Winepress - July 2013

WINEPRESS Issue No. 227 / July 2013

Vintage 2013

Marlborough Land Rush

Spiegelau 2013

Singapore Promising

Photo: Jim Tannock

The Official Magazine of

www.wine-marlborough.co.nz

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In this issue...

Regulars

Features

3 4

8

Editorial

Tasman Crop Met Report

7 Marketing Matters 15 Generation Y-ine 25 Wine Unwound 26 Wine Happenings From Home and 27 News 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 2013 It was bigger than most would have expected, in fact it was New Zealand’s largest vintage ever.

But that news is being treated positively, given the stocks of New Zealand wine were at their lowest levels prior to vintage.

p11

Preparing for Next Year The signs are we could be heading into an even larger vintage in 2014, given the conditions last December and January. Research on how to manage those potentially large crops was discussed at the recent NZWine Grape Days.

Land Rush in Marlborough After years of no sales, there has been a rush by wine companies to increase holdings here in Marlborough. Developed vineyards are high on the list, but bare blocks, when they are available, are also attracting attention.

p20

Marlborough’s First Albariño Wins Gold Stanley Estate was the first to plant Albariño in the South Island and their first vintage has won gold at the prestigious IWC. The success shows this could well be a variety to consider in the future.

p22

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Phone: Guy 0274 938 716 Ian 0274 375 222 Louis 0272 904 230

Produced by:

From the Editor

Wine Marlborough Free to all levy paying members Associate Members: $77 +GST Editor: Tessa Nicholson 16 Bank Street Blenheim T: 021 709 571 E: tessa.nicholson@me.com 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 Blair Gibbs: blair@spyvalley.co.nz James Jones: james@starborough.co.nz Ivan Sutherland: ivan@dogpoint.co.nz Ben Glover: ben@zephyrwine.com Ruud Maasdam: ruud@staetelandt.co.nz Clive Jones: cjones@nautilusestate.com Guy Lissaman: glissaman@xtra.co.nz

Among the many issues covered in the recent NZWinegrower Grape Days were; preventing powdery mildew epidemics, how to deal with the aftermath of a spring frost, managing yields in the year to come, the benefits of mechanical thinning, how to chose the right cane and of course the implications of the latest vintage.

Forums such as Grape Days and the upcoming Romeo Bragato Conference are important cogs in the wheel of the New Zealand wine industry. They allow for an examination of the many research projects being undertaken around the country, to be highlighted. And they also provide the arena for outcomes, in the way of tools for the industry, to be released.

But they are not the only avenues available to receive that information. The NZW website is another source – laden with fact sheets, advice and tools to help you in your role as a grower or winemaker.

Unfortunately though, few people seem to be aware of just what a bountiful resource the website actually is. Prior to the Grape Days, organisers questioned industry members on what they would like to see at the forum. Powdery mildew and how to prevent it, was a subject that was raised on more than one occasion. Some of those interviewed even questioned why NZW hadn’t undertaken research on the disease, as it was a major threat to the industry overall.

The subject was obviously on many people’s mind, following a season that saw outbreaks throughout the country. But just because it reared its ugly head this year, doesn’t mean that it’s a new problem. And just because some growers experienced it for the first time without knowing how to deal with it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t been the subject of intense research in the past.

In fact NZW has in-depth information on how to deal, prevent and minimise the impact, on its website.

The same with a myriad of other grape growing issues. There is also information on export markets, our SWNZ requirements, and some pretty nifty promotional material that can be used in overseas markets. Nearly every subject you may require information on has material available. From spray coverage to regional guides, grass grub beetle damage to export certification. All you have to do is go to the site, and search for the appropriate subject.

Admittedly, that hasn’t been as easy as it could have been in the past – the member’s site was more than a little difficult to manoeuvre your way around. But that has changed in the past six-weeks with the site having had a major overhaul. When you search for a subject, it actually comes up with the relevant material. It is perhaps the most valuable information source you could hope for and one that is literally just a keyboard tap away. Check it out, you should be impressed.

Laurin Gane: laurin.gane@xtra.co.nz Simon Clark: simon@clarkestate.com

TESSA NICHOLSON tessa.nicholson@me.com

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Met Report Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – June 2013

June

2013

June 2013 compared to LTA

June LTA

Period of LTA

June 2012

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

24.3 30.2

132% 91%

18.4 33.1

(1996-2012) (1996-2012)

3.2 21.3

Growing Degree Days Total July 12 to June 13-Max/Min¹ July 12 to June 13 – Mean²

1423.7 1450.2

103% 100%

1382.5 1444.7

(1996-2012) (1996-2012)

1193.4 1290.2

13.1 4.7 8.9

-0.6°C +1.4°C +0.3°C

13.7 3.3 8.6

(1986-2012) (1986-2012) (1986-2012)

13.3 2.2 7.8

Ground Frosts (<= -1.0°C) 11

6.3 less 1.5 less

17.3 12.5

(1932-1985) (1986-2012)

15

Air Frosts (<0.0°C) 3

7.4 less 2.7 less

10.4 5.7

(1932-1985) (1986-2012)

7

Sunshine hours 111.2 73% Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2013 1274.1 105%

151.6 91.8 205.2 1214

(1930-2012) 1981 1959 (1930-2012)

173.9

Rainfall (mm) 114.6 194% Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2013 411.1 132%

59 8.0 154.9 310.4

(1930-2012) 1974 1943 (1930-2012)

Evapotranspiration – mm

29.1

92%

31.6

(1996-2012)

42.9

Avg. Daily Windrun (km)

159.3

69%

230.4

(1996-2012)

219.7

Mean Maximum (°C) Mean Minimum (°C) Mean Temp (°C)

1184.7 80.2 266.0

Mean soil temp – 10cm

6.9

+1.2°C

5.7

(1986-2012)

4.6

Mean soil temp – 30cm

9.4

+1.4°C

8.0

(1986-2012)

7.0

¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures The weather in Blenheim during June 2013 was slightly warmer than average, with high rainfall, low sunshine, and little wind (other areas in Marlborough experienced some of the strongest winds on record).

Rainfall June 2013 was the third consecutive month to record well above average rainfall. The June total of 114.6 mm is the Table 2: Weekly rainfall totals during June 2013 1st -7th June 8th -14th June 15th -21st June 22nd -28th June 29th -30th June (2 days) Total

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13.0 mm 7.2 mm 83.6 mm 10.8 mm 0 mm 114.6 mm

sixth highest total on record for the 84 year period 1930-2013. The highest June total of 154.9 mm was recorded in 1943, and a very close second was 2012 with 154.8 mm. Rain was recorded on 12 days during June, including nine consecutive days from the 15th to 23rd June.

Total rainfall for the six month’s January to June 2013 was 411.1 mm, or 132% of the long-term average. This total was slightly higher than recorded for the first six months of 2010 with 409.0 mm. In contrast January to June 2012 recorded 266.0 mm rain, or 145.1 mm less than the same period in 2013. The 2013 total is the highest January to June total since 1995 (595.3 mm), the wettest year on record for Blenheim.

Total rain for the 12 month’s July 2012 to June 2013 was 725.1 mm, or 113%

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

of the long-term average of 644 mm.

However, although the 12-month rainfall total was well above average the same cannot be said for the rainfall over the growing season September 2012 to April 2013. Total rainfall during this eight month period was 319.9 mm or only 79% of the long-term average of 405.1 mm.

The monthly rainfall graph (Figure 1) last appeared in Met Report three months ago. With high rainfall over the past three months I thought it worth updating the graph. Figure 1 highlights the high rainfall at either end of the season. Figure 2 presents the seasonal water balance, which is the difference in a running total of rainfall and evapotranspiration over a 3-month period. With low rainfall and high evapotranspiration in most months from November 2012 to March 2013, the seasonal water balance plummeted from a position of water surplus at the beginning of November to be in a major water deficit by mid January. Figure 2 indicates that the accumulated water deficit was substantially higher in the past season compared with the previous two seasons, right through until late March.

As a consequence of the high rainfall from April to June 2013 the water balance recovered very rapidly.

Temperature The mean temperature for June of 8.9°C was 0.3°C above the long-term average of 8.6°C (1986-2012). However, Table 1 indicates that the mean maximum was below average and the mean minimum well above average. The daily range in temperature for June was 8.4°C; 2°C lower than average. Average weekly temperatures started out very warm at the beginning of June and progressively got cooler (Table 3).

Frosts June 2013 recorded 11 ground frosts and three air frosts. These totals are slightly below the average number recorded over the past 27 years as indicated in Table 1.

The last ten days of June recorded seven ground frosts and three days on which the temperature was between zero and

Figure 1: Blenheim rainfall for the 12 months July 2012 to June 2013 compared to the long-term average

one hour of sunshine. However, the last eight days of June were very sunny and made the months sunshine total slightly more respectable. These last eight days recorded 63.3 hours sunshine, or 57% of the month’s total.

Wind Average daily wind-run in Blenheim for June 2012 was 159.8 km, and average wind speed of 5.13 km/hr. The long-term average wind-run for June is 230.0 km.

The June 2013 total is the lowest on record for Blenheim over the 18 years

Figure 2: Seasonal water balance for Blenheim: difference between 3-month totals of rainfall and potential evapotranspiration

(1996-2013) that wind-run has been recorded at a height of 10 metres. This continues the pattern of low wind-run that Blenheim has experienced in most months over the past three years.

It is remarkable how sheltered Blenheim is from Southerlies that can affect Southern Marlborough and pass through Cook Straight and buffet Wellington.

During the storm in the third week of June the NIWA weather station located at Cape Campbell recorded a maximum wind speed of 150 km/hr on the 20th June.

In contrast the maximum wind speed in Blenheim on the 20th June was only

minus one. However, none of the frosts during June were particularly cold. The coldest ground frost was -3.6°C recorded on 28th June. In contrast the coldest ground frost in May was a very cold -6.8°C on 29th May. The ground frosts in June 2012 were also quite a bit colder than in June 2013.

2013. The lowest June total of 91.8 hours was recorded in June 1981. The first three weeks of June 2013 were very overcast and at the end of the third week Blenheim appeared to be heading for an all time record low sunshine total for June (Table 4). Nine days during the first three weeks of June recorded less than

Sunshine June 2013 recorded 111.2 hours sunshine; the sixth lowest total on record for Blenheim for the 84 years 1930 to

Table 4: Weekly sunshine hours during June 2013 compared to average

Table 3: Average weekly temperatures during June 2013

Average sun for 35.5 hours for 7 days

Hours above or below average

1st -7th June

22.2 hours

-13.3 hours

8th -14th June

17.7 hours

-17.8 hours

10.9°C +2.3°C

15th -21st June

8.0 hours

-27.5 hours

8th -14th June

9.9°C

+1.3°C

22nd -28th June 45.9 hours

+10.4 hours

15th -21st June

9.3°C

+0.7°C

22nd -28th June

6.2°C

-2.4°C

29th -30th June (2 days)

17.4 hours

+7.3 hours

-2.2°

Total

111.2 hours (152 hours LTA) -40.8 hours

6.4°C

Campbell weather station recorded 1474 km of total wind-run; this is an average wind speed over the 24 hours of 61.4 km/hr. The Blenheim weather station recorded 235.9 km of wind-run and an average wind speed of 9.8 km/hr on the same day.

Rob Agnew

1st -7th June

29th -30th June (2 days)

44.6 km/hr. On the 21st June the Cape

Plant & Food Research

The Met Report was brought to you by

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Marketing Matters WITH MARCUS PICKENS

Celebrating our Young Viticulturists Chances are you have now heard of the Young Viticulturist event, or more appropriately, the Moore Stephens Markhams Young Viticulturist Marlborough 2013 event. It is now in its eighth year and I am personally delighted about what it is delivering to our industry.

These events take a huge amount of work and perseverance from a wide range of people, who often give time over years to finally make an impression, gain sponsors and attract contestants. Wine Marlborough is one part in the circle of effort that goes into building an event of this magnitude, with its very beginnings originally emerging from within the industry itself.

What is behind the success and what is the potential for this event? It goes from strength to strength each year, and with the support of a key group of national and Marlborough based sponsors that are underpinned by Moore Stephens Markhams team, the event is in good hands.

This year we will have another full field of high calibre contestants. Recently

we got them together to explain what the compeittion entails, and also to hear from previous winners. It is important that potential entrants understand what the competition means in the greater sense. For example, two of the previous winners who attended the get together, had also been winners of the National Young Viticulturist of the Year. They each received an amazing and valuable package provided by NZSVO to travel around major wine regions, spending time with prominent industry figures. The knowledge and experience gained can never be underestimated.

Even the local prizes aren’t to be sneezed at and include a $1,000 cash first prize, $500 cash second prize and $250 cash third prize.

The winner also takes home a conference ticket to the Romeo Bragato Conference (28-30 August), two dinner tickets to the Romeo Bragato dinner and Spiegelau glasses from winejobsonline.com.

The regional event will be held on the 26th July at the Marlborough Research Centre. The Hortisports is the most public

friendly spectator event, where the eight contestant’s race against each other and the clock to compete in fun and testing tasks. A perfect one to come and view and cheer on your favourite contestant.

Thanks to the national coordinator, Emma Taylor and our regional event team overseen by Stephen Dempster, Stuart Dudley, Simon Bishell and team Wine Marlborough.

What else is possible from this event?

Well it would be logical to see if we cannot use the success of the Young Viticulturist event to seed a Young Winemaker of the Year. All it would take is vision and support from individuals within the industry prepared to get involved.

Thanks to our local Young Vit sponsors who are; Gordon Handy Machinery, Marlborough Research Centre (MRC), Ormond Nurseries, Gascoigne Wicks, ANZ, Fruitfed and Waterforce.

National sponsors are Moore Stephens Markhams, Empak, Orchard-Rite, Biomin, Omnia, Constellation, Waterforce and Eco Trellis.

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Vintage 2013 TESSA NICHOLSON

Wineries are happy, growers should be happy and export markets are likely to be happy as well.

Vintage 2013 has restored stocks that were perilously low towards the end of last year and will allow wine companies to fulfil the demand they were struggling to meet in 2012.

Marlborough produced more than 250,000 tonnes of fruit this year, which is 33 percent more than was produced in the region last year.

The figure is astounding, given most people Winepress spoke to during and after vintage said they judged yields to be about average if not a little under - especially in sub regions like the Awatere. It would be fair to say many have been surprised by the final figures released at the NZWine Grape Days last month.

Admittedly, that 33 percent increase compares this year to 2012, a season of very low yields due to poor weather conditions at flowering.

Overall, New Zealand produced 345,000 tonnes, the largest vintage ever, with every region apart from Auckland showing a rise in yields.

With 251,680 tonnes of fruit harvested in Marlborough, this region makes up 75 percent of the country’s total.

Sauvignon Blanc at 210,000 tonnes is by far the largest variety – no surprises there. Pinot Noir for both table and sparkling was in second place, and Chardonnay third.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

tonnes, our exports were only 80 million

levels is that in May this year, we saw

litres per year. Now they are 170 million

2.2 million litres of vintage 2013 wine

litres and with domestic sales of 50

exported from the country. The highest

million litres, we are talking total sales of

level of export vintage wines in a May

220 million litres.”

before then, was only 500,000 litres. So

Towards the end of 2012, sales to all

we are talking more than four times the

but the US and Canadian markets were

volume of current vintage wine going

sliding off – which Philip says was due

out in May than in any previous year.

to a lack of stock. Bulk wine sales fell

And it wasn’t all bulk wine, a lot of it was

In terms of yields, the national average

considerably and prices per litre rose

packaged product as well.”

was 9.7 tonnes per hectare. The long

accordingly.

The other difference that has to be taken

term average is 9. The last time New

“So we have seen a shift,” Philip said.

into account is the industry was prepared

Zealand reached an average yield of

“Unpackaged exports peaked at about

for this vintage, in terms of markets.

over 10 tonnes was back in 1998.

35% of our total shipments a little over

When over supply first reared its head

The previous largest vintage in New

12 months ago. It is down now to about

back in 2008, it was a different situation.

Zealand was back in 2011, with a total

28%. That is a positive sign.”

Wineries were not expecting the yields

of 328,000 tonnes, with Marlborough

While the bulk price per litre reached an

to be as high as they were back then

contributing 245,000 of those. At that

all time low back in 2010 of around $2.20,

with almost 50,000 tonnes more fruit

stage there was concern about demand

it has now risen to over $4 this year. On

coming in than had been planned for. A

meeting that level of supply, which

top of that packaged wine sales have

considerable amount of effort has gone

quickly proved to be a misguided fear.

increased between 4 and 5 percent.

into expanding current markets and

NZWinegrower’s CEO Philip Gregan says

While some may fear the increase in

opening new ones since then, with the

the effort undertaken to grow our markets

vintage, Philip says wineries appear to be

issue in the past 12 months being the

since 2008 has paid off and the increase

happy with it, especially as their stocks

lack of stock available to supply them.

this vintage is necessary to ensure

were probably at their lowest level ever,

That should not be a problem in the

market demand is filled.

prior to vintage 2013.

coming 12 months.

“In 2008 when we harvested 285,000

“One of the best indicators of the stock

VARIETY 2012 2013 CHANGE

% CHANGE

SAUVIGNON BLANC

162,910 210,077 47,167

29%

PINOT NOIR

9,859

17,287 7,429

75%

CHARDONNAY 7,012

10,109 3,097

44%

PINOT GRIS

5,661

9,503

3,841

68%

RIESLING

2,125

2,888

763

36%

TOTAL

188,649 251,680 63,032

33%

wine people are our business

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Planning for Next Year RESEARCH BY MIKE TROUGHT AND MARK ELTHOM, REPORTED BY TESSA NICHOLSON

The ramifications of a potential 40% increase in Marlborough’s yields in 2014 means every grower and winery has to vigilantly prepare No one wants to see a return to oversupply. That goes without saying.

Yet the potential is there at the moment.

At the recent NZWine Grape Days, the message was very clear. Conditions during flowering last December and January were some of the warmest ever.

Those temperatures will have a direct impact on the number of inflorescence primodia and in turn, bunch numbers this coming season. Given the warmth during initiation, there are three potential scenarios for yields in 2014.

Low temperatures at flowering could see yields of below the long-term average.

Average temperatures could see yields of anywhere between 10 and 20 percent above the average, and a very warm flowering period could see those yields rise by up to 40 percent.

Being slightly lateral here, if we were to add 40 percent more to the 2013 vintage figures for Marlborough, we are potentially facing a vintage of 350 – 355 thousand tonnes next year. That is more than the entire country produced this year – and let’s not forget that 2013’s vintage was the largest ever.

So how do we ensure that doesn’t happen? The one thing we can’t control is the temperature at flowering. So we have to look carefully at how we manage the vines between now and September – while also preparing for how we

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manage the fruit once it has set.

One of the easiest options for growers, is to limit the number of canes when pruning this year. As mentioned in June’s Winepress, many growers chose to increase cane numbers last year, fearing a second low yield in a row. So many who had dropped from four to three, or even two canes, last year went back to four. It may be prudent for many to now go back to two or three canes, especially with the potential for high yields in 2014.

Dropping from four to two canes, can reduce potential yield by 55 to 60 percent in the first season, research undertaken at Plant & Food here in Blenheim shows.

Yields will gradually increase again in subsequent seasons, but will even out to between 75 and 80 percent of a vine that has been constantly pruned at four canes. Dr Mike Trought said; “It seems to stay around that despite quite different seasonal yields. The ratio remains the same.”

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However going from two-canes up to four canes will see the yield rise by up to 27 percent more than a vine that has been constantly pruned to four canes.

The question has to be asked, is that why Marlborough’s yields were higher than the long-term average this year? Is it because so many growers made the decision to take those former two-cane vines back up to four?

What happens though if despite pruning decisions, your yield, come January looks set to be too high? Fruit thinning manually is an option – but it is timely and costly. The other alternative and one that is gaining a lot of credence here in Marlborough is machine thinning.

Research undertaken over recent years has shown despite the trauma the vine undergoes by being beaten early in the season, there is little to no impact on the composition of the ensuing wines.

(In fact the colour of machine thinned Pinot Noir was seen to be deeper, than the control). Machine thinning also appears to lower botrytis levels, and it is highly successful in lowering yields – up to 38% with heavy thinning and 17% with light thinning. Machine thinning removes berries from the bunch, rather than whole bunches from the vine. About 40 to 50% of the long term reduction in yield is what is knocked from the vine during thinning, the balance is a

A premium range of leaf remover and vine trimmers. reduction in berry size and bunch/ berry shrivel in the canopy Machines used in the trials include Gregoire, Braud and Pellenc. Each can be set to thin lightly or heavily, although there is no way at this stage to dial up an exact amount of fruit to be dropped.

Lincoln PhD student Mark Eltom has been studying the impact that outer arms have on the bunch size in Sauvignon Blanc here in Marlborough – and how to control them.

The outer arms (as seen in photo) not only cause variability in yield, they also play a role in the variability of grape composition at harvest.

“On a bunch level you can have a difference in soluble solids of up to 6 brix between inner and outer arms,” Mark said.

But in terms of managing yields – the outer arms can add anywhere up to 40 percent more to the yield if present.

“That wouldn’t be for every bunch in a vineyard – it is the maximum for Sauvignon Blanc.”

But anything that adds to a potential high yield, is something that needs to be noted.

His research has already shown that the warmer the temperatures during initiation, the higher percentage of outer arms in the following season – up to 43% higher. Which means in 2014 the Sauvignon Blanc bunches will be spouting far more outer arms than they did in 2013 and average bunch size will be up.

“We wanted to see what the influence of carbohydrates was on your current season of growth, on pre-formed inflorescence primordial structures. We laid down the canes and girdled pre bud break. So we left a known amount of cane, say 5cm, 10 cm or 20cm, allowing different amounts of carbohydrates to be available to those inflorescence structures.”

The result? As you decreased the amount of girdled cane, there were decreases in; flower number, bunch number, berry number per bunch – and a decrease in the presence of an outer arm.

“So what these results indicate is, that you can affect pre formed inflorescence primordial structures by restricting carbohydrate availability in the current season of growth,” Mark said.

How we do that in practice will need some research.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Wineries Rush to Shore Up Land TESSA NICHOLSON

With very little suitable grape land left in Marlborough, the rush to shore up future supply is obvious in the number of recent vineyard sales.

Following the 2008/09 over supply, sales of vineyards and bare blocks suitable for vineyards dried up almost overnight. That changed last year, following on from the very low yields of 2012. All of a sudden buyers were back in the market looking for established vineyards, especially those where the fruit wasn’t already contracted.

That rush has continued into this year, with some of the country’s major companies behind the latest purchases.

Recent sales include: • Marisco Vineyards – purchased the 2,000ha Leefield property last year and have said they are looking for more established vineyards • Delegat’s purchased a 121ha property in Kaituna last year – 102 ha planted • They also purchased 90 ha of bare land in the Awatere this year and are believed to be in negotiations for another large property in the Wairau Valley • Saint Clair have purchased close to 15ha on the Wairau Plains – 12.2ha planted • Babich have purchased a 65ha property in the Awatere - 49.5ha planted • A syndicate has purchased a 100ha

property in the Awatere – 85ha planted – and leased it to a wine company (one of a number of purchases by the same syndicate) • Mission Estate purchased 100ha in Awatere – 73ha planted • Craggy Range and Rothschilds purchased 26ha in Rapaura • Foley Family Wine Group bought The NZ Wine Company and associated vineyards – and has stated they are looking at buying more land • A Waiheke Winery is looking at a large Awatere property Dave Stark, property valuer for Alexander Hayward Ltd, says the majority of buyers want established vineyards to ensure they have supply available straight away.

“The bulk of the (recent) sales are productive vineyards. There are a few companies that are purchasing bare land, but then they still have that time lag of having to wait until the fruit comes on stream.”

The other concern for companies wishing to develop a vineyard, is the lack of available vines, given most nurseries are sitting on waiting lists of up to two years.

Add to that the limited amount of suitable bare land left in Marlborough and the reasons for purchasing established vineyards becomes clear.

“There is a limitation to expansion, especially in the recognised or established areas. If you think about Rapaura there are limited opportunities for people to develop the land. There is not a lot of infill stuff available. And then when you start to look outside the central plains the risk factors start to go up. Frost risk and in the Awatere, the lack of water is a limitation,” Dave says.

While last year’s low yields started the land rush – the major impetus is the growing popularity of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

“We are not seeing anything like these sorts of sales in any other region of New Zealand. It is being led here, by Sauvignon Blanc.”

Bayley’s Real Estate agent Tim Crawford says the turn around in the past 12 months has been nothing short of incredible.

“There were a number of blocks on the market last year, without a (fruit) contract and a house and they have all been snapped up. The demand has been from wine companies both within and outside of Marlborough as well as a number of established growers looking at securing future supply.”

He agrees with Dave that the region is running out of suitable land, pushing

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future investors into more “potentially

control over vineyard management and

for blocks without houses. The second

marginal” areas further south and up the

price.”

wave which we are seeing now, is from

valleys.

There is also interest coming from

people looking to say retire here, who

“The things that make these areas

outside of New Zealand, Tim says,

want a house and grapes. Since 2008

marginal are not just the frost risk and

particularly from China. Just last month

when we have been marketing a property

lack of water, but the growing degree

the Overseas Investment Office gave

with a house, we would have advertised

days. The cool spring temperatures

approval for the sale of more than 336 ha

the house first and then mentioned that

during flowering make for lower yields.”

of Awatere land to a Chinese company.

there were some grapes included with

Alongside the large number of blocks

O:TU Investments, owned by Min Jia and

the property. Now though the vineyard is

that have sold in the past 12 months, Tim

Xiumei Lin received approval to buy two

back in the headline – we are marketing

says there are still buyers from outside

blocks in the Awatere - a 256ha vineyard

that first and the house second.”

Marlborough, keen on securing large

and a 79ha block of land they intend

Given the latest vintage figures – higher

blocks of up to 200 hectares. There are a

developing into a vineyard.

than most expected, it will be interesting

couple of reasons for that.

As for vineyards on the market, Tim

to see whether the rush to buy land

“After 2008, there was no difficulty in

says there are very few large blocks that

continues. Many wineries are believed

securing or purchasing grapes. But that

are free of contract, which is what most

to have full tanks for the first time in two

has now changed, so they are having

buyers are looking for. Although there is

years – and the potential for a larger than

to buy land for themselves. And I think

also growing interest in lifestyle blocks,

average yield next year, may stymie the

there is a little bit of concern from some,

something that has been hard to market

urgency to increase production.

about future grape prices. By purchasing

in recent years.

their own vineyards, companies can have

“The first wave of the rejuvenation was

Buyers are scurrying to buy vineyards in Marlborough, to secure future supply.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Generation Y-ine TESSA NICHOLSON

Rebecca Eddie - Matador Estate Born in the Waikato and schooled in Whangarei, Rebecca admits she knew nothing what-so-ever about the world of wine. Apart from the fact that as she grew older, she liked to drink it. Instead her school years were focused on gaining the qualifications to become a Chemical and Process Engineer. She excelled in maths, physics and chemistry, all requirements for the tough four-year degree that could be obtained in either Auckland or Christchurch.

Canterbury was her choice for study, but being from Whangarei meant she gained important summer holiday work at the Marsden Point Oil Refinery.

“We had to do 120 days of relevant industry work, which is why I worked there for a summer. It was loads of fun.

One project was trying to keep the dye dosing rate on petroleum consistent – I don’t know if I realised beforehand that 91 and 96 were different colours. Another was working with the diesel plugging point on engine filters. It was great working alongside the other process engineers who had graduated years before, doing the practical stuff. Plus the refinery is right on the Whangarei harbour, and so you can climb these huge distillation columns and look out over the ocean. It was pretty stunning.”

The following summer she was employed

by Fonterra at the Kauri Dairy Factory, again to undertake a number of small projects also alongside other chemical engineers. What a difference from the oil refinery.

“It was all about hygiene obviously at the dairy factory. So I had come from the big, dirty, extremely dangerous oil refinery to

dealing with food. It was a completely different situation. Again I got a whole lot of little projects to work on alongside the chemical engineer – the economical use of clean and treated water, and ways to recover it is a big issue in dairy factories.

I learned a lot about the costings and justifications of projects, which I really enjoyed.”

However she admits that by the time she got to the end of the last year of the degree, something wasn’t gelling. “I just didn’t feel this burning desire any more and realised I didn’t actually want to do this for the rest of my life.”

So she began exploring other options.

Was there something she could use her degree for, outside of process engineering?

“I saw there was a post graduate diploma at Lincoln for Viticulture and Oenology.

I thought, now that sounds interesting!

The idea of being able to travel with your job, sounded great. Then I found out that Andy Frost (Pernod Ricard here in Marlborough) was a process engineer.

Maybe I could use my background and this post grad diploma to link the two together. So that’s what I did.”

As one of the youngest on the post grad course, Rebecca was also one of only a few New Zealanders.

“There were a lot of foreigners , English – lots of English, Americans, South Africans and Canadians. And a lot of older people pursuing a second career.”

Despite her love of science while at school – the one subject Rebecca had never taken was biology – pretty important when it comes to viticulture.

“I really had to rack the brains with that

area. But we had some great lecturers, in particular Marlene Jaspers. She taught us about grapevine pests and diseases and she made it interesting. There was also a winery engineering paper – I did OK in that one!”

Given her background it’s not surprising that at the time she was considering a career in winemaking – rather than viticulture.

“I was thinking I would go from process engineering to winemaking. But then I thought, if I didn’t want to be an engineer, why would I want to go into another engineering type setting. And I found out I loved being outside and working with the vines. The big turning point for me, was a field trip we did after the first term.

It was here to Marlborough and Dominic (Pecchenino) painted this picture of the Matador Estate Graduate Programme.

When I was doing the engineering degree there were all sorts of graduate programmes offered to students. But this was the only one I had heard about in the wine industry. It was way ahead of its time really. It offered me a job straight after university for two years and also the chance to travel. There was no commitment after the two years, so if I really didn’t like it, I could maybe decide to go back to winemaking.”

She was the fifth Lincoln graduate to be taken into the programme and readily admits it has been the making of her career. Despite the very first day on the job being one she would prefer to forget.

“I had never done any vineyard work, so I was pretty green. I walked in on my first day and Dominic said go to this row and bud rub – the whole row. I had never

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done any bud rubbing before – and if you know what it’s like as a job – it’s terrible.

I wasn’t dressed right, it was incredibly painful and he had picked the longest row he could find,” she says.

The entire year was a baptism of fire in many ways as Rebecca took all her theoretical experience and put it into practice. From bud rubbing, to fruit thinning to pruning, it was very much a hands on programme that set her up for the future. Besides Dominic she says the rest of the Matador Estate staff have all mentored her over the years.

“The amazing thing about Matador, is that no one ever leaves. We don’t have staff changing, unless someone retires. Like Francis Hanrahan (Chips), who has just semi retired. He has been a fantastic teacher to me over the last 10 years especially with all things practical.

John Webber and Dominic gave us all a great career starting point with the grad program. That first year was pretty amazing.”

As part of the graduate programme, Rebecca spent one year here in Marlborough, then travelled to Langhorne Creek in South Australia where she spent nine months. If her first

day on the job in Marlborough was an eye opener, Langhorne Creek was even more so. Especially with temperatures hitting the 37 deg mark.

“The first week I was there the boss used to send me home around 11, so I could have a sleep.

There was a heat spike when I arrived. And having come from here (Marlborough) which was about 20 degrees if you were lucky, it was terrible.

You have to be covered from head to toe, because of health and safety, which means you are even hotter. It was exhausting. Oh and the flies – you had to get used to having them sit on you and stay there or else you’d spent the whole day swatting them away.”

In terms of the differences between there and Marlborough, they were substantial.

“Here we work hard to expose the fruit. Over there it was all about shading it to protect from sunburn. There was less tractor work for me and more hands on work in the vineyard – in the heat. I learned the importance of water and how lucky we are here to have it on tap – literally.”

From South Australia to leg three of the graduate programme –America – Santa Maria to be exact. Rebecca got her first ever vintage experience, as a cellar hand at Central Coast Wine Services. She absolutely loved it and once the programme was over was asked if she would like to stay on for another year. With no job back in New Zealand, she didn’t need to think twice.

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It was in the second year that she really hit her straps with all her former degree, plus her recent experience coming to the fore.

“I did a lot of projects for the winery.

I wrote all the standard operating procedures (SOP’s) for the winery from scratch, so that took a while but which meant I learnt every process in the place.

Then I was involved in the federal audit for the winery, which was massive. Then I became the alternating proprieter (AP) coordinator.”

A title which probably doesn’t mean too much here in New Zealand. But for Rebecca it meant she was coordinating all the small winemakers using the facilities within part of the winery. These clients were producing some of the most expensive Pinot Noir in the region – many of them had featured in the movies Sideways, that is credited with turning the American consumer away from Merlot and towards Pinot Noir.

“It wasn’t always the easiest dealing with some of the customers, but I loved it.

The boss said I was good at it because I called a spade a spade. I did get called a steamroller – in a positive way. I don’t know how you can be called a steam

roller in a positive way, but he said he meant it as a compliment. I had to learn about customer service, having to be nice when you really didn’t want to be.

I was the boss, organising logistics and I had fabulous people to work with, particularly the Mexicans. It was a real challenge.”

But unfortunately her Visa ran out and she had to consider what to do next. With a visa to work in the UK, she planned to travel for an undetermined period. That was cut short though when Dominic rang and offered her the assistant viticulturist job at Matador Estate, starting in six months time.

So from winery logistics back to the vineyards of Marlborough in June 2007.

“I really did love the logistics part of it. I guess I was doing what came naturally, if you listen to my sister and boyfriend – I was being bossy and organising. I enjoy making things run the way they should.”

Yet she has no regrets about coming back into the viticultural side of the industry. Even if the year she took on the position as assistant viticulturist was the precursor to one of the hardest times the industry has faced. Vintage 2008 was difficult, the effects of that have impacted

every year since, until the recent vintage – perhaps the easiest she has encountered in her career.

“It was just the best summer, the fruit was great, we didn’t need to thin, we cropped well AND we got all the fruit in before the rain. It was perfect. And after 2012, which was probably the worst summer, this year has been a relief. Plus I guess I am becoming more relaxed every year. Our biggest problem is Mother Nature and as long as we prepare well – the rest is out of our control. You have to work with the good and the bad conditions. Despite the fact you have to do the same things year in year out, from bud rubbing, to pruning to vintage, at least it makes sure no two years are ever the same”.

Her path from school to assistant vineyard manager for Matador Estate has been a varied one, but along the way there have been no regrets.

“I would never rule out changing – given how I have already changed my career path at least twice. But at the moment – I just love what I am doing.”

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Make Training Formal ANNABELLE LATZ

Three Marlborough wineries have committed themselves to educating students completing the cellar hand course at NMIT, which is run in conjunction with WINZ. Constellation, Pernod Ricard and Indevin also have in-house training schemes for all cellar hands, and believe the opportunity for a formal apprenticestyle scheme should be available for all aspiring cellar hands throughout Marlborough’s wineries.

Constellation’s senior winemaker for Kim Crawford, Anthony Walkenhorst says a formal recognised apprenticebased course will be a great method for recruiting more local cellar staff.

“From the classroom to the winery; it’s a good combination. Lots of cellar skills are ones you learn ‘on the job’ but it’s good if they have had a classroom base too.”

Constellation hires 80% of the 38 annual harvest cellar staff from overseas, seeing an overall 10% return of staff for harvest the following year.

“Where possible we always look to hire locals, and extend their contracts on,” says Anthony.

Aside from harvest time, he says cellar hand recruitment requires prior experience.

“From our point of view it’s good to get staff who have a bit of a background.

And it’s about trying to find people with a good attitude and a good work ethic.”

An apprentice course would give formal recognition to a skill to open career paths.

“There is definitely room to up skill our cellar hands, and give them formal recognition.”

Careers as operations managers,

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supervisors, lab workers, cellar managers, and gaining expertise in sales and marketing are all options with a cellar hand base.

“To know how the wine is made is a huge benefit. A lot of cellar hands have no desire to become winemakers.”

“To me, it comes down to attitude. If they are willing to learn and work hard, they will go places.”

Andrea Johnston Taylor is Business and Communication Liaison Officer at NMIT, and says this cellar hand course for WINZ clients provides the cadets accumulated NZQA points through the course.

The employment rate post course has been at least 85% each year, and for the past two years has seen a 100% employment rate, with all cadets being employed in Marlborough.

Despite the success of this course, currently this is the only formal cellar hand training scheme in Marlborough.

Eric Hughes, Pernod Ricard’s New Zealand Winery Manager says the WINZ programme is working well, and achieving a good grounding of the industry.

He said the pool “needs to be widened” to school leavers, or those with a natural interest in the industry.

“We would like to look after the community that we are in, by investing in and taking on as many people as we can in the region. Securing good staff is a challenge. If someone is passionate

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

about the industry, they look after the product.”

He says there is no denying that the big number of international cellar hands adds to the buzz of harvest, but Eric’s biggest challenge every year is finding local people with local knowledge.

“It’s an industry problem, and something the industry should be working on together.”

He says a formal cellar hand training course would help with the reinvestment of local skill and knowledge.

“I think it’s a good idea, everyone knows what an apprenticeship is.”

At Pernod Ricard the in-house cellar hand teaching system involves a set of training metrics.

“It’s important to have trained staff, and good trained staff who are confident in what they do.”

Ranging from levels one to four, skills cover all the basic cellar operations, health and safety, forklift driving, and compliance like confined space entry.

“They are taught well, in a staged approach. People need to be aware of the need for supervisors in the vineyards and cellar.”

Some of the 30% who return each year may be employed during the rest of the time in the farming sector or pruning.

“There is opportunity for people to work in the vineyard and winery, to join it together.”

If wineries can make a commitment to apprentices, it is a win-win for everybody,

he believes. The theory side would be a specialty of NMIT, and wineries would need to give support to this.

“It needs commitment from the industry, and if we have the likes of the partnering to deliver the theory side, then the wineries can deliver the practical side.”

Indevin’s General Manager Operations, Deane Caughey encourages an apprenticeship-style cellar handing course that can work across all wineries.

“NMIT is really the key to this initiative.

We are keen to get on board with them.”

Deane says the willingness within the wine industry to share ideas between companies is very appealing, and this attitude would lend well to setting up an apprentice-based cellar hand qualification.

“To have cellar hand training and qualification equivalence between all the wineries would be brilliant, we would support that absolutely.”

Indevin takes on 90 cellar and lab staff for harvest, of which 26 were locals this year, and overseas recruits encompassed 15 different nationalities. In the past three years 12 students from the WINZ course have worked at Indevin’s winery, and five of these staff are still with them.

“The focus for us with recruits is attitude and aptidude.”

The Indevin in-house training scheme enables cellar hands to reach level 4 in cellar hand skills.

“If people want to make a career in production we have the ability to do so.”

Indevin offers two career pathways;

production and winemaking. Career paths in technology, leadership, training roles, quality checking, and health and safety are all available.

“Different people have different strengths.

What we want is to be able to cater to their individual strengths.”

He says there is lack of support and opportunities from Industry Training Organisations for formal cellar hand training in a winery, compared to viticulture training opportunities.

“There is a huge void currently and an opportunity exists to fill this.”

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Singapore Has A Lot To Offer TESSA NICHOLSON

One of the most recently accredited Masters of Wine, Annette Scarfe, believes the Singaporean market has a lot to offer Marlborough wineries.

As a consultant to restaurants in both Asia and London, Annette believes Singapore is currently one of the most exciting wine markets. While not as “sophisticated” as the UK market, the thirst for knowledge is immense as is the growing wealth.

Despite only having a population of 5.3 million people, 15 percent of Singapore’s population are rated as millionaires. That is the highest percentage of anywhere in the world. Add to that the opening of two casinos three years ago, and it has led to an expanded wine market.

“These high rollers go into the casinos and pay a huge sum of money for membership. The top tier costs a million dollars and for that those people can eat and drink whatever they want, free of charge. So it has completely changed the mind-set and mentality of restaurants there, because you can afford to have a lot of different wines on the list. And if people are not paying they are willing to try things. So not only has the influence of the casinos made people more experimental, but it has brought in a lot of sommeliers from overseas who are more open to expanding wine lists.”

That is now filtering out to the general consumer, who Annette says is keen to be educated. “People are keen to learn and try different things. Whereas in China, it is very difficult to get beyond Bordeaux and Burgundy.”

Food and wine matching could be the way to break in to the market she says.

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

“They love to match their wine

Annette says there is a

with food and are always

misconception that you

asking ‘What can I eat with

shouldn’t work with a

this particular wine?’ So it

distributor that already has

could be a good marketing

wines similar to your own.

ploy to match your wine with

“That’s not important at

a local dish.”

all. As buyers in London

The most successful wine

we tend to work with a lot

companies are those that

of the same people, but

run wine dinners, with a

we want our wine lists

winemaker or wine expert on

to look different as well.

hand to discuss the varietals

So it doesn’t matter if the

being tasted.

distributor has a similar

“It is fascinating how much

product as they will be

impact the advice of people

supplying a number of

in the know can have on the

different restaurants.”

consumers,” she says. “If

But one word of advice

a wine expert says to buy

when considering a distributor – how willing are

something, then they start buying it.”

food. The fact that the acid levels are a

they to deliver on say a daily basis?

Perhaps the biggest obstacle in the

little bit lower and more rounded, means

“Not many restaurants in London have

market for Marlborough though, is the

it is very suitable for the Asian palate.

got huge storage space. Some do, but

proliferation within local supermarkets.

But it’s no good just taking it there, you

not many, so there is very little capacity to

Annette says it is obvious that producers

would need to do a tasting and have

store wine. If you have a decent list, you

have been pushed back on price,

some credible wine person talking about

need to have a distributor who is going

with wines selling cheaply throughout

it. If you have the press there and it gets

to be willing to come and deliver every

the island. However what makes

coverage, suddenly you will find that

single day. It’s no good having someone

Singapore different to say London, is

people will want to try your Pinot Gris.”

who is only able to deliver once a week,

that restaurants are not too concerned

There is another advantage to supplying

because that won’t work for you. If you

with having exclusivity when it comes to

the Singaporean market she says. “It is

get a large group in and they go through

creating a wine list. And consumers are

a safe market and things are controlled –

say six bottles of Pinot Noir – you need to

not as concerned with the fact they can

not like some other Asian countries.”

be able to have that restocked the next

buy a certain wine at the supermarket far

In terms of her consultant work in

day. It does no one any good not having

cheaper than they can in a restaurant.

London, Annette had some words of

a wine available for days on end.”

“In London, restaurants do NOT want

advice, particularly regarding restaurant’s

Annette was in Marlborough as a judge

wine on their list that is available at

desire for exclusivity.

for the Spiegelau International Wine

the supermarket, they are very price

“You do not want a wine on your

Competition. She also spent time talking

sensitive. The Asian market is completely

list, anywhere for sale in any of the

to local winery representatives and

different.”

supermarkets or in nearby restaurants. If

undertook a regional tasting organised by

In terms of varietals she believes will

I an consulting for a new restaurant, one

Wine Marlborough.

do well in Singapore, Annette says

of the first things I do is look at all the

Sauvignon Blanc obviously, along with

restaurants in the vicinity and almost by

Pinot Noir – but also Pinot Gris.

default, I wouldn’t put any of those wines

“For the Asian markets and Singapore

on the list.”

included, I think it goes so well with our

Having the right distributor is also vital.

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

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Judges Flock to Marlborough It’s a credit to the region and the organisers that one of the largest wine competitions in New Zealand is judged here in Marlborough.

The Spiegelau International Wine

competition matches glassware to the

judging are auctioned off, and the funds

competition attracted judges from all over

varietal, more than 6000 glasses require

used for industry grants.

the country, along with an impressive line-

washing every day.

And in case you wondered how any wine

up of internationals. Of the 12 judges, two

Another point of difference between the

competition can find enough refrigerator

were Masters of Wine - Annette Scarfe

Spiegelau competition and others held

space for all those hundreds of entries,

from Singapore and Phil Reedman from

throughout New Zealand, is the fact

there is only one style that is served

Australia. Three other Australians were

money is raised during the event, and

chilled – sparkling. The rest are all served

also on the judging panel, Ralph Kyte-

returned to the industry. All those extra

at just below room temperature.

Powell, Nick Ryan and chief judge Mike

bottles of wine not required during the

“The reason for sparklings to be chilled,

DeGaris.

is to give the wine the best chance

All 12 had their work cut out

to show its beauty and the bead,”

for them over the three days of

facilitator Shona White said. “By

judging with a total of 1075 wines

the time it actually hits the glass,

competing for the medals and

it is just at the right temperature

trophies.

to bring out all the nuances that is

But spare a thought for the people

required.”

out the back, who spent more than

The Spiegelau Wine Awards dinner

a day setting up the competition.

is on August 9, in Auckland. The

Every entrant needs to send three

next big judging event in the region

bottles from the same batch,

will be the Marlborough Wine

meaning organisers handle more than 3000 bottles overall. On top of that, because the Spiegelau

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More than 1000 wines were entered, more than 3000 bottles delivered and over 6000 glasses needed washing each day.

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Show, October 22-23.

For the full list of Marlborough gold medal winners see page 28.

Marlborough’s First Albariño Wins Gold TESSA NICHOLSON

Albariño is a grape variety often touted as likely to succeed in Marlborough. A gold medal at the IWC for Stanley Estate, is proving the pundits correct.

Steve Pellett and Bridget Ennals of Stanley Estate Wines only planted their first 1000 Albariño vines back in 2009.

2012 was the first commercial crop, which makes the gold medal at the recent prestigious International Wine Challenge for that wine, even more stunning.

As the first South Island producer of the variety, Steve says the win confirms his initial belief that the variety could thrive in the Awatere.

“Climatically where Albariño grows in Rias Baixas (north western Spain) is very similar to the Awatere. I wasn’t quite sure that it would be hot enough, but now I am very comfortable that with our climate we are able to hang the fruit out and get it as ripe as possible.”

A late ripening variety, Albariño it is often referred to as the “wine of the sea” in Spain. It is described as having both a crisp structure and creamy texture, with complexities of aroma and flavour. In Spain it is often treated in a similar way to Sauvignon Blanc, being mainly fermented in stainless steel. However Steve and winemaker Eveline Fraser chose to try something different.

“We have done 100% wild yeast fermentation, using old French barriques to ferment the wine in barrel. Like

anything in winemaking you can have quite an influence with the choice of yeast to affect the flavour profile you want to derive from it. We chose to do wild yeast fermentation purely to see what we would get from the grapes.”

And given the Gold medal, that experimentation has worked. Although Steve says they are trying something different with the 2013 vintage.

“We had a fantastic summer this year, still picked it reasonably late, at 24 brix. And we have done half and half, inoculated half in stainless steel and half in barrel with wild yeast fermentation, just to see the differences. So we will be able to get an idea of the range of flavour profiles we can get.”

Viticulturally, Steve says the variety is quite vigorous and needs lots of tucking in to keep under control.

“It’s not as upright as Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s not as sprawling as Pinot Noir. But it is very vigorous and has long extension growth. The morphology of the bunches is quite good, in that from our experience so far, you don’t get just the one single bunch. You tend to get bi-lobe or tri-lobe bunches. The grapes are very spherical and reasonably loose hanging in the bunch so you get reasonable aeration.”

The Gold medal for Stanley Estate backs up comments from a number of individuals in recent years that Marlborough should be looking towards this variety in the future.

However vines were not available until 2009, when released

by Riversun.

Four years on, the plantings throughout New Zealand are still miniscule.

In the 2013 vintage statistics from NZWine there are no figures for the variety, with current plantings coming under the category of “other whites”.

But given the international success Stanley Estate has gained, that could change in the future.

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Finding Uses for Grape Marc TESSA NICHOLSON

A new company has been formed in Marlborough to deal with the 40,000 plus tonnes of grape marc produced in the region each year.

The by-product of vintage, grape marc is comprised of approximately 8% seeds, 10% stems, 25% skins and 57% pulp. Given the substantial amount produced in Marlborough every year, the issue of what do to with it has been an on-going one.

Many wineries return the marc straight back into the vineyard. Others transport it off site for stock feed. For those that have no way of reusing it, there is the option of dumping it at landfills – which is expensive and not a Marlborough District Council preference.

Hence the formation of Grape Marc Ltd, an entity established by eight of the region’s largest producers. They are looking for ways of reusing the marc that not only benefits the industry overall, but ensures there are no environmental issues in the future.

Eric Hughes, Pernod Ricard New Zealand winery manager says as the industry continues to grow, the level of marc increases. While initially using it as stock food was a viable option, there is now far too much being produced and not enough stock locally to absorb the quantity. And straight marc compost may not be the best alternative.

“The composting we are doing at the moment, in a lot of cases, is not the best, because it is just a pile on the paddock,

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doing its thing. To make good compost it needs to be turned regularly and have good green waste added. So in the future it may be about getting into bed with the right industry partners. There are a lot of by products that could maybe help us make a unique Marlborough compost.”

One of the biggest issues though, is the time frame in which marc is produced – literally only six weeks of every year.

“We have to consider how we manage that to keep it a good viable product,” Eric says.

One of the highlights of the initiative, he says, is the industry is taking responsibility for its waste products.

“It’s easy to bring things in the front gate and hope someone else is going to deal with your problem when it goes out the back gate. It’s becoming harder and harder and more costly to get rid of this material – so we are taking the proactive route.”

The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

Grape Marc Ltd is working alongside the Food and Beverage Cluster, which in turn is working with the Marlborough Research Centre and Riddet Institute to extract maximum value from the region’s produce, including by-products of that produce. Part of the brief for the company’s working group is to determine if there are other uses for the marc, besides compost. New Zealand Extracts here in Marlborough are already utilising grape seeds to produce antioxidant products – and there could well be other uses not yet considered.

“Obviously as we get that up and running and we have a resource, we will deal with what other value adds we can do. That is why we have talked with the Food and Beverage Cluster, so we can utilise their expertise.”

Interest has been intense since the company became public last month, and it’s not just from wineries. A number of overseas firms have made contact, along with many of the companies who already handle marc.

The eight wineries who have already signed up to Grape Marc Ltd include; Pernod Ricard, Constellation, New Zealand Wineries, Giesen Wines, VinLink Marlborough, Indevin, Spring Creek Vintners and Mt Riley.

Wine Unwound A ROOKIE’S PERSPECTIVE WITH ANNABELLE LATZ

Blend Into The Night Time.

Blending - It’s a bit like making muffins.

giant 270,000 litre tank is filled with

The task of filling a pallecon, (the latter)

The grapes come in, go through the

the required mix, it is then divided into

involves a flow meter, attention not to

press, for the juice to get transferred

smaller tanks so the big tank can be used

puncture the bladder, and plenty of forklift

to tanks, where it is then racked,

to start another blend.

concentration when moving the pallecon

fermentation begins, some wine is put

You see, just like making muffins where

onto the transport truck. Certainly not an

into barrel, brix levels drop to zero which

the big bowl has to be used again and

opportunity to crack a wheelie.

is when the real ‘magic’ begins to take

the mixture is divided onto the baking

I’ve had my first taste of nightshift.

place and the wine starts to come into

tray.

Although this word is used in loose terms.

its own with regard to flavour and body

From here, I believe the wine sits in tanks

The 3pm starts meant finishing at

composition, tweaks here, tweaks there.

for various amounts of time, some with

11.30pm, which is late enough for a girl

Some wine that was barreled down is

another form of fermentation to go.

who likes to get up when or before the

moved back into tanks. Now I’m learning

This is called malolactic, or ‘malo.’ In

sparrows are farting.

all about ‘blending.’ Wines from different

this sitution, wine literally develops lactic

Hot sweet cups of tea around 9pm

tanks are blended together in one tank.

acid.

help to clear this hurdle, and there are

Winemaking is indeed an art, but in this

Just like athletes!

much less adverts on the radio which is

case specifities take the forefront priority

Wow, all that jumping around in the tanks,

excellent.

as specific litres, such as 7984, are

or barrels in some cases, really must take

Mind you, listening to One Direction

required to make the chosen blend.

some fitness.

screaming out their poppy tunes at

Flowmeters.

This lactic acid is dealt with in due course

11.20pm for the seventh time that day

An essential piece of equipment which is

too, as I imagine drinking wine with lactic

can be enough to grate even the most

linked in beside the pump to detect the

acid would be about as comfortable as

forgiving ear drums.

exact amount of wine passing through

walking around with tight hamstrings. Not

So I’m all ready and lining up for the next

the lines. All sounds rather straight

very.

stage of winemaking now, which I can

forward, which it essentially is. Just don’t

Topping barrels with the aid of nitrogen

see by ‘tasting off’ tanks, is taking form

be alarmed by the complex looking job

gas has made this task remarkably easier

quite nicely.

sheet which has screes of transfers, tank

than battling with jugs.

http://annabellelatz.blogspot.co.nz/

numbers and litre amounts.

Did you know that oak absorption and

And yes, it will take time to get your

evaporation, and change in temperature

head around the set up when transfers

reduces ullages in a barrel by about five

between three or four tanks, (or even

centimetres over about three weeks? Well

more I’ve been told but not yet had

you do now.

the pleasure to experience) take place

Pelicans are birds. Big ones.

at once. This means at least two flow

Pallecons, on the other hand, are giant

meters, many numbers, and quick

sealed storage containers used for

thinking.

transporting wine from one venue to

Certainly not much time for gossiping.

another. They sound the same, but serve

Once the blend is completed, and one

remarkably different purposes in life.

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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 tessa.nicholson@me.com JULY 14 26

Bastille Day celebrations – Clos Henri Winery, SH63. A family fun day from 11am – 3pm.

Moore Stephens Markhams Marlborough Young Viticulturist 2013 Competition

AUGUST 2-9

Taruna Certificate in Applied Organics and Biodynamnics Seminar 1. Details info@taruna.ac.nz

7

Applying for visas and their appropriate use. 1-2pm Community Links/Work and Income Building.

RSVP pip.jamieson@mbie.qovt.nz

9

Spiegelau Wine Awards Dinner

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NNZSVO Workshop - ABC - It’s All About Chardonnay – Marlborough Vintners Hotel, Blenheim.

Details at www.nzsvo.

28-30

Romeo Bragato Conference. Convention Centre, Blenheim

SEPTEMBER 7

Pinot at Cloudy Bay – details at www.cloudybay. co.nz

16

Entries open for Marlborough Wine Show

OCTOBER 22-23

Judging Marlborough Wine Show

NOVEMBER 1-3

Marlborough Wine Weekend

4-7

Plant & Food Research Plant Dormancy Symposium – Auckland

CLASSIFIEDS Seeking 50T+ Sauv. Blanc Contract 2014 and onward Winery seeks 1- to 10-year contract (ideally for at least several years) to source 50T+ Marlborough sauvignon blanc grapes from a single vineyard. Looking for committed relationship with grower. Winery has a successful, topquality, boutique label. More details upon request. Please contact: email: marlboroughwinery@gmail.com

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The Official Magazine of Wine Marlborough

SUPPLIERS OF: n Vineyard posts & strainers n Quality timber products n Utility buildings - designed for your needs n Locally owned n Working towards the betterment of Marlborough

TOP DEALS ~ TOP SERVICE 163 Hammerichs Road, Blenheim Ph 03 578 0221 Fax 03 578 0251 sales@rapauratimber.co.nz

News From Home and Away winemakers themselves. Entries close at 5pm August 30. For more information visit www.youngwinemaker.com.au Wine Marlborough Scholarship

Marlborough Savvie in Paper Wine Bottles A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc will be among the first to be released in a paper wine bottle by Kingsland Wines.

The company has gained the exclusive rights in the UK, Eire, Holland and Nordic countries for the new paper bottles, which are known as GreenBottle. It is fully recyclable, paper casing in the same shape as standard glass wine bottle. It contains a plastic neck piece and foiled plastic liner, similar to those used in bag-in-box wines. After use the paper casing can be removed and disposed of separately to the plastic. Kingsland Wines first wines in the paper bottle will be under the label Thirsty Earth and include a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a South Australian Shiraz. The wines are likely to be released into the UK in October – at a RRP of £8.49.

Young Winemaker of the Year Open to winemakers in Australia and New Zealand the competition aims to promote winemaking excellence through the recognition and reward of talent.

Eligible winemakers have to be aged 35 years or under and have to provide three wines they have had a major role in producing. Event coordinator Lydia Barrie says nominations can come from friends, family, peers, suppliers, customers or the

Clinton Whyte, a second year student at NMIT’s Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production is this year’s winner of the Wine Marlborough Scholarship.

The 19-year-old was born in Hong Kong, returning to Marlborough at the age of 14.

He was the recipient of the NMIT scholarship in his last year at Marlborough Boys’ College and plans to further his studies next year by completing the Lincoln University Bachelor Degree of Viticulture and Oenology. This year he worked a vintage at Nautilus Estate Wines and is keen to gain further experience both in New Zealand and overseas. His background of having been brought up in Hong Kong could be an asset for the future.

“I believe that as a New Zealander with an Asian background and being able to speak Chinese, I would be able to assist in promoting Marlborough wines

and NMIT as a centre for education in viticulture and wine production.”

It’s All About Chardonnay It seems the ABC – Anything But Chardonnay mantra– is starting to die off – thank goodness. Reinforcing that is the NZSVO workshop that is planned for next month, here in Blenheim. While ABC features in the workshop’s title, those letters now stand for; It’s All About Chardonnay. The focus of the one-day event will be; where we have come from, where we are now and where we want to be in the future. The keynote speaker is Brian Croser from Australia, who will give two presentations, one on viticulture and the other on winemaking. New clones will be compared with current clones, and there will be the chance to taste some of the micro vinifications from Riversun’s new clones. The workshop will be held at Vintners Hotel, on August 27. If you would like more information, or want to register for the workshop, visit www. nzsvo.org.na/ac_workshop/index.htm Accolades Yealands Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2011 has been rated by Decanter Magazine as “Outstanding” in a review of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Of the 91 wines tasted, Yealands Estate Reserve was the only wine to receive the top accolade, with an impressive score of 95 out of 100.

Saint Clair Pioneer Block 22, Barn Block Pinot Noir 2011, has been awarded the trophy for the Best Pinot Noir at the Shanghai International Wine Challenge.

Spiegelau Internation Wine Competition – Marlborough Gold Medal Winners.

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Sparkling Lindauer Special Reserve Brut Cuvee, Nautilus Cuvee Marlborough Brut Gewurztraminer Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough 2012, Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve 2009 Pinot Gris Catalina Sounds Marlborough 201,2 Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough 2012, Aronui Single Vineyard 2012, Saint Clair Godfrey’s Creek Reserve 2012, Starborough ‘Family Estate’ 2012 Riesling Saint Clair Pioneer Block 9 Big John 2012

Sauvignon Blanc Ara Pathway 2012, Auntsfield Single Vineyard 2012, Eradus Wines Awatere Valley 2012, Fairhall Downs Hugo Barrel Fermented 2009, The Fuder Single Vineyard Selection - Dillons Point 2012, Harvest Estate Marlborough 2012, Lawson’s Dry Hills 2012, Saint Clair Wairau Reserve 2012, Stanrock 2012, Villa Maria Reserve Wairau Valley 2012, Yealands Estate Single Block S1 2012 Chardonnay Clearview Estate Reserve 2012, The Fuder Single Vineyard Selection 2011, Matua Single Vineyard Marlborough 2012, Matua Single

Vineyard Marlborough 2011, Nautilus 2012 Dessert Wines Forrest Botrytised Riesling 2012, Jackson Estate Botrytis Riesling 2011, The Kings A Sticky End Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Villa Maria Reserve Marlborough Noble Semillon Botrytis Selection 2011 Pinot Noir Ara Select Block K54 2012, Giesen The Brothers Marlborough 2011, Shingle Peak Reserve 2012, Saint Clair Marlborough Premium 2012, Saint Clair Pioneer Block 12 Lone Gum 2011, SOHO Havana 2012, Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough 2011

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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