Now in its fourth year Forage North Canterbury is helping to define the region. Photo Aaron McLean.
we had never had our own label,” Clifford explains. “So we would get drunk and talk about it and make plans. Then the Christchurch earthquake happened and it was a carpe diem moment.” Clifford and Nick were actually in the Christchurch CBD when the earthquake happened. “We were very lucky to walk away with our lives. We just decided that it was time to get on with it. We weren’t going to wait around for another 10 years. There were some really key people that surrounded us that made it happen, that included Lynnette Hudson, Mat Donaldson and Charles Reid in those early days. So Tongue In Groove was born out of the Christchurch earthquakes in that moment of carpe diem.” It is now literally a company of two, Clifford and Lynnette Hudson as winemaker. Special parcels of fruit are bought in from around the Waipara Valley region, with the wines made at Muddy Water
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by Lynnette. Depending on the year, they make four wines; a Riesling, an orange wine from aromatics, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. “One of the things that is quite unique about Tongue In Groove,” Clifford says, “is it has a very female story woven through it. I don’t think there are many wine companies in New Zealand that have both a female principal and a female winemaker. Both Lynnette and I feel quite strongly about women in the wine industry. Lynnette is an amazing winemaker, and we both feel very proud to be a part of that group.” But it is not her gender that Clifford believes has played the major role in her career path. “The one thing that defined my career was having three children. That has put me in places I wouldn’t necessarily have ended up, because I had to find things to do when I wasn’t working full time. I had to find jobs that suited my role as a mother. So more than thinking about what
NZ WINEGROWER JUNE/JULY 2018
would I have achieved if I was a man, I think the question here is what would have happened if I hadn’t had children? There are so many positives for me about having children. It has made me see the world in a completely different way. I think one of my big strengths is collaboration and collectiveness. I like to think of myself as an enabler or a connector. That is a fairly important thing when you have children, to learn those lessons. Having children can change your horizons in a really positive way. I have had to find collaborators, whether that has been my husband, my wine community or my food community. I have had to find people to help me and I see huge value in connecting the right people. I also feel very strongly about paying it forward, so I have a group of younger people that I feel very strongly about helping whenever I can, because that is what was offered to me.” These days Clifford is the CEO
of Eat New Zealand, a role that brings together all her skills as a communicator, organiser, flavour junkie and event manager. “I feel like I am a gastronationalist. Our offerings are so unique, so special, and we have been so bad about telling that story. We have become a list of exported ingredients. What I bring to the game is an understanding of New Zealand wine and how successfully that has vertically integrated itself and told its story internationally. Perhaps New Zealand food has missed some tricks. The challenge now is for New Zealand wine to embrace New Zealand food and find interesting collaborations around that moving forward. That has become a very important part of my life. I feel very passionate about that and it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have influence in that area.” Given her successes of the past, it is very much a case of watch this space.T tessa.nicholson@me.com