“As a fussy non-drinker I only drank bottled water but I found the European waters too mineralised for my palate. I’d done research on water in Mexico and, in my ignorance, I thought ‘Hey, New Zealand is full of great water, this’ll be a cinch’, so I went to my advertising friends and asked for help on how to get New Zealand bottled water into restaurants.” The friends said they’d do it themselves, so the search was on for the best water in NZ. Simon spent a year investigating more than 100 sites and visited 30, but only nine were safe to drink from and Simon’s bar was high.
Deb McLaughlin, Antipodes’ General Manager
“COMING DOWN HERE, IT’S NOT LIKE HAVING STAFF, IT’S LIKE HAVING A FAMILY.”
Simon Wolley, Antipodes Founder
“I had two main criteria: it had to be - and look - pure, and have subtle minerality so that it did not affect the palate and the flavour of fine food and wine, and also not so mineralised that it was cloudy.” Simon was also firm in the belief that the water shouldn’t compete with food and wine, the main actors on the dining stage. Likewise the bottle was specially designed to disappear on a table but look good enough to be in the world’s best restaurants. Ironically, many diners ask to take the bottle home with them. I’m one of them. One thing he discovered on his journey was that few people knew much about bottled water in NZ, although he has high praise for Jim and Don Robertson of Otakiri Springs and John McDonalds of NZ Nature, who were generous with their time and knowledge. When Simon was down to the last three water sources he couldn’t make a final choice, so he asked his good friend and expert winemaker Michael Brajkovich of Kumeu River for help. Brajkovich was decisive and in 2003 the Antipodes Water Company was born on a humble block of land on the Rangitāiki Plains where the bore is 327m deep - the same height as the Sky Tower. But enough of Simon. Let’s bring in Deb McLaughlin, who, for most of this interview, has been plying us with lovely things to eat and drink while cooking dinner and offering enthusiastic anecdotes about Antipodes’ success overseas and the dedication and heart of the local staff. It was Deb who said that people remember their first taste of Antipodes and who explained why. It is because of this: at a sales event at Noosa’s exclusive Sails Restaurant, owner Lyndon Simmons hosted Deb and two others for lunch - an unusual event in itself. He was already sold on Antipodes and claimed it had the same bead, i.e. the bubbles in a glass of champagne as Salon Champagne, one of the best and most expensive champagnes in the world. Upon learning Deb had never tasted Salon, he promptly called out for a bottle. It was one of only two Salon bottles in his cellar - one of the largest wine collections in Australia. P L E N T Y. C O . N Z // M AY 2 0 1 6
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