Winepress - July 2011

WINEPRESS Issue No. 205 / July 2011

Pinot Shoulders

Sub Regionality

Vintage 2011

Selling Provenance

Photo: Jim Tannock

The Official Magazine of

www.wine-marlborough.co.nz

WINE MARLBOROUGH VITICULTURE FIELD DAY FRIDAY 22 JULY 2011, YEALANDS GROVETOWN VINEYARD For the first time ever, Wine Marlborough will be showcasing the region’s leading viticulture events at the inaugural Wine Marlborough Viticulture Field Day. The skills and expertise of Marlborough’s vineyard professionals will be tested in two competitions – The Marlborough Silver Secateurs and Markham’s Marlborough Young Viticulturist Competition. Both events have significant prize pools.

To encourage our region’s growers and viticultural specialists to attend the Field Day, Wine Marlborough have developed a unique Vineyard management prize package valued at over $3000 and includes individual consultancy sessions with Hyland Viticulture, a Spring weather forecast from Climate Consulting and a Pest & Disease monitoring package from Crop Monitoring Services. Growers can enter on the day and the prize will be drawn at 2pm.

The Marlborough Silver Secateurs Competition The competition has been developed to encourage a high standard and to recognise the skills of pruners.

Competitors are to assemble at 9:00am for a start at 9:30am with Novice Tying. This will be followed by Novice Pruning, Open Tying, Open Pruning and the Teams Event at 12:00pm.

Where to enter?

Claire Wilson: Marlborough Jobs, Work & Income Building, Riverside House (entrance off Centrepoint Mall carpark) or online: www.wine-marlborough.co.nz or Fruitfed Supplies: Wynen Street, Blenheim

Markham’s Marlborough Young Viticulturist Competition The Markham’s Young Viticulturist of the Year competition’s objective is to gather the region’s best young viticultural talent and test their skills and expertise. The winner will then go on to compete at the national final at the 2011 Romeo Bragato conference in Auckland. There they will vie for the coveted title of Markham’s Young Viticulturist of the Year 2011 earning the right to compete at the Young Horticulturist of the year competition.

Who can enter?

Participants must be 30 years of age or under at the 31st December 2011 and currently working full time in the viticultural industry. Participants must have worked in a practical, hands on position for the last three years. Contact Sarah Booker at Wine Marlborough – sarah@wine-marlborough.co.nz or ph: 03 577 9299 for an entry form.

The Wine Marlborough Viticulture Field Day is proudly supported by:

In this issue...

Regulars

Features

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8

4 6

Editorial

Tasman Crop Met Report Marketing Matters

18 Generation Y-ine 26 Wine Happenings

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News From Home and 28 Away All correspondence including advertising / associate memberships / change of address to: Wine Marlborough PO Box 511, Blenheim 7240 T: 03 577 9299, F: 03 577 9298 E: admin@wine-marlborough.co.nz www.wine-marlborough.co.nz

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Printed by: Blenheim Print Ltd. T: 03 578 1322 WINEPRESS is printed with vegetable oil based inks on elemental chlorine free paper which is sourced 100% from well managed forrests and manufactured under ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems.

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Vintage 2011

There were no surprises when it came to vintage totals – Marlborough was up. But the good news that came out at the recent NZWinegrower meeting was; sales are also up and some wineries are having to bottle early to cover a lack of stock. There are also signs that export prices are beginning to lift – every so slightly.

p10

Do We Need To Establish Sub Regions?

While Marlborough’s GI has been established, incorporating old political boundaries, there has been a call for the region to begin establishing sub regional GIs. There were some words of advice from Warren Moran and John Barker, that the timing of any boundaries needs to be carefully considered.

Provenance – All Important in the UK Market

p18

Graham Nash from Tesco has recently been in Marlborough, looking for some new wines to join the company’s Finest Range.

Impressed with the quality coming out of Marlborough, he said winemakers now need to be placing an emphasis on provenance, to lure consumers.

Marlborough Success – TeWhare Ra Wines

Recent Environmental Award winners, Anna and Jason Flowerday of TeWhare Ra Wines are confused why being organic is considered “a big deal.” Both say what they are doing in their vineyard just makes good sense – there is nothing special about it.

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

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Outstanding In OurIn Field Outstanding Our

Check out our

“Plants Available” online at:

www.ormondnurseries.co.nz Now taking Grafted Grapevine orders for 2012 supply.

Office: 03 5776354 148 Rowley Crescent, Grovetown, Blenheim 7202 www.ormondnurseries.co.nz office@ormondnurseries.co.nz

Check out our

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“Plants 07/2011 WINEPRESS

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Field

Produced by:

From the Editor

Wine Marlborough Free to all levy paying members Associate Members: $77 +GST

So the Vintage 2011 figures are out. And even before NZW CEO Philip Gregan had the chance to publicly inform Marlborough members of them, one Hawkes Bay individual

Editor:

had tweeted the results – in a derogatory way.

Tessa Nicholson

Wow! (That is probably the nicest way of reacting to that piece of news.)

16 Bank Street

Personally I can’t quite get my head around the motives behind such an action.

Blenheim

Following years of hard times for wineries and growers, why would anyone want to

T: 021 709 571

denigrate their own industry? Hopefully it was just a finger clicking reaction, without

E: tessa.nicholson@me.com

too much thought behind it.

Instead of focusing on that, or on the fact that New Zealand has just experienced its

If you wish to make contact with any member of the Wine Marlborough Board, the following are their email addresses.

Dominic Pecchenino: nzyanks@xtra.co.nz Anna Flowerday: ajflowerday@xtra.co.nz Blair Gibbs: blair@spyvalley.co.nz James Jones: james@starborough.co.nz Ivan Sutherland: ivan@dogpoint.co.nz Ben Glover: ben@witherhills.co.nz

largest vintage ever, we should be looking at how the overseas market is crying out for our wine.

There is no loss of love for Sauvignon Blanc in any of our key markets.

Wineries are telling NZW that they are having to race to get their 2011 wines out into the market place, because their stocks are running low. Export sales are increasing at both volume and price points, even if the price rises are deemed “fragile” by NZW. Wineries are also not facing huge increases they weren’t prepared for. They were advised well in advance that crops this vintage were above average. They checked their markets, set their yields and accepted the fruit. Now they are bottling the wine, to meet their ever-growing orders.

That is the news we should all be tweeting. We aren’t out of the woods yet – but given export sales are increasing, prices are beginning to rise ever so slightly and the 2011 wines are looking good, wouldn’t it be more positive for all of us to focus on the actual facts?

Peter McLeod: peter.mcleod@pernod-ricard-nz.com Ruud Maasdam: ruud@staetelandt.co.nz Clive Jones: cjones@nautilusestate.com

TESSA NICHOLSON tessa.nicholson@me.com

Richard Rose: kvl@silkweb.net.nz Guy Lissaman: glissaman@xtra.co.nz

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

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Met Report Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – June 2011

Sunshine

June June Period

2011 LTA of LTA

GDD’s for month -Max/Min1 GDD’s for moth - Mean2

June 201 compared to LTA

June 2010

18.7 29.9

19.5 34.2

(1996-2010) (1996-2010)

92% 87%

7.0 23.3

1473.6 1493.3

1389.5 1452.2

(1996-2010) (1996-2010)

106% 103%

1417.5 1458.7

Mean Maximum (°C) 14.3 Mean Minimum (°C) 4.8 Mean Temp (°C) 9.5

13.0 1.9 7.7 8.6

(1932-1980) (1932-1980) (1932-2000) (1986-2010)

+1.3°C +2.9°C +1.8°C +0.9°C

13.6 4.0 8.8

Ground Frosts (<= -1.0°C) 8

17.7 12.6

(1932-1980) (1986-2010)

9.7 fewer 4.6

8

Air Frosts (<0.0°C) 1

10.8 5.8

(1932-1980) (1986-2010)

9.8 fewer 4.8 fewer

4

Sunshine hours 128.4 Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2011 1125.7

151 91.8 205.2 1210

(1930-2000) 1981 1959 (1930-2000)

85%

118.2

93%

1150.9

Rainfall (mm) 61.6 Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2011 331.8

57 8.0 154.9 316

(1930-2000) 1974 1943 (1930-2000)

108%

154.8

105%

409.0

Evapotranspiration – mm

34.7

31.3

(1996-2010)

111%

31.9

Avg. Daily Windrun (km)

165.5

23

70

202.0%

Mean soil temp – 10cm

8.2

5.6

(1986-2010)

+2.6°C

6.9

Mean soil temp – 30cm

9.9

7.9

(1986-2010)

+2.0°C

8.7

Growing Degree Days Total July 10 to June 11 - Max/Min1 July 10 to June 11 - Mean2

GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

wet, then perhaps you need to cast your mind back to 2010. As reported one year ago, June 2010 recorded 154.8 mm rain, having followed May 2010 which recorded 167.2 mm.

Total rain for May and June 2010 was 322 mm, or 272% of the long-term average.

Total rain for May and June 2011 was 181.6 mm, or 149% of average.

As can be seen in figure 1 (page 5) the monthly rainfall from July 2010 – June 2011 recorded some very marked

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ahead of the 2010 total.

The good news is that over the past three months (April-June), Blenheim has recorded 24.6 hours more sunshine than Nelson. However, Blenheim is still trailing Nelson by 34.1 hours with half of 2011 gone. Nelson accumulated a lead of 58.7 hours in the first three months of 2011.

Temperature With an average temperature of 9.5°C, term average of 7.7°C. Although if you look in table 1 you will see two average

2

If you thought that June 2011 was fairly

well below average and only slightly

June 2011 was 1.8°C above the long-

1

Rainfall

128.4 sunshine hours for June 2011 was

temperatures presented for the month.

The first is the long-term average 19322000. Below that is the average over the 25 years 1986-2010. I have previously highlighted how Blenheim has had considerably warmer winter temperatures over the past 25 years than in the period 1932-1980. The same does not apply to temperatures over the summer months, as temperatures for both these periods are fairly similar.

departures from “average”. Six months

The average daily minimum temperature

with above average rainfall and six

for June was 2.9°C above the long-term

months below average. Total rainfall for

average, a reflection of the overcast

the 12 month period was 748.2 mm or

weather and much fewer frosts. The

116% of the long-term average.

average daily maximum temperature was

As I have mentioned on previous

1.3°C above average.

occasions, the average monthly rainfall

June 2011 became colder as the month

needs to be treated with some caution.

progressed. The first week was 4°C

Reliable rainfall records for Blenheim go

above average. The last week was 0.4°C

back to 1930. Every single month of the

below average.

year shows some years with close to no

1st to 8th June

11.7°C

(+4.0°C)

rainfall and other years with up to three

9th to 16th June

9.5°C

(+1.8°C)

times the average rainfall, i.e. a very large

17th – 24th June

9.0°C

(+1.3°C)

standard deviation around the mean.

25th – 30th June

7.3°C

(-0.4°C)

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Figure 1: Blenheim monthly rainfall for the twelve months July 2010 to June 2011 compared to the long-term average

Soil temperatures

Frosts

Winter

Soil temperatures were well above

Eight ground frosts were recorded in

The first month of winter 2011 has been

average in June. The June soil

June, the same number as in 2010. Only

very mild. The first signs of winter didn’t

temperatures were closer to the May

one air frost, of -0.5°C, was recorded for

really appear until the final week of June,

long-term average than they were to the

the month, on the morning of 27th June.

with ground frosts recorded on the final

June average. Hence the reason that

This was also the morning of the coldest

six days of the month.

there was still some grass growth during

ground frost for the month of -4.6°C. For

June.

the 80 years 1932-2011, only one other

The 10 cm soil temperature was 8.2°C

year (1969), has recorded only one air

(+2.6) compared with the average of

frost for June. No June has recorded zero

5.7°C (1986-2010)

air frosts.

The 20 cm soil temperature was 8.9°C (+1.9) compared with the average of 7.0°C (1986-2010) The 30 cm soil temperature was 9.9°C (+2.0) compared with the average of 8.0°C (1986-2010) The 100 cm soil temperature was 12.7°C (+1.2) compared with the average of 11.5°C (1986-2010)

Rob Agnew Plant & Food Research

Wind Average daily wind run for June 2011 was 165.5 km, with an average wind speed of 6.9 km/hr. Only 70% of the average June wind-run of 235.5 km, or average wind speed of 9.8 km/hr.

Horticultural Supplies NZ Owned & Operated A MEMBER OF HORTICENTRE GROUP

0800 855 255

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

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Marketing Matters Marcus Pickens recently spent three weeks in the UK establishing the NZ-UK Link Foundation’s Wine Marlborough – John Avery Scholarship. It was in his words, “the experience of a lifetime,” as he explains.

How best to describe this experience?

(but not new) shoes. They destructed

I can only qualify it by pointing to a few

on my last night in London after a huge

simple discoveries best outlined by

day walking between on trade accounts

category.

with Jean-Marie Pratt, International Sales

1. Personal learnings

Manager for TerraVin wines. Lucky for

2. Business learnings

me this was after Jean-Marie had left

3. Help me learn about your market

me after our day of important visits. I managed to limp home and took this

challenges/opportunities

perhaps as a hint that it was time to head

Personal learnings

back to Marlborough!

I must say I approached the job of

The important and key things I observed

travelling on behalf of Marlborough and as a representative of the NZ-UK Link Foundation with equal amounts of pride and nervousness. Pride in having such a great opportunity in front of me and the great Marlborough name to help open doors. But nervousness around my desire to do a really good job for us and hoping to pull it off.

In light of this, I spent many hours working out a plan and then verbalising and interrogating my plan with others with UK market experience such as MWGA

and learnt, is that many people in the UK A great way to get to your next

have a real affinity for New Zealand, the

appointment (with Sainsbury buyer Dror

people, our country and our wines. Many

Nativ) if you are with David Cox.

people I met surprised me by saying they had been to New Zealand; some people

you are going, who you are meeting, what

I met (non wine trade) had told me they

key things you want to learn, what the

had visited Marlborough and even visited

appropriate dress standards should be

some of our cellar doors! This was good

and not being late. Having addressed all

news to me. Of those that hadn’t visited

these things gave me confidence in what

New Zealand, nearly all, to a person said

my mission was and what I wanted out of

they wanted to.

my meetings.

However strong our reputation is,

board members who travel to the UK

Business Learnings

and especially with David Cox, a great

Where do I start? Most prophetically, I

resource based in the London office of

have often spoken about the fact that

New Zealand Winegrowers. Katy Prescott

getting our wines out to the world, means

and Nautilus Estate also jumped in early

travel and lots of it. I often refer to a

and gave me some foundations for the

quote I saw on an NZTE YouTube clip

visit.

which said we need to wear out our shoe

I know personally, I like to be prepared

leather. Well, I sure did this and managed

in advance – that means knowing where

to ‘blow up’ a pair of quite well made

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

much of the strength is linked to New Zealand wine in general. This very much surprised me. While we here think that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the category, consumers see it as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. We have much work to do, in this our largest and most established market.

My visit crystallised my target for sub regional promotional work, in so

much that at this stage, sub regional

relevant and timely information and

Marlborough has no relevance to the

tools would be a good strategy along

general consumer. It has some relevance

with visiting them or having a person

with buyers and sommeliers, but is going

in market doing this. Distributor/

to take some good cohesive storytelling

winery is a unique role and getting

to get the message home – thankfully the

it right should spin both parties’ wheels.

wines seem to reflect our ambitions!

• Most of the distributors I met seemed

Market listings in the off trade at grocery level are as difficult as ever to secure, but

quite specialised with a focus on

the buyers I spoke to all showed strong

either on trade, off or multiples.

support for the Marlborough Sauvignon

Plan your route to market before

Blanc category. They all agreed it was

signing up anyone. Did I mention

still hot, with one however pointing out

Whole Foods Kensington; the Best

that just signing up a distributor

that they are noticing some slowing now

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc range I

may be difficult? Well it could be

and wouldn’t be surprised if this trend

saw in London?

as the market is very heavy with

was a worry in 4-5 years. There are plenty

• Grocery own label brands are here

Marlborough brands, all squabbling for a point of difference.

of unknown label brands there but in

to stay. For example I encountered a

a nutshell I observed the following and

Waitrose own brand Sauternes from

many more;

a very famous producer (Chateau

interest, support and I think massive

Suduiraut) on sale. The proof is in

market potential – summed up by

is what consumers identify, not

their top label which is on sale in

one buyer as having the potential

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

New Zealand at $104.00 per half

as being as globally successful as

Buyers understand Marlborough

bottle (375ml). The Waitrose label

Rioja or Champagne. Now that’s

much more clearly.

was good value at £14.49. I am

something to aim for!

• New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

• Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc potential could be a very big opportunity.

• There is consumer confidence in some sectors (specialist stores

not saying this is right, but it would

is no oversupply, grape glut or crisis

landscape.

and it was very positive to hear that,

• There is limited presence in independents but this is a key growth

step outside just Sauvignon Blanc

area for focus for a premium niche

to try other wine styles, particularly

wine region/country – this market is

aromatics and Pinot Noir.

in a changing space with the demise

to develop some good, concise

of both Threshers and Oddbins.

• On trade is difficult and quite

electronic tools and maps that

sophisticated with some distributors I

wineries can tour with to explain our

spent time with seemingly not skilled

place given a gap in knowledge

enough to deal with this sector.

even in this mature market.

• Marlborough Pinot Noir was

• Most buyers to a person said they overtrade in NZ/Marlborough wine

certainly very clearly identified

given shelf space and country

as an emerging category. All

production vs. turnover of wine in

pointed to the high and uniform

their stores.

consistency as an advantage. Price

• Overall in most buyers minds there

indicate it is part of the global wine

with wider Marlborough ranges) to

• Wine Marlborough/NZW needs

• Importantly, Marlborough wines have

• Working with your distributor or

is also a compelling distinction for

wholesaler is the single most critical

Marlborough.

success factor. Feeding them with

no matter what the reality of our own business circumstances.

Help me learn about your market challenges/opportunities Finally, I can’t convey all this in one article and I am not saying I learnt it all or captured all the best information, so if you have things that can help, then share them or tell the group at the exporters forum (on at about the time this is delivered). In a word, interact with us.

A person will be brought back to Marlborough in 2012 from the UK and it is with thanks to the NZ-UK Link Foundation, Liquorland International Wine Competition Industry Scholarship and Office Max’s Buying group who all financially supported this scholorship.

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Vintage 2011

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

The region knew it was heading for a large vintage and despite the caps and all the hard work at crop thinning, the 2011 vintage was just that – large. But that may be a good thing, given stocks are running perilously low.

Marlborough produced a total of 245,000 tonnes of fruit this year, a 35% increase on the 2010 vintage, with Sauvignon Blanc making up 205,969 tonnes of that.

The region has grown to make up 75% of the country’s total, leaving other regions well behind in terms of production. New Zealand’s total grape intake this year was 328,000 tonnes – that is an overall increase of more than 62,000.

In many ways it was a vintage of two islands. All of the South Island wine regions showed significant growth, while in the North Island the two major regions showed strong decreases.

Waipara’s increase was a massive 68%, Nelson’s 32% and Central Otago 15%.

In stark contrast, Gisborne’s production dropped by 21% and Hawkes Bay by 9%.

A lot of that has to do with the excellent flowering and fruit set the South Island regions experienced this past year. In contrast, North Island regions faced severe weather conditions associated with a La Nina pattern that impacted heavily on crop levels.

While the final total may take the breath away from some, it is by no means a bad thing, given wineries are under immense pressure to get the 2011 stock out into the market place. Sales figures provided by New Zealand Winegrower CEO Philip Gregan at the recent vintage

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update, showed export sales of our wine, have been extremely high in the past 12 months. This has led to a drawing down on inventory for most wineries in the region.

“When I go out and talk to wineries, a lot of them have brought forward or are in the process of bringing forward, the release dates of their 2011 wines. Why? Because they have run out of 2010. Many wineries who had a release date in 2010 of August or September, this year are looking at releasing in June or July.”

In May about 500,000 litres of 2011 Sauvignon Blanc was certified for export.

“That’s significantly more than we have ever done before in May. I am expecting June shipments to be quite significant as well.”

The big question though on everyone’s mind, is what price is that wine going out at? Looking back, Philip said in 2008 the MAT (moving annual total) was declining steadily following the bumper vintage.

But in the last two or three months there has been a slight increase in that MAT price in combined bulk and packaged wine and there has been a slight pick up in the monthly prices as well.

“The worst interpretation I can put on that is the decline in prices has stopped. A slightly better interpretation is, we have seen the beginnings of a lift in wine prices. That would fit with a slightly tighter

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demand scenario.”

But what about the higher value bottled wine prices? Philip says there has been an increase there as well.

“In two of the last three months our export price for bottled wine has been over $9 per litre. So again, the decline in prices for export prices for packaged wine, has stopped and we are starting to see a very modest, fragile lift.”

In terms of Marlborough, the recent vintage figures show just how rapid the growth in this region has been in the past decade, Philip said.

“It is absolutely amazing. Ten vintages ago, and it was a big vintage at the time, Marlborough harvested just over 50,000 tonnes of grapes. And this year you have harvested 245,000 tonnes. That’s a five-fold increase in just 10 years, which is pretty damn spectacular. And yes there have been some challenges along the way, but there has also been a huge growth in sales of Marlborough and New Zealand wine. New markets have opened up, new products developed – a lot of that happening because of Marlborough.”

The spectacular growth in Sauvignon Blanc was to be expected, given the large amount of plantings undertaken in 2008. Those vineyards are now fully onstream, which has helped increase this year’s total production figures.

But there have also been increases

locally of other varieties. Pinot Noir production tonnages were 16,355 tonnes, (9.6% of total production). Pinot Gris tonnages were 7,595, (5.5% of total.)

Variety Tonnage

Percentage of mix

Sauvignon Blanc

205,969

69.1%

Pinot Noir

16,355

9.6%

Chardonnay

10,330

7.9%

Pinot Gris

7,595

5.5%

Riesling

2,796

1.9%

Gewurztraminer

582

0.6%

Across the board, the average yield was close to 10 tonnes per hectare. Which is similar to what was produced in 2008.

Given how much fruit was dropped or left on the vines, it shows how large the crops were this year, compared to previous years. Philip says the big challenge for the industry now, is to ensure the large vintage is not associated with a supply overload.

“This vintage was planned for, 2008 wasn’t. Back then the wineries got 50,000 tonnes more of grapes than they were

expecting and they had no idea where they were going to sell it. This year is entirely different. Our pre vintage survey said, plus or minus 310,000 tonnes. It has come in a little bit more than that, but what we are talking about is a vintage that to a very large extent has been planned for. This year people have made very hard decisions about quality and grape intake, whereas in 2008 they took in anything that was available to them.”

The increase in this year’s vintage over last means wineries have to sell 15 million litres more wine in the coming year. That’s the equivalent of 1.8 million cases.

While that may sound daunting, New Zealand Winegrowers are “cautiously optimistic” about the task.

“We need to grow out wine sales in the next year by 7%,” Philip said. Looking back, in 2005 we grew them by 40%.

2009, following the 2008 vintage we were up by about 27% and year to date we are up 11%. So we need to see an increase of 7% to sell all of the 2011 vintage, which is a relatively modest and manageable goal.”

The other positive aspect is wineries will have a longer time frame to sell this year’s wine.

“We know people are bringing release dates forward because many wineries are out of their 2010 product. So we have a longer window of opportunity to sell this wine.”

While export figures are increasing and prices being paid for our wine is on the slight upturn, there has been no increase of the average price paid for grapes this vintage. Philip warned that while wineries are likely to see an improvement in cash flow, the flow on effect to grape growers is likely to take some time yet.

“Even though we don’t know what grape prices are as of yet, grape growers are not yet benefitting from that improved supply-demand balance. It’s not surprising. Growers came into the tough time of the industry after the wineries did.

Growers had a very good 2008 vintage, while wineries were plunged into a very difficult time. So if growers were slightly later into the fray of bad times it is likely they will be later coming out of the tough times.”

CORKAGE FREE WINTER!!!

Bring in your own wine label to enjoy over dinner during June and July 2011 and there will be no corkage fee.

The Vintners Room Restaurant is open 5 nights a week during winter and bookings are essential. (Open 7 nights a week during summer!)

“Corkage Free Winter” applies to tables of up to 9 people and is for wineries only, this deal does not apply to functions.

BOOK NOW: 0800 MVH 190 • 190 rapaura road • marlborough The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Pinot Noir Bunch Shoulders – What Is Their effect?

No one needs telling that uniformity in Pinot Noir fruit is essential to producing good wine. Which is why Pinot Noir shoulders should be carefully looked at, according to Jeff Bennett from Marlborough Plant and Food Research.

One of the best times to identify the variation within bunches of Pinot Noir is at veraison. Walk along any row and you will easily be able to identify which bunches are behind in reaching veraison.

If there are a number of green bunches within the darker coloured ones, you can physically remove them - but that is going to add a lot to the bottom line of the grower. You are still left with the berry-toberry variation within the bunch as the above picture shows.

That is to be expected within the variety – but what if you could actually use a training system that eliminated some of the other causes of green fruit – 10

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particularly well before harvest occurred, and at no extra cost to the grower?

Jeff decided to experiment with training systems to determine if the different techniques made any difference to the fruit composition at harvest. His focus was on the shoulders which naturally occur with bunches. (See picture below.)

Using 2-cane and spur pruning, he concentrated on the shoulders within the basal and apical bunches within both training systems.

“In terms of crop and measuring it’s maturity, we took random samples and that data showed quite clearly that between 2-cane and spur prune there were no significant differences in their

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

brix ripening or their acidity or their ph.

For all intents and purposes these two cane systems looked like they were maturing quite nicely and similarly to each other.”

But when he started to look deeper, there were significant differences between the basal and apical bunches and their accompanying shoulders on the two cane vines. The research clearly showed that the basal main bunch went through veraison sooner than its accompanying shoulder.

“This was exactly the same bunch, but the main bunch has gone through veraison ten days before the shoulder.”

In the case of the apical bunch, the difference between the main part and the shoulder was even greater. The shoulder reached veraison 14 days later than the main bunch.

Within the same vine there was a threeday variation between apical and basal main bunches.

“So the bunch to bunch variation is still there, but there is a quite distinct shoulder difference as well.”

There were no shoulders on any of the apical bunches on spur pruned vines.

But the trend seen in the 2-cane vines, where the basal bunch shoulders reached veraison later than the main bunch, was also evident in spur pruned.

“You have the main part going through veraison quite early on and the shoulder part about nine days later, so there is quite a bit of difference.”

This was a good indication that the fruit was being set up early on, in terms of composition.

When it came time to harvest, the twocane vine basal shoulders were way below the rest of the bunch in terms of brix levels. Overall the apical bunches were lower in brix than the basal bunches and the shoulders were even further behind. The brix of the basal main bunch 2-cane

was 24 – the brix of the apical shoulders was only 15.

“Basically within the spur pruned vines there was less variation.”

When looking at the number of bunches within the two training systems, it became apparent that spur pruned developed far less shoulders.

“Over half the bunches in the 2-cane vines, but only a quarter of the bunches in the spur pruned, produced shoulders.

And in terms of apical bunches, 7% of 2-cane vines produced them and there were none in spur pruned vines.

“So if you look in terms of overall bunches in terms of crop – in 2-cane vines, 32% or nearly one third of all bunches produced a shoulder of some degree. Only 13%

Basal bunch

Apical bunch

Main

Shoulder

Main

Shoulder

Brix

24.3

21.6

22.9

15.4

pH

3.22

3.15

3.20

3.04

TA (g/L)

9.1

9.8

9.5

12.0

Berry #

100

34

87

16

Mean berry wt (g)

0.84

1.15

0.91

0.89

Spur

Basal bunch

Apical bunch

Main

Shoulder

Main

Shoulder

Brix

24.5

22.5

24.1

–

pH

3.24

3.22

3.27

–

TA (g/L)

8.7

9.2

9.0

–

Berry #

89

23

79

–

0.85

0.95

0.79

–

Mean berry wt (g)

produced a shoulder in spur.”

All of this research was undertaken in 2010 and allowed Jeff to estimate the total crop that came from shoulders alone. In the case of 2-cane, 16% of the crop weight came from shoulders. In spur pruned vines it was only 5% of weight.

This was despite the yield from both training systems being similar.

So what does that mean for growers who want to minimise the variation in their Pinot Noir cops?

“Spur pruning in itself reduces fruit variation, at least from the sense that it produces less shouldering. And we know that those shoulders are quite unripe compared to the main bunches at harvest. Anything that reduces shouldering is a plus for reducing variation.

“We also know that the later the shoulders go through veraison, the more delay there will be in achieving ripeness. You don’t get to catch that up. What happens at veraison, stays there until harvest.”

Jeff says one of the “burning” issues to come out of the research, is – how much shouldering has to occur before it makes a difference to crop and wine composition? That however is for the future, with research on this subject yet to be undertaken.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

07/2011 WINEPRESS

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Sustainability – It Should Be Locked Into Our DNA

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

David Cox, NZ Wines European Director, is never one to mince words. Especially when it comes to the wine industry promoting our Sustainable Winegrowing programme.

“As an organisation it should be locked

more expensive wine, the consumer

into our DNA. It should be locked into our

tends to be more informed about those

language. It should be absolutely what

issues.

we talk about when we are discussing

“People are expecting other people to be

our varietals and wines.”

doing their bit for the environment, so if

Saying it as he means it, David is

someone tells them that this wine comes

passionate about how we promote

from a producer who is at the forefront of

ourselves in the ever growing world

this stuff, doesn’t over use water, doesn’t

of wine and is keen for producers to

use chemicals and comes from a clean

promote the sustainability programmes

and green land like New Zealand, then

they are a part of.

that is a huge tick.”

In 2007 NZW officially stated they wanted

David says forget about the food miles

all wines in New Zealand to be produced

argument, that is long gone. Instead

under audited sustainability programmes,

marketers should be concentrating on the

such as SWNZ, organic or biodynamic.

way our wine is made and the resources

All wines from vintage 2010 onwards,

terms of what they do. South Africa, Chile

that are being or more importantly NOT

have to be 100% accredited to enter

and parts of California and Oregon are

being used to produce it.

NZW organised events. (That ruling does

winning the word of mouth game. They

“How you are treating the land, protecting

not affect wines produced prior to 2009.)

are not quite as united as we are in terms

the earth, the soil, the water. The way you

All in all, the initiative has been highly

of the 2012 scenario. But it seems we

are keeping it clean and green – people

successful, with close to 97% of all

don’t want to speak up about it. No one

are interested in that.

of New Zealand’s grape growers now

puts a logo on their bottle, no one puts a

“The news that we are going to be 20%

members of sustainable programmes

logo in their publicity, and no one wants

organic by 2020 was well received over

and 85% of the country’s total production

to brag about it.”

here. But we should be shouting about it

accredited.

He says the groundswell of support

more. I figure if you have got it, flaunt it.”

Given the buy in, David Cox says the time

for environmental issues is huge in the

And as far as David is concerned – New

has come for individuals to promote their

European market, despite the economic

Zealand wine has got it – now it’s time to

involvement.

recession. Consumers are seriously

flaunt it.

“We do, I think, the best sustainability

looking at packaging, fair trade and

programme around the world. But there

environmental issues like water and

are countries coming up behind us in

chemical use. And with wine, particularly

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Do We Need Sub Regional Boundaries?

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

In 2008, after a long period of consultation the board of Wine Marlborough decided on the regional GI. Three years on there has been a feeling the region now needs to determine the sub regional boundaries.

A meeting organised by Wine Marlborough to discuss that potential was held last month and attracted dozens of interested people. Professor Warren Moran from Auckland University gave an overview of the French appellation system in Burgundy and Champagne, as an introduction to how the world’s best known regions have dealt with defining their individual parcels of land.

While each region is clearly defined, the sub regions within each appellation are not set in stone, which is something he suggested Marlborough needed to bear in mind.

In the case of Burgundy, the system is very much hierarchical, where the land is classified in terms of quality.

Basically there are four tiers within the strata.

• Grand Cru – the highest level, where wines produced will be double the price, if not more of say Village • Premier Cru – second best wines classified by the terrain in which they are grown • Village • Regional – which means the only thing they can place on their label is Burgundy, as a region of origin Each of these “sub regions” (for want of a better term) has been classified over a long period of time, and any wine from

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the top three classifications will include the details of the parcel of land, on their label. There are very strict regulations that go with those classifications. The higher up the ladder you go, the less your yields will be, but the price will be much higher to compensate.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Burgundy, Warren says, is that it’s not as we imagine – set in stone.

“It has changed a great deal over the past 60 years. Additional vines are being planted currently and in some areas vines are being pulled out. The French industry is not static.”

In terms of Champagne, he says the growth of that region mirrors New Zealand.

“They went from 10,380 hectares of plantings in 1953 to just over 30,000 ha in the mid 2000’s. It has flattened out since then, but the trend is very like New Zealand’s.”

The appellation system in Champagne is very different to that of Burgundy. For example there is no control on yields.

“That really surprised me when I first found out. Sometimes growers are producing more than 15 tonnes per hectare.”

The appellation system in this area works differently to Burgundy – but still places regulations on where grapes can be

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

planted and where vinification is allowed to happen. Again it is a hierarchal system, but in this case there is no emphasis on controlling yields. It is a far more industrial approach, compared to Burgundy.

So what does this all mean for Marlborough and the establishment of sub regional GIs? Basically what Warren was pointing out, was the French have had years of experience behind them, yet are still making changes within their major growing regions.

In Marlborough’s case, we are still experimenting with our plantings in many ways and our youth prevents us from having a history to call on.

Already we have identified the three valleys, Awatere, Southern and Wairau.

But even within those sub regions there are areas that are proving to be individualistic and maybe one day worthy of their own sub regional title.

Dr John Barker from New Zealand Winegrowers says we can learn from Champagne, which has drawn a huge boundary including mountainous areas of land that are obviously not suitable for grape growing.

“Champagne itself is interesting because you have three large sub regions and some of the more sophisticated

brands make reference to those sub regions, but they haven’t gone through the process of defining them out separately as they have done in Burgundy. They have tried to maintain the big brand and use those sub regional brands for people who want to use it in their story. That is a very balanced approach to bear in mind for Marlborough.’

Warren agreed saying Marlborough is such a good brand as far as New Zealand is concerned, that we need to ensure we make the boundary as big as possible, provided we are realistic.

The greatest advantage of identifying sub regions, is probably in the marketing aspect of our wines. Dorien Vermaas from Staete Landt Wines said by identifying the differences between the sub regions provides marketers a story to sell to sommeliers.

“Selling Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in America, you are lucky if the sommelier has one wine on his list. Currently we are having to fight on price, or say our wine is better than someone else’s. If you have different regionalities, you have a story to tell and that sommelier could easily have four or five different wines on his list, because he would know each one was different.”

Matt Thomson said the industry needs to ensure that the people we are selling to, aren’t under the illusion that all Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the same.

“We need to highlight the differences, because they are huge. I think that one thing to help us, would be to have a map of Marlborough that shows more than five sub regions, say 15. But don’t draw boundaries, instead just write where the Brancott is, where Rapaura is, where Omaka is. By using a map with no definitive boundaries, I think the boundaries will develop over time.”

Dr Barker warned that if Marlborough was to emphasise its sub regions, it could collectively damage the overall brand.

“A GI is a scale for collective investment

as a marketing tool. It defines a brand that you can actually invest in. But you need critical mass to get some traction for a GI, so don’t get too caught up in boundaries. You need to be careful you don’t go too small, as then you start to split up that investment in the overall brand and you are potentially diverting resources away from the overall brand.”

He suggested that moving too fast too soon, could be detrimental in the long term future of the region.

“The question is how deep do you need to go at this point? You have all the time in the world to go deeper.”

Belinda Jackson pointed out that the brand is the all important issue when it comes to Marlborough. The brand will push the sub regions if the story is sold well. But don’t expect the sub regions to help sell the wine.

“The majority of people looking to buy wine out of Marlborough understand Marlborough, New Zealand and Sauvignon Blanc. They understand the brand and they trust it. It’s the brand that will deliver the sub regions to the consumer, rather than the sub regions

delivering the brand. Take Vavasour for example. It is successful because of the brand and the fact that it is Awatere is probably secondary at the moment. But the Vavasour brand has taken that sub region out to the consumer.”

Warren Moran said regardless of where we go in the near future, there are some points that we as a region need to consider in creating sub regions.

• Keep the criteria as simple as possible – that is essential • Use boundaries sanctioned by the State where possible – it has more power • Emphasise the qualities of the sub regions, rather than the boundaries • Be wary of using aspects of soil and climate to define boundaries • Avoid restricting opportunities for future entrepreneurs • Interrogate your region or sub region – ask questions about what distinguishes it So the overall feeling from the meeting?

Let’s not get to hung up about distinguishing sub regions by boundary lines. Let’s instead concentrate on telling the stories about the differences within Marlborough – focusing on the overall brand which is in fact Marlborough.

Which is not too different from what Simon Waghorn said back in 2008, when he presented his findings on the Marlborough GI to the board of Wine Marlborough.

“The sooner we can define Marlborough and the smaller regions that make up Marlborough, the sooner we can add value to our brands by marketing and telling the story of these regions. Across the Marlborough industry we need a consistent notion of what these regions are and a coherent story to take to the world about what makes them so unique and desirable.”

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

07/2011 WINEPRESS

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07/2011 WINEPRESS

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Water - Discharge - Land Use

Wine Marlborough Viticulture Field Day

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

Pruners get those secateurs oiled. Growers mark the date. And young viticulturists get ready for just about everything – the annual pruning and viticultural competitions are on their way.

For the first time, Wine Marlborough is running the two major winter events of Silver Secateurs and Young Viticulturist, together.

Co-organiser Richard Rose says the aim is to make a day out of what are two of the most important competitions within the calendar.

“In the past we have always run them separately yet it makes sense for both to take place on the same day.”

So make sure you mark in July 22.

Yes it is a Friday, whereas in the past both competitions have been held on separate Saturdays. The hope is having it on a weekday eliminates any weekend commitments individuals have. It is also hoped contractors will take note of the competition and give their workers the encouragement to take part.

The absence of individual growers watching the events has been noted in recent years and Richard says that may be due to many of them not personally knowing anyone taking part.

“The role of pruning has largely been taken over by contractor teams. But even so, pruning is the most important job undertaken in the vineyard, – everyone knows that. So we all need to celebrate the best of the best who take part in the Silver Secateurs.”

Every grower who attends has the

chance to win a Management Package; consisting of advice from Jeremy Hyland Viticulture, a spring weather forecast from Climate Consulting, plus a pest and disease monitoring package from Crop Monitoring Services. Growers can register on the day, with the winner being drawn in the afternoon.

In terms of the Markham’s Young Viticulturist competition, entrants will be put through their paces over the entire day. Each contestant will have to complete eight modules – four theory and four practical. Organiser Stephen Dempster says the modules range from identifying pests and diseases, to a vineyard assessment, a panel discussion and budgeting. They will also have to present a pre prepared three minute speech to guests at the official dinner, later that evening.

Between 80 and 100 pruners will take WHEN: WHERE:

part in the Fruitfed Silver Secateurs, with up to 8 young viticulturists vying for the title of Wine Marlborough Young Viticulturist of the Year.

The day starts at 9am, with the first of the pruning events, which will continue through until the teams event just before lunch. After lunch the Horty Sports event of the Markham’s Young Vit competition will take place, hopefully followed by a fun pruning competition between some of the well known names of the Marlborough wine industry and a number of contract business owners.

The Silver Secateurs prize giving will be around 2pm, as will the draw for the grower’s Vineyard Package.

Richard says the event is a major on the wine industry calendar, but couldn’t happen without the many local, loyal sponsors (see inside front cover for a list of sponsors).

July 22nd Yealand’s Estate Vineyard, Grovetown

TIMES: 9am

Silver Secateurs begins

11am

Teams Events

12noon

Lunch – can be bought on-site

1pm

Markham’s Young Viticulturist Horty Sports

2pm

Silver Secateurs Prize Giving and Draw for Vineyard Package

6pm

Markham’s Young Viticulturist dinner at Wither Hills, where winner will be announced. Tickets from sarah@wine-marlborough.co.nz.

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Alana McGettigan

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Generation Y-ine

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

Alana McGettigan Spend 5 minutes with Alana McGettigan and you realise she is not the type of person suited to being in a lab coat in a small room crunching scientific formulae. So it’s reassuring to know she made the right decision back in 2000, not to continue with pure science after completing her degree in Biochemistry and Genetics. While her studying was at the time of the cloning of Dolly the sheep and bio genetics was looking rather exciting, Alana knew she would have to go on to years more study if she was going to become involved in that sort of work.

Which did raise a problem of sorts. Here she was with a degree – but what was she going to do with it? Forensics was an option – there was a great deal of problem solving involved in that sort of job – just in New Zealand there weren’t the positions available for the range of students applying.

The idea of winemaking came about more from her years spent visiting her grape growing Aunty and Uncle here in Blenheim. That and a burning desire to travel, preferably to Italy, made her mind up to give winemaking a go.

“It wasn’t a passion for wine, although while I was an University I had done a wine tasting course and I was quite interested in it. It was more, I had this science degree, I like problem solving and I didn’t want to do pure science and end up in a lab for the rest of my life.”

Her Aunty and Uncle, Margaret and Nick Hassan were growing grapes for Huia Vineyards at the time and Alana had come across winemakers Mike & Claire Allan. Plus a friend had just completed

the winemaking course at Lincoln. It was enough of an impetus for her to apply for the one year post graduate course. Which given she had never spent any time in a winery, doing cellar hand work, or even working on a vineyard – was a rather brave move. It kind of sums Alana’s work attitude up. Take a punt and things will work out for the best.

“In hindsight, if I was doing it again, I would work in a winery for a couple of years before I did the course. I understood all the theory behind winemaking, but when people began speaking about fermentation stuff, I was a little in the dark.

They would say it needs a long lag phase.

I would think, well is that 30 seconds, two hours or several days? It was kind of hard for me to grasp the basics back then. But as soon as I got into a winery, it all fell into place.”

Part of the post grad course involves taking control of a row of grapes and mothering them through the growing stage, through to the wine making of the fruit. In Alana’s case, her row was Pinotage. Not a grape known to be big in Canterbury.

“It’s a South African variety. It likes warm climates and low yields. We were growing it in Lincoln, it was really cold and it was high yielding. So that was interesting.”

In the end someone came up with an idea (“I wish it was me, but it wasn’t,”) to make not only a red wine, but also a white.

“We pressed it off skins immediately and because it wasn’t really ripe it was quite acidic and it worked out really well.”

Given the amount of study required, there wasn’t too much time for Alana to gain

hands-on experience. Although she did get the chance, through a father of a friend to spend one week at Cloudy Bay under the tutelage of James Healy. Finally she was in a winery!

“It was a real genuine experience. James was a great teacher and confident enough to let me learn by doing things myself, which is a great way to learn.”

At the end of the one year course Alana once again faced the dilemma of what now? She arrived up in Blenheim, determined to knock on doors and see if anyone would consider taking her on for the next year’s vintage. A week after arriving, she was offered a job at Forrest Estate, as a vineyard worker.

“Vineyard work wasn’t exactly what I had in mind – but I did it.”

In the long run it was a valuable experience for her, as she saw first hand how much effort goes into producing the fruit for the winemaker to deal with.

“It was a pretty tough job, but if for nothing else, it gave me an understanding of the work involved and it gave me an admiration for those that are producing the fruit. You can know all the words like, wire lifting, bud rubbing and stuff like that, but it’s all a bit vague until you do it yourself and realise how hard it is and how long it takes to produce that end result.”

At the time she was actually working three jobs, saving frantically for that mystical trip to Italy, sometime in the future. In the vineyards at Forrest, cellar door for Cairnbrae and nights at Gibbs Restaurant.

Finally she heard about a job at Marlborough Valley Cellars, which she successfully applied for and started at the

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19

end of January 2002. The business at the time was owned by Kim Crawford, Saint Clair and Cape Campbelll. Winemakers were Jules Taylor, Simon Waghorn and Kim Crawford.

That first year she didn’t achieve her goal of getting out of a lab coat, being designated lab assistant.

“I decided to be a winemaker so I wouldn’t be in a lab, but I actually felt really comfortable there. It was my thing.”

As for Italy and the trip – she fell on her feet by working at Marlborough Valley Cellars. What she didn’t know, was Jules Taylor had been doing vintages in Italy for the last seven years. Once 2002’s vintage was over, Jules asked Alana what her immediate plans were. When Alana said she wanted to travel to Italy – the reply was; “Oh that’s great, because I have been going to Italy for years and I want to stop now but I need to find someone to replace me.

Are you interested?”

The application was made, CVs handed over and Alana awaited her employment as a cellar hand in a small winery in Sicily. Just one snag though.

“I got the contract and it was for a vintage winemaking consultant job. I thought – oh crap! It was a bit scary. I had never been to Italy before, I didn’t speak the language, I don’t even know if I had ever met an Italian, and I hadn’t been a winemaker before.”

However part of the contract was that Jules would accompany her and stay for the first month.

The winery was Firriato, it was reasonably modern, around 20 years old. So it was stainless steel tanks, not concrete. It was family owned, not a co-op and the family had planted most of their vineyards. There were the usual Sicilian varieties. Nero D’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Grillo, Catarrato, Inzolia, Grecanico and a bit of Chardonnay. Mostly varieties she had only heard of, if that.

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Despite her lack of hands on experience, there were no major catastrophes during that first vintage. Although getting her head around the language was an issue – one that was made more difficult by the fact the other winemaker didn’t speak a word of English.

“There were some periods of intense worry about the wines once Jules left, because there was a serious language barrier. I did pick some of it up, but not enough to have a joke or anything like that, which made it difficult. Especially in those circumstances. I guess I was a bit isolated by the language.”

A month before her tenure was up, she met up with Marlborough born Tamra Washington who was winemaking about one hours drive away.

“That was a life saver for me.”

She must have done all right, because the winery wanted her to come back the next year, if she was keen. Given she had loved the experience there wasn’t too much thinking required. So only one year after gaining her winemaking degree she settled into the life of spending three months a year in Italy and the rest of the time either travelling or working in Marlborough.

In 2005 when Vincor bought Kim Crawford Wines, things began to change at Marlborough Valley Cellars. The business separated out into Saint Clair and Kim

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Crawford Wines and Alana thought the time was right to look elsewhere for a job.

Matt Thomson solved the problem by offering her one at Kiwi-Oeno, which was expanding to produce wines for the Delta and Stopbanks, (now known as Tinpot Hut.) “They were quite small at the time and we were doing everything for them; logistics, ordering dry goods, bottling and exporting. I was getting involved in areas I had never experienced before. We spent a lot of time in the vineyards pre harvest, tasting the grapes and working with the growers. It was a fantastic experience. But I thought I would have to give up the Italian vintages now, which I was a bit disappointed about.”

Matt disagreed, given he has been working between Italy and New Zealand for many years. He gave her the opportunity to work with his overseas contacts each northern hemisphere vintage. So not only was she gaining more and more experience on the ground here in Marlborough, she was also getting to travel overseas for a vintage every August.

The work she was doing with The Delta and Stopbanks provided her with the knowledge of what it takes to establish a brand from scratch. Something that she was more than interested in.

“I had always wanted to do something on my own. It seems like I have been talking to my Aunty and Uncle about it forever.

But I was never quite ready for it, until about 12 months ago. With the way the industry is at the moment, I felt like it was time to have a bit more control over my own destiny.”

To me it seems like a very brave move in a very tough time.

“Totally,” she says, seriously.

Then she bursts into laughter and adds; “With Gewurztraminer as well of all things.

It seems like a bit of a theme with me, ending up in sink or swim situations”.

Instead of just thinking about it, she galvanised into action. She contracted her Aunty and Uncle to grow the grapes and worked closely with them through what has been a challenging season.

“Gewürztraminer is a strange variety anyway – you can never be too sure what it will do. This year was higher yielding than I would have anticipated, but flavour wise it was fantastic. Exactly as I wanted it.”

Knowing in her mind what she wanted from the fruit was one thing – but the weather seemed determined to throw her curve balls.

“I kept thinking it would be ready to pick in two or three days, but it never seemed to quite get there. Then it started to rain.

It was a question of, do we let this hang through the rain and pick it when it has dried out, or do we pick it before the rain sets in, even if it is not quite ready. I made the decision to let it sit through, then pick it and in hindsight it was the perfect decision.”

The fruit was clean, the brix hit 23.7, it didn’t have too much sugar and the balance was perfect.

“I am really excited about the wine – now I just have to sell it.”

With Italy close to her heart, she has pre registered the name Allora, as the brand for her wines.

“It seems very appropriate, especially as it was one of the very first Italian words I ever learnt.

“It has been an incredibly exciting time, both for me and my Aunty and Uncle.

They were just as excited as me during vintage. Nick would send me emails every day with the latest details about the fruit, what the juice looked like, where the brix were at. It has been fantastic to do this with them.”

While Gewurztraminer is the one and only variety in Alana’s portfolio, it is unlikely to be a stand alone wine for long. She has a penchant for aromatics and is keen to increase the portfolio with a Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and a blend of all three. It is something that is extremely popular in northern Italy.

“The base will be Riesling, then some Pinot Gris and a very small amount of Gewurztraminer. You have the acid structure of the Riesling and then the aromatic of the Gewurtz and the Pinot Gris just rounds it all out. It’s a really elegant wine, great with food if you get the right blend. I would like to do all three varieties and the top wine would be a blend of them.”

But that’s in the future. Taking a brief moment to look back, Alana says there are many things to be gained from working overseas on a regular basis as she has

done. But perhaps the greatest is the realisation that New Zealand is so much luckier than just about every other wine producing region. Yes we are in tough times now – but from what she has seen in the past nine years, Italy in particular has suffered a lot more.

“We have had difficult years here, like in 2008 but that has been going on in the rest of the world for a really long period.

Everywhere is struggling and everywhere there is too much wine. Even in places like Southern France they have too much wine left in their tanks at the end of every year.

It doesn’t make what we are going through any easier or better, but it does give you a global perspective when you see first hand what is happening in other wine producing countries.”

And like so many Gen Y’s spoken to, she is more than happy with her decision to travel down the winemaking path.

“I have absolutely no regrets about my choice to become a winemaker. Especially given the time I came into the industry.

Back then the world was our oyster, we could almost do anything we wanted.

Everyone was young, they were so positive, passionate, so open. I have had the chance to travel every year and now I have the opportunity to do my own wine. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

VINEYARD MANAGEMENT SERVICES Savvy Vineyards is a company based in Marlborough specializing in the following vineyard services: • Preparation of vineyard reports including month by • Preparation of seasonal operating budgets month reporting of budget Vs actual expenditure • Preparation of Annual Vineyard Management Plans • Ordering of vineyard inputs such as chemicals and • Coordination of vineyard operations fertilizers • Management of contractors • Coordination of Contract machinery operations • Processing of invoices If you are considering using a Vineyard Management Company for some or all of the above tasks this season please do not hesitate to discuss your requirements with us on

03 5722823, mobile 021827756 or e-mail Daniel.watson@Savvyvineyards.co.nz

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Provenance and Packaging – Key UK Requirements

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

Tesco’s are the third largest retailer in the world by revenue and the second largest in the world by profit. The Tesco supermarkets are UK leaders and recently their wine buyer has been sniffing around Marlborough.

To be truthful Graham Nash hasn’t been so much sniffing, as tasting and swirling.

And this is no one off visit. Graham has been here lots of times before as the Product Development Manager for Tesco.

His interest is in increasing his company’s portfolio of New Zealand wines, specifically for the Tesco Finest Range.

Already the company has a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, late harvest Riesling, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Awatere Pinot Gris. They also purchase a Central Otago Pinot Noir and are looking to add a Hawkes Bay Syrah and a Marlborough Dry Riesling.

Historically he says Tesco’s have split the buying role into countries. The dot com business has been a separate part of the overall business, making up about 10% of total business.

“Stores are the main thing and internet sales, but also through the Tesco wine club. We now incorporate it within Tesco Wines and we still have exclusive lines and a monthly magazine that goes out to 600,000 members eight times a year.

Whereas my job was country specific, it is now incorporating all the wine into one entity, so I am buying for the dot com wine stores as well.”

Given New Zealand produces less than a per cent of the world’s wine, Graham said our reputation is far greater.

“For example, Argentina is a very big producer when compared with New

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Zealand. But if you spoke to most consumers in the UK they would say New Zealand’s production is higher than Argentina, because they know it so well.

I think(New Zealand’s) market share at Tesco is between 3 and 4% .Obviously that is driven by Sauvignon Blanc.

“As a world wine style Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has more recognition stylistically with consumers than virtually anything else” At a Wine Marlborough organised tasting, Graham said there were no real surprises, but that should not be taken as a negative.

“New Zealand and Marlborough has a very high quality level. You don’t get many poor wines made here. Some are better in quality than others, but in most countries there are a number of poor wines made. Not in New Zealand though and that is a real strength.”

However it makes his job much harder he said.

“If we were listing wines that weren’t very good and were finding wines that were better, it would be an easy decision. But when everything is good, it places more emphasis on producers to come up with a USP. (Unique selling point.)”

While some may think that USP is the sub regional differentiation, Graham said it is more to do with creating a form of provenance.

“Consumers are interested in

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

provenance, but they don’t have much time to spend reading a whole life story of a wine. So it’s much more about how the wine is presented, the packaging.

There are some obvious clues around the world, with embossed bottles coming out of Southern Rhone. Things like Chateau Gates on a label can help sell a wine from Bordeaux.”

In New Zealand’s case, he said the labels need to be clear, concise and make an obvious provenance statement.

That may be as simple as identifying the wine as single vineyard, or placing the winemaker’s name on the label.

“The consumer won’t have heard of the person, but they will be reassured that someone is making this wine, rather than it being produced as a big industrial product.”

Identifying the sub regions may be a mistake at this stage Graham said, as it could confuse consumers who have come to know Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc as just that.

“Whether the consumer is ready for sub regional understanding of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc I am not sure. I don’t think it hurts to try and create more provenance – but they won’t understand the difference between Wairau, Awatere and Southern Valleys, let alone when you start getting into the sub regions of those sub regions. My advice is do it very carefully. If there is a stylistic

difference, highlight it and have Awatere there as part of the label. But I don’t think you are at the stage where it should be dominating, because ultimately Marlborough is a brand – Awatere isn’t.

You wouldn’t want to kill the success of something by trying to create something sub regional.”

The elephant in the room during the interview was obviously the bulk wine issue. Would the UK’s largest supermarket chain take advantage of Marlborough in terms of buying bulk wine for cheap, poor quality Sauvignon Blanc for their stores?

Graham says Tesco is buying more bulk wine, in terms of juice, but only because the technology is far better now.

“The quality behind bulking wine is much better than it used to be say 10 years

ago, There are less quality concerns.”

The wines he is purchasing for the Tesco Finest Range, will all be bottled at source.

And given the Tesco range begins with entry level wines, which tend to be bulked in, he said New Zealand’s quality threshold has prevented the company from being able to establish an entry level Sauvignon Blanc.

“Just explaining, we have entry level which is wine that sells for around £4.

Then there is the Finest Range that sells from between £7 and £9. New Zealand is one of the very few countries that we do not take an entry level from – because there is no wine that fits within this category.

“But we do have a couple of brands – tertiary brands – that we do bulk and ship to the UK.”

The carbon issue is huge within the company, with Tesco expected to be a market leader in reducing that footprint.

Unfortunately for producers, the wine category is one of the worst offenders, given the packaging in glass and the transport to stores.

Despite Tesco experimenting with alternative packaging, Graham said the consumer prefers bottles. To reduce the carbon footprint is a major reason for the retail giant shipping wine in bulk and bottling in the UK. But he wouldn’t say just how much of that bulk is likely to be Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. That will be up to individual producers, to determine – do we sell it this way or not?

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Marlborough Success – Te Whare Ra Wines

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

Recent Marlborough Environment Awards winners, Jason and Anna Flowerday of Te Whare Ra Wines, can’t understand why being organic is considered “something special.”

“Why is it that because we are organic, people think we are different?” Jason asks. “Organics isn’t something new, it isn’t something weird, it’s just basic farming – the way people farmed for centuries before chemicals were discovered.”

Te Whare Ra, one of the oldest vineyards in Marlborough, was established by wine pioneers Joyce and Allan Hogan in the late 70s. Anna and Jason bought the property in 2003 and in the past eight years have worked hard at giving back to the land, what intensive farming had taken out of it. Both of them consider organic growing a natural process, one that shouldn’t be considered as anything complicated or unusual.

“When we first arrived here there was a strong core of people beginning to look seriously at organics – but there was still this feeling out there in the wider community that what we were doing was kind of hippy-ish,” Anna says.

As though anyone interested in changing from conventional wine growing to organics, was not to be trusted, and may be a threat to the long-standing reputation of Marlborough.

Even now, eight years on, Jason says people still tend to think of organics as something new and experimental.

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“I just can’t understand that attitude. What we are doing is growing the best possible grapes to make the best possible wine.

It’s just that we are doing it without using chemicals.”

One of the first things the couple did when they bought the property was to plant cover crops to help improve the soil structure.

“The old block out the front had been run conventionally for a long time and the soil was really compacted, there weren’t a lot of nutrients there and it was quite degraded. So we started with the cover cropping regime straight away.”

That has been an on-going practice, with mixed grasses grown between rows to feed the four Belted Galloway cows, and winter and summer cover crops in the alternate rows throughout the vineyard.

Cow pat pits are used to create a natural ground and canopy spray, (reusing the cow manure.) Seaweed spray is another natural product used liberally within the vineyard. Effective Microorganisms (EM) are grown up within molasses and then used in a variety of ways, in compost, waste water, within the vineyard as a mulch and a canopy spray.

All of these practises provide essential and natural nutrients into the soil, or onto the vine itself. And that helps to

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strengthen the plant, in much the same way as vitamins help a human, Anna says.

“A person who smokes, drinks too much, doesn’t eat properly or get enough sleep will end up with a compromised immune system and they are likely to get every bug going round. It’s the same with plants. If they aren’t getting all the nutrients they need, then they are going to be susceptible to disease.”

The argument that being organic is more costly than growing conventionally is rubbished by both the Flowerdays. Jason says that may have been the case 10 years ago, but not now.

“We have seen prices drop because more people are using them. And by 2020, when we hope 20% of vineyards in New Zealand will be organic, the prices will have dropped even further.

And there are a lot of products that were once considered just for organic growers that are now being used in conventional vineyards and wineries. It doesn’t need to be more expensive. Especially as there are so many things that you can create yourself.”

Like the cow pat sprays, compost and mulch.

Jason admits being organic means you do have to be hands on in the vineyard.

Environmental Award winners Jason and Anna Flowerday – with their Belted Galloway cows – or lawn mowers.

“It’s a whole season approach, so you are setting up to ensure you don’t have problems later on. You make sure you shoot thin, take out laterals, manage your canopy and crop levels. You are working day by day with the vines throughout the season, so you minimise the need for those quick fix chemical solutions if the disease threat rises later on.”

And if it does, there are plenty of solutions available that don’t require harsh chemicals.

“You are having to spray for disease whether you are a conventional grower or an organic. And many of the biologicals are showing to be as effective if not more effective than some of the chemicals on the market.”

As for the mind-set that some people have of an organic vineyard being a

complete mess, overgrown with weeds and vines growing out of control, Anna just laughs.

“It’s not a hippy thing. We don’t let the vines grow wild. We still manage the growth, we control the yields. Our vineyard isn’t over run with weeds, we manage that with under vine mowing and the cows roaming among the vines. It doesn’t have to be hard.”

And the end result of all the hands on work, the natural sprays, the returning of nutrients to the soil and the vines, is in the quality of the fruit. While it is always hard to quantify any differences between conventional and organic fruit, Anna says they have seen a huge difference in the annual testing of YANs (yeast available nitrogen).

“Particularly off the old block where

there are the original plantings. Currently we are getting double the levels we had five years ago. That is a very measurable thing. As a consequence our ferments are healthier, because the yeast can ferment easily because there is everything in there they need, and the juices are balanced.”

The couple’s efforts have earned them high praise from a number of visitors to the region and most recently the Winemaking and Horticulture Environmental Award.

“But to be honest,” Anna says, “I would rather Te Whare Ra was known for producing great wine, that just happens to be organic, rather than be known for producing organic wine.”

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Wine Happenings A monthly list of events within the Marlborough wine industry.

To have your event included in next month’s calendar please email details to tessan@xtra.co.nz

JULY 22

Marlborough Winter Field Day

AUGUST 5

Entries close for the New Zealand international Wine Show, 2011

25 – 27

Romeo Bragato Conference. Ellerslie Event Centre, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland. Including National Silver Secateurs competition and the Markham’s New Zealand Young Viticulturist of the Year

SEPTEMBER 3

Awards dinner – New Zealand International Wine Show – Crown Plaza Hotel – Auckland

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The Nelson First Fifteen Blind Tasting Competition – plus Degustation Dinner

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The Nelson First Fifteen tutored tasting

OCTOBER 1

Kaikoura Seafest - Kaikoura

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Marlborough Wine and Cuisine at Brancott Vineyard – details at: www.wine-marlborough.co.nz/ MarlboroughWineandCuisine.htm

28-30

Marlborough Wine Weekend – an iconic and exclusive 3-day event, highlighting the Marlborough Wine industry. More details at www.winemarlborough.co.nz/wineweekend/index.htm

NOVEMBER 6 – 10

The 6th International Specialised Conference on Sustainable Viticulture; Winery Waste and Ecologic Impacts Management – Convention Centre –

ORGANIC? Is your vineyard organic or are you thinking of going organic?

We now have an organic spraying unit and undervine weeder.

To discuss your requirements for the upcoming season call: Paul Brown 021 967 351 Craig Martin 021 846 625

Blenheim 9 – 11

International Aromatic Wine Competition (Canterbury A&P Show) – Christchurch

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Air New Zealand Wine Awards dinner – Langham Hotel - Auckland

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

P&C Vine Contracting Over 20 years combined experience

The carboNZero Programme Goes Out on its Own CertTM

BY TESSA NICHOLSON

The carboNZero programme has always been a part of Landcare Research – but the mother organisation has done such a good job of providing a service, that the programme is now becoming its own corporate identity.

The changeover took place on July 1 and Graham Carter has been appointed as CEO. He says the change gives the carboNZero programme more of a commercial and customer focus.

“The idea is to make it easier and quicker for the customer. Now the science and technical side is established and very credible, we can concentrate on delivery to the customer.”

The Marlborough wine industry has played a major role in the establishment of the programme, particularly with the New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC) and their premier brand Grove Mill.

NZWC was the first winery in the world to achieve carbon neutral certification for its winery and wine products. Graham says there are now 15 wine companies throughout the world, who have followed NZWC. Not all of those 15 are carboNZero certified, as some have chosen to take the other tact – which is CEMARS certification.

“CEMARS certification is a scheme where we measure and reduce a carbon footprint of an organisation. carboNZero certification is the same but goes to the next stage and says, now we have reduced our carbon footprint we want to become a carbon neutral company so we

buy offsets, so we can say we are carbon neutral.”

While the current recession has meant some companies are reluctant to spend the money to undertake one of the schemes, Graham says the eventual cost savings more than offsets the cost of certification.

“The NZWC is a perfect example. In their first year of their carboNZero certification, they saved $800,000 in their operations.

That’s because they were measuring how much electricity they were using, how much diesel, and looking at where it was all going. They now have a way of looking at things; they can cut back and work out ways of doing them differently or innovatively. So it’s a huge cost saving mechanism as well as a good environmental story.”

Certification looks very carefully at all aspects of the business that emit greenhouse gases. That includes; growing of the grapes, the delivery of fruit, the winemaking, the bottling and the freight.

“The only part that isn’t included is the distribution to the retail and disposal of the bottles. That is outside the scope.”

Typically the two biggest emitters of carbon are transport and electricity.

Hunter’s Wines are the latest to become

CEMARS certified and Graham says the certification process showed that while the normal advice of pulling plugs out at the wall and managing vehicular use within the vineyard created large savings, the weight of the wine bottle was also a major issue.

“The former are practical and simple things and they make a huge difference overall.”

When it comes to lighter weight bottles, they are a huge cost saving in terms of freight given you pay on weight. But the long term saving from lighter weight bottles is substantial. About 15% of Hunter’s carbon footprint will be reduced just by using lighter weight bottles.

“For example Hunter’s Winery uses about 792 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Just by reducing the bottle weight, they save around 35 tonnes, right off the bat.”

The impact of the carboNZero programme is growing, and will continue with the new stand-alone organisation. Graham says they are already established in Chile, Australia, UK, Dubai as well as New Zealand. Being the first programme in the world to get international accreditation, the next goal is to be the biggest and best in the world for supplying carbon footprint reducing programmes.

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News From Home and Away Marlborough Wine and Cuisine at Brancott This is shaping up to be an incredible World Cup event, here in Marlborough. The festival is being held at the Brancott Vineyard on October 6, with up to 4000 people from around the world expected. The latest news is the entertainment line-up. Anna Coddington (Fly My Pretties) is the headline act for the event, along with blues guitarist Paul Urbana Jones on the line-up as well. More acts are to be announced. Make sure you get your tickets especially if you have visitors from overseas staying with you during this period.

Pinot at Cloudy Bay

are looking for two further vineyards that would be prepared to convert part of their property to organics, so a comparison can be made between a conventional site, versus an organic.

The aim is to demonstrate the process of converting a vineyard to organic management and also provide a direct and fair comparison between organic and conventionally managed vineyards.

One of the two new vineyards will be here in Marlborough and the other in Central Otago. Registrations closed at the end of May and an announcement of the two vineyards selected is expected soon.

Hunter’s Awarded CEMARS Certification CERMARS stands for Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme. Hunter’s Wines is only the third winery in New Zealand to achieve this certification. Villa Maria in Marlborough and Palliser Estate Wines in Martinborough being the other two. CERMAS was developed from over 15 years of scientific research and in now recognised in over 50 major world economies. (For more, see story on page 27.)

Held at the end of last month, the 12th annual Pinot at Cloudy Bay was once again a fantastically run event, with some stunning wines, and a panel of experts, from left; Nick Blampied-Lane, Jane Skilton MW, Larry McKenna and Lau Chi Sun from Hong Kong. More on this event next issue.

Romeo Bragato 2011 This is being held in Auckland between August 25 and 27.

The annual wine industry event has a full range of seminars and topics relating to winegrowing and production – literally something for everyone. The national Fruitfed Silver Secateurs and Markham’s Young Viticulturist of the year will coincide with Bragato, and the event will culminate in the Bragato Wine Awards dinner.

Full details and registration available at www.bragato.org.nz Organic Focus Vineyards Great to see that the Sustainable Farming Fund has given funding to further expand the Organic Focus Vineyard programme. This is already up and running in Hawkes Bay at Mission Estate. Now Organic Winegrowers of New Zealand Disclaimer: The views and articles that are expressed and appear in Winepress are those entirely those of contributors and in no way reflect the policy of the Marlborough Winegrowers. Any advice given, implied or suggested should be considered on its merits, and no responsibility can be taken for problems arising from the use of such information.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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