it. “There was lots of land in Marlborough at that time so we figured we’d be better to go with the cellar, which we have never regretted, but in hindsight it was a mistake not to buy the land. We had no idea prices were going to go through the roof,” says Warwick.

Johanneshof wines include a highly regarded Méthode Traditionelle, which is fermented and riddled in

the underground cellar, and their Gewürztraminer, which is Warwick’s pick. The pair are no longer a couple, but Warwick praises Edel for her dedication to the wines and describes himself as being “very lucky” to have her as a business partner.

In recent years Warwick says he has become slightly disillusioned with the industry’s massive growth, preferring smaller boutique style wineries. “I’m proud we’ve remained true to our original philosophy and we are satisfied we’ve given it out best. We are still very passionate about what we do.”

A 19-year-old Warwick Foley