Winepress - Feb 2015

Issue No. 244 / February 2015

Goodbye Gerry

Aging Pinot

Export News

Young Winemaker Competition

Photo: Jim Tannock

@marlboroughwine

The Official Magazine of

www.wine-marlborough.co.nz

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In this issue...

Regulars

Features

3

9

Editorial

4 Report Tasman Crop Met 16 25

Generation Y-ine Matt Sutherland NZW Export News Top Tweets

27

Wine Happenings

28

News From Home and Away

After 38 years as an employee of Montana, (now Pernod Ricard) Gerry Gregg has finally called it a day. It has been close to four decades of substantial growth, both for the Marlborough wine industry and Gerry himself.

12 Aging Pinots – Is It Worth It?

Editor: Tessa Nicholson 16 Bank Street Blenheim 7201 T: 021 709 571 E: tessa.nicholson@me.com

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.

p10

Farewell

Printed by: Blenheim Print Ltd. T: 03 578 1322

The decision by Air NZ to go with just one wine producer in economy and super economy has upset a number of wineries locally. Many say it will see them thinking seriously about whether to use another airline for international travel.

10 Gerry Gregg Says

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Wineries Not Happy

Well-known Australian writer Nick Stock believes we place far too much emphasis on aging our Pinot Noir. Why should we bother?, he says. New Zealand Pinot is a beautiful thing when drunk young – and we should make more of that.

p20

20 Local Winemakers Do Well In China

Two Marlborough winemakers were among seven in a Chinese international competition that took more than two years to complete. Both have come out winners.

p28

WINEPRESS February 2015

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Because the future requires it.

No. 5463

Bayer CropScience proudly announces the arrival to our product range, the unique and flexible biological fungicide - Serenade® Max. Serenade Max’s unique strain of Bacillus subtilis (QST 713) is a naturally occurring bio-fungicide/bactericide that controls and suppresses a range of diseases in fruits and vegetables, including botrytis. Serenade Max also offers a nil day withholding period - perfect for pre-harvest applications to ensure you get the best out of your crop.

Insist on Serenade Max from Bayer.

www.cropscience.bayer.co.nz Download the new Crop Solutions App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store

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WINEPRESS February 2015

BAC1140

Serenade®Max is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No P5809 and to the HSNO Act 1996, No HSR000656. Serenade®Max is a registered trademark of the Bayer Group.

Ph: 03 577 9299 Web: www.wine-marlborough.co.nz marcus@wine-marlborough.co.nz For Advertising contact: Emily Hope Ph: 03 577 9299 emily@wine-marlborough.co.nz Produced by: Wine Marlborough Free to all levy paying members Associate Members: $77 +GST Wine Marlborough Board Clive Jones: cjones@nautilusestate.com Ruud Maasdam: ruud@staetelandt.co.nz Guy Lissaman: glissaman@xtra.co.nz Laurin Gane: laurin.gane@xtra.co.nz Simon Clark: simon@clarkestate.com Simon Bishell: simonbishell@outlook.com Stuart Dudley: stuartd@villamaria.co.nz Samantha Wickham: samantha@ormondnurseries.co.nz Jason Yank: jason@astrolabewines.com Rhyan Wardman: rhyan.wardman@indevin.com Jack Glover: jack.glover@accolade-wines.co.nz

From the Editor A Business Decision On May 19 last year NZW and Air NZ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), that would take the close relationship the two organisations have fostered, to a new level.

NZW Global Marketing Director Chris Yorke said shortly after the signing, that it was a major achievement for both NZWinegrowers and Air NZ. “We are not only working with one of the most respected airlines in the world, but we are ensuring that New Zealand wine gets the international recognition it deserves.”

Given the MoU and other relationships between the two organisations, it is hard not to question the decision by Air NZ to suddenly change their procurement arrangements in terms of wine stocked on board in economy and premium economy classes. From hereon in, only one wine company will be represented – Villa Maria. Congrats to them for gaining the tender. They are a fantastic representation of New Zealand, being the country’s most awarded winery, complete with five differing labels.

But there is still concern that one and only one wine company, will for the next 12 months, have sole exposure on all international flights, at least in the two most commonly travelled classes.

And if you think it’s bad enough being a Marlborough winery and not able to get your wines included on the Air New Zealand wine list or in the Koru Lounge – spare a thought for wineries in Martinborough and Central Otago. While Villa Maria has a fair representation of Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay wines within their portfolio, along with a smattering of Auckland and Gisborne varietals – the company has no Central Otago or Martinborough wines. Those two regions must be spitting tacks that they no longer have the ability to highlight their region to international air travellers.

Agreed that it has to be a business decision that makes sense to someone in Air NZ, but have they thought out the ramifications?

I asked 10 Marlborough wineries, randomly chosen and covering all categories from 1 to 3, what they thought of the decision. Would it impact on their international air travel in the future, in terms of which airline they would chose?

Frighteningly for Air NZ, many of them said it would. While domestic travel offers no choice of airline, it is a different story when you want to travel overseas. The choice of airlines travelling to all our major markets is vast – and appears to be something many wine companies are now considering. As one winery spokesman said to me, “No loyalty to me, no loyalty to them.”

And given the hundreds of thousands of dollars wineries spend on international travel, the fall out of this decision could hit Air NZ very hard. From the 10 wineries I spoke to, a number whose combined international travel budget reaches to more than $1 million, said they would now look at flying someone other than Air NZ. Wineries too can make business decisions – I just hope Air NZ took that consideration into account.

For the full story, see page 9.

TESSA NICHOLSON tessa.nicholson@me.com WINEPRESS February 2015

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NZW Opposes New MPI Costs

New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) is strongly opposing a proposal from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to recover $2.9 million per year from the wine industry to meet the costs of its wine regulatory programme.

“Wineries currently pay just over $200 million each year in excise to the government” said Steve Green, Chair of New Zealand Winegrowers. “Payments have increased by $70 million, or more than 60%, in the past decade. From our perspective requiring the industry to pay an additional $2.9 million to MPI every year is manifestly unjustifiable”.

The MPI proposal for wine is part of a wider review of the fees MPI charges to primary industries for the services and activities it undertakes as part of New Zealand’s biosecurity and food safety systems.

“Other major primary industries are

subject to the MPI user-pays regime.

However unlike the wine industry, none of those sectors also pay a product specific tax”, Steve said.

The New Zealand wine industry has been a stand-out performer in the New Zealand economy over the past decade.

Exports have grown at a compound rate of over 13% per annum lifting from $435 million in 2005 to $1.33 billion in 2014 and are expected to reach $2 billion in 2020.

“We would have thought MPI, as part of the Business Growth Agenda, would have been looking at how it supports the wine industry’s growth, rather than imposing more costs on the sector. We already pay more than $200 million to the government each year and as far as we are concerned that is enough,” Steve said.

NZW have met with Ministers and

used the media to voice their strong opposition to the idea – it’s now over to you to make sure the government understands how unjust the proposal is. Concerted action by the whole industry is the only way to make a difference.

You have until 20 February to make your views heard.

We urge you to do one or more of the following: • Attend a consultation meeting • Make a submission – see below details on making a submission • Contact your local MP • Send an email to the Ministers concerned To fight this we need to work together as an industry and make sure our arguments are heard loud and clear.

How To Make A Submission MPI has invited submissions on the cost recovery proposals.

Submissions must be received by MPI no later than 5 pm on 20 February 2015. Send them to costrecovery@mpi. govt.nz or mail them to: Cost Recovery Review Consultation Policy & Trade Branch Ministry for Primary Industries PO Box 2526, Wellington 6140.

Important things to remember when making a submission: Comment on a specific item or question, MPI has asks that you: • include the proposal number (for example, “Wine #1”), section number, paragraph number or Table/Figure number that clearly identifies the item being discussed.

• be as specific as possible in your statements. For example, use phrases such as ‘I disagree with the fee increase proposed in WINE#...for the following reasons...’

• where possible, please use examples, or data, to illustrate your points.

What to include in your submission Whether you just send a one paragraph email, or a detailed

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WINEPRESS February 2015

submission, try to provide personal details of the impact of the proposals on you and your business. Of course, a strong argument is that the proposals are very unfair to wine industry because, unlike other sectors from which MPI is permitted to recover costs, the wine industry pays the government over $200m per year in excise (a product specific tax).

Each of the proposals has a number of accompanying prompt questions. If MPI goes ahead and implements the proposals, your answers to these questions can help influence how they are implemented. Even if you strongly object to the proposal, you still may wish to respond to these questions.

Please also ensure that you include the following information in your submission: • The title of this consultation: “Consultation Paper on Proposed Revisions to the Cost Recovery Regimes”; • Your name, and title; • Your organisation’s name (if applicable); • Your contact details – mailing and email addresses, and telephone numbers (cell phone and landline).

Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – December 2014

December 2014

December 2014 compared to LTA

December LTA

Period of LTA

December 2013

GDD’s for: Month - Max/Min¹ Month – Mean²

226.0 215.0

108% 102%

209.8 210.4

(1996-2013) (1996-2013)

251.1 243.3

Growing Degree Days Total Jul – Dec 14 – Max/Min Jul - Dec 14 – Mean

549.1 612.4

104% 103%

526.3 592.1

(1996-2013) (1996-2013)

684.1 716.6

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

22.2 12.3 17.3

+0.3°C +0.6°C +0.5°C

21.9 11.7 16.8

(1986-2013) (1986-2013) (1986-2013)

23.3 12.9 18.1

Ground Frosts (<= -1.0°C)

0

-

0.1

(1986-2013)

0

Air Frosts

0

-

0

(1986-2013)

0

Sunshine hours 222.6 90% Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2014 2527.5 103%

(0.0°C)

246 167.4 321.2 2455

(1930-2013) 2011 1974 (1930-2013)

233.9

Rainfall (mm) 31.8 66% Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2014 519.3 81%

48.7 0.8 124.0 644

(1930-2013) 1934 1984 (1930-2013)

700.1

2448.5 16.8

Evapotranspiration – mm

126.6

91%

139.2

(1996-2013)

142.8

Avg. Daily Windrun (km)

244.8

83%

294.6

(1996-2013)

225.1

Mean soil temp – 10cm

18.2

+0.5°C

17.7

(1986-2013)

18.4

Mean soil temp – 30cm

19.9

+0.7°C

19.2

(1986-2013)

20.3

¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

Table 2: Summary of weekly sunshine, rainfall and temperatures during December 2014

Sun Rain Mean Max (hours) (mm) (°C)

Mean Min (°C)

Mean (°C)

1st - 7th

36.4

0.0

21.2 (-0.7°C)

9.5

(-2.2°C)

15.3 (-1.5)

8th - 14th

26.1

17.2

18.3 (-3.6°C)

10.8 (-0.9°C)

14.5 (-2.3)

15th - 21st

56.7

9.8

23.1 (+1.2°C)

12.9 (+1.2°C) 18.0 (+1.2)

22nd - 28th

80.9

0.0

25.8 (+3.9°C)

14.8 (+3.1°C) 20.3 (+3.5)

29th – 31st (3 Days)

22.5

4.8

23.0 (+1.1°C)

15.5 (+3.8°C) 19.2 (+2.4)

1st – 31st Dec 222.6 31.8 22.2 (+0.3°C) 12.3 (+0.6°C) 17.3 (+0.5°C) Long-term 248.0 49.9 21.9 average

11.7

16.8

December 2014 was fairly warm, with lower sunshine hours, lower rainfall and less wind than normal.

December 2014 was a month of two halves (Table 2). The first two weeks were overcast with low sunshine hours and cool temperatures. In the middle of December the temperature suddenly changed from predominantly cold weather to hot weather. Temperatures and sunshine hours in the latter two weeks were well above average.

Table 3 summarises the dates of flowering and temperatures over the flowering period over the four years 2010 to 2014 from the Sauvignon blanc regional vineyard, at Pernod Ricard’s Squire Estate block in central Rapaura.

The first point to note is that the start of flowering on 1 December 2014 was only a couple of days later than on 29 November 2013. However, the duration of flowering was 15 days in 2014, compared with 7 days in 2013. The mean temperature over the flowering period in 2014 was 14.8°C compared with 17.4°C in 2013. Although flowering duration was longer in 2014 compared to the previous three seasons, there have been previous years with longer flowering periods. In a season where temperatures over flowering are cooler, such as 2014, it is an advantage when flowering begins relatively early.

The lower temperature over flowering in 2014 will mean poorer fruit set (less berries per bunch) and consequently lower bunch weights at harvest in 2015 compared to harvest 2014.

Vineyards further inland in the Wairau and Awatere valleys flowered later and consequently during much warmer temperatures than those vineyards that flowered in the first two weeks of December. I would expect these later flowering vineyards to have better

WINEPRESS February 2015

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fruit set. The consequence of the dramatic change in temperature in mid December could be that there will be greater variation in yield at harvest in 2015 depending on vineyard location around Marlborough.

Annual weather statistics for 2014, compared to the long-term average Sunshine Total Sunshine for 2014 was 2527.5 hours, 103% of the long term average (1930-2013) of 2455.5 hours Rainfall Total Rainfall for 2014 was 519.3 mm; 80.5% of the long term average (19302013) of 644.8 mm. 2013 rainfall was 700.1 mm, (180.8 mm more rainfall than in 2014).

Total rainfall for 2014 of 519.3 mm is ranked 15th lowest for the 85

years 1930-2014. However, when we examine the two halves of 2014, a much clearer picture emerges (Figure 1).

Total rainfall for the six months January to June 2014 = 387.9 mm; 74.7% of 2014 rainfall Total rainfall for the six months July to December 2014 = 131.4 mm; 25.3% of 2014 rainfall This is the lowest July to December rainfall total on record for Blenheim for the 85 years 1930-2014.

long-term average.

The hottest day of 2014 was 21st February with 30.0°C, i.e. only one day in 2014 hit 30°C. The coldest day of 2014 was 22nd July with an air frost of -2.3°C and a ground frost of -6.0°C.

Temperature Mean temperature for 2014 was 13.38°C; 0.52°C above the long term average for the 82 years 1932-2013, of 12.86°C. 2014 got off to a cool start with January, February and March all recording below average temperatures.

Eight of the nine months April to December 2014 recorded above average temperatures, with August equal to the

Wind-run Average daily wind-run for 2014 was 242.5 km compared to the long-term average (1996-2013) of 259.4 km. For the seventh year in a row (2008-2014) Blenheim has recorded lower than average daily wind-run. Only two months in 2014 (May and November) recorded above average daily wind-run.

Frosts Blenheim recorded 40 ground frosts in 2014 compared with 47 in 2013. The average number of ground frosts for the period 1986 – 2013 is 52.4.

Figure 1: Blenheim monthly rainfall in 2014 compared to the long-term average

Table 3: Dates and duration of flowering of Sauvignon blanc in central Rapaura for the four years 2011 to 2014 and temperatures over flowering

2011 2012 2013 2014

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Early Flowering approx 10% 10% - 12 Dec 10% - 8 Dec 12% - 29 Nov 9% - 1 Dec

WINEPRESS February 2015

Mid Flowering approx 50% 35% - 15 Dec 42% - 11 Dec 66% - 3 Dec 49% - 8 Dec

Late Flowering approx 90% 90% - 22 Dec 90% - 17 Dec 90% - 5 Dec 93% - 15 Dec

Mean Daily Temp over Flowering °C 12th-22nd=15.3 8th-17th=16.7 29th - 5th=17.4 1st-15th=14.8

Mean Daily Max °C 18.7 22.7 23.4 19.7

Duration from 10-90% flowering 11 days 10 days 7 days 15 days

January 2015 Weather January 2015 was warm, sunny and extremely dry.

Table 4: Blenheim Weather Data – January 2015

January January 2015 January Period January 2015 compared to LTA LTA of LTA 2014

GDD’s for: Month - Max/Min¹ Month – Mean²

271.8 264.5

111% 111%

245.4 237.1

(1996-2014) (1996-2014)

223.3 214.9

Growing Degree Days Total Jul 14 – Jan 15 – Max/Min¹ Jul 14 - Jan 15 – Mean²

820.9 876.9

104% 106%

789.6 829.2

(1996-2014) (1996-2014)

907.2 931.5

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

24.3 13.2 18.8

+1.0°C +0.6°C +0.8°C

23.3 12.6 18.0

(1986-2014) (1986-2014) (1986-2014)

22.4 12.0 17.2

Ground Frosts (<= -1.0°C)

0

Equal

0

(1986-2014)

0

Air Frosts

0

Equal

0

(1986-2014)

0

(0.0°C)

Sunshine hours 297.0 114% Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2015 297.0 114%

261.5 (1930-2014) 261.2 165.2 1971 335.3 1957 261.5 (1930-2014) 261.2

Rainfall (mm) 4.4 9.1% Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2015 4.4 9.1%

48.6 (1930-2014) 79.2 0 1978 167.0 1985 48.6 (1930-2014) 79.2

Evapotranspiration – mm

143.8

103%

140.1

(1997-2014)

140.4

Avg. Daily Windrun (km)

221.8

80%

278.6

(1996-2014)

260.5

Mean soil temp – 10cm

20.8

+1.9°C

18.9

(1986-2014)

16.5

Mean soil temp – 30cm

23.4

+2.7°C

20.7

(1986-2014)

19.4

¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

Temperature and growing degreedays January mean temperature of 18.8°C was 0.8°C above average; the warmest January since 2008. The warm

2014 to the end of January 2015 is greater than in any recent season. The question is, will it remain hot over the ripening period during February and March 2015?

Rainfall January 2015 rainfall of 4.4 mm was only 9.1% of the long-term average.

This is the fifth lowest January total on record for the 86 years 1930-2015.

January 1978 recorded zero rainfall.

It is not uncommon for Blenheim to record low rainfall in January. Nine years during the 86 years 1930 to 2015 have recorded less than 10 mm rain.

However, high January rainfall is also not uncommon; eight years during the period 1930-2015 have recorded greater than 100 mm rainfall in January.

Part of living in New Zealand with a maritime climate is that we are subject to large variations in rainfall and temperature in any given month from year to year.

Rob Agnew Plant & Food Research / Marlborough Research Centre

temperatures since mid December 2014 are reflected in the growing degree-day line for the current season in Figure 1 (green line). The increase in GDD’s for the seven weeks from mid December

Figure 1: Normalized growing degree days for Blenheim: days above (+) or below (-) the long-term average for the period 1 September to 30 April

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From The Board Guy Lissaman – Chair of the Wine Marlborough Finance Committee For those of you that have attended a Marlborough Winegrowers AGM you will have been given an insight into what the organisation delivers on your behalf and to its members.

Marlborough Winegrower’s trading entity Wine Marlborough Ltd has two main functions: • Undertake “Generic Activities” which provides core services to members including Advocacy work, Generic Marketing and Seasonal Labour Co-ordinator funded through the Regional Levy.

• Run Events and Commercial Activities including the Wine & Food Festival, Wine Weekend and Young Viticulturist, which are funded through a combination of user-pay, sponsorship and advertising.

The Regional Levy Funding that Marlborough Winegrowers receives is an allocation of the Grape Grower Levy and Wine levy received by NZ Winegrowers. In turn this Levy must be used to fund Generic Activity which is targeted to benefit the wider member base in the Marlborough region.

The level of Regional Levy funding that MWG has received over the last five years has fluctuated in tandem with grape returns and wine sales post the ‘GFC’. Following the strategic review of NZW and after consultation with the Regional bodies, Marlborough now receives a larger share of the total Regional Levy Funding pool, increasing from $225k in 2012/13 to $416k in 2013/14.

The 2013/14 financial year generated a strong cash result which has been consolidated into reserves. This follows a two year period when NZ 8

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WINEPRESS February 2015

Winegrowers Regional Levy funding had been reduced and MWG had to drawdown on reserves to maintain its core level of Member services.

In tandem with the growth in the Wine Industry, Marlborough Winegrower’s activities and services provided through Wine Marlborough Ltd have grown significantly over the last six years, with turnover doubling over this period to $1.1m for the 2013/14 financial year.

Wine Marlborough employs three full-time and two part-time staff members including General Manager Marcus Pickens, to deliver the range of activities that the MWG Board keeps an oversight over.

The current MWG Board includes five elected Grape Grower and six Winemaker representatives who bring a diverse range of backgrounds and skill sets to the organisation. The Board operates a series of sub-committees including Advocacy, Finance, Marketing and Communication.

The Finance Committee has established good financial controls to ensure that the Regional Levy Funding is being spent appropriately and for Wine Marlborough Ltd to trade profitably.

To manage financial risk and provide a continuity of activity the MWG Board established a Reserves Policy in 2014 to buffer the effects of a fluctuating Levy return and provide long term reserves to cover the contingency of an adverse event (e.g climatic, bio-security or event failure).

The increase in Regional Levy Funding provides MWG with a great opportunity. The Board will be reviewing its Strategic Plan for 2015/16 over the next few months and will be

targeting where the extra funding can provide the most benefit.

Looking into the future; there are some key events coming to Marlborough including the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration 2016 which Marlborough Winegrowers will be co-hosting with NZ Winegrowers.

This is a great opportunity for the Marlborough industry to get in behind and showcase our flagship variety to the many international visitors and wine influencers that will be taking part in this event.

After Marlborough’s record grape harvest in 2014 it looks like the 2015 vintage will be down on last year. The cooler temperatures experienced in the first two weeks of December have had an impact on bunch weights and combined with lower bunch numbers will see the majority of blocks sitting at a moderate crop level. While this will have an impact on individual grower returns it will be to the industry’s long term advantage to smooth the supply to our overseas markets.

The representatives on the Marlborough Winegrowers Board will change over time and for succession to work effectively it is important for those of you in the industry that have something to offer, to get involved and make a difference.

Best wishes for the 2015 Vintage and I look forward to seeing you at the next AGM.

Wineries Not Happy Tessa Nicholson

A number of Marlborough wineries are not happy with the decision by Air New Zealand to move to one wine supplier – and the airline could well be the biggest loser.

In January the national airline announced that Villa Maria would be the sole supplier of wine for all economy and premium economy cabins and Air New Zealand Koru Lounges. The decision is part of new procurement arrangements that are aimed at cutting costs and centralising suppliers.

Understandably many wineries are upset about the decision and Winepress was keen to see if that would impact on their decisions when choosing an international airline for travel.

Given New Zealand is so far away from its major markets, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year are spent on international travel as part of the collective wine marketing budget.

While this straw poll is in no way scientific, the results are none-theless interesting. Of 10 companies approached here in Marlborough, only two were Category 3 members, (annual sales exceeding 4 million litres) the rest split between Category 2 and 1.

Eight of the 10 had previously chosen to fly with Air New Zealand, instead of another airline. The remaining two had consciously chosen an alternative airline

due to better pricing.

Of the eight who had always chosen Air NZ, six said they would look at alternative airlines as a direct result of this decision.

And the combined international travel budget of those eight was just over $1 million!

Bear in mind this is just a sample of 10 Marlborough wineries – by no means all who are involved in travelling internationally. And there are dozens more companies spread throughout the country that will have strong views on the Air NZ decision.

Some of the comments from the wineries contacted are below.

“No loyalty from them – no loyalty from me.”

“I think I can understand from an economic point of view, but I can also remember when Ralph Norris came down to a meeting and pledged support for the Marlborough Wine Industry.”

“I am disappointed with the outcome.

I’ve always been proud to fly Air NZ and see a varied selection of quality New Zealand wines enjoyed by passengers.”

“Appalling decision and something akin

International Travel Did You Consciously Budget (annual) Choose to Fly with

Air NZ in the past? $50,000 Yes $200,000 Yes $60,000 Yes $20,000 Yes $200,000 Yes $50 – 80,000 Yes $450,000 Yes $35,000 No $80 – 100,000 Yes $150,000 No

Will This Decision Impact On Your Decision To Fly With Them In The Future?

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Not really Yes

to the bulk supermarket approach – not in keeping with a quality airline.”

“A disgraceful attitude for a national airline.”

But not all comments were negative.

As one wine company said; “If I’m reading it correctly other companies still have the ability to have their wines showcased in Business and some Korus.

We the industry owe Air NZ for their long-standing history of showcasing our New Zealand wines, not the other way around. If this makes better business sense for them to do what they have done, then that is a rational business decision well made. Only time will tell.”

The graph below shows the response in terms of the questions and answers from all 10 wineries approached.

Agreed that Villa Maria is a fine representation of New Zealand, in the fact that it is the country’s most awarded wine label, is New Zealand owned and has five other wine labels associated with it. And the reaction from other wineries is in no way a negative towards Villa, more a concern about the way the airline itself is going.

Ian Clarke Villa Maria’s Export PR Manager says it has to be remembered that these types of business arrangements happen throughout commerce – take a look at hotels, restaurants and bars that have an agreement with certain suppliers.

So yes it was a business decision made

by Air NZ – but as I mentioned in my editorial – business decisions go both ways – and wineries who are miffed at the changes made, may make their own business decisions when it comes to international travel.

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After 38 Years, Gerry Says Farewell Tessa Nicholson

When Gerry Gregg first went to work for Montana, he had never been inside a winery and the closest he had ever come to grapes was at the green grocers.

Oh how 38 years can change things.

Gerry was initially employed by Montana in 1976 as an engineer to oversee the construction of the first winery and went on to hold work titles such as cellar hand, day shift winemaker, assistant manager, winery manager, national winery manager and Pernod Ricard Brand Ambassador. He has seen the company he began working for grow from a full time staff of 20 (in Marlborough), to a staff of 300. He has overseen the building of a winery that handled 800 tonnes of fruit in its first year, to managing a winery that handled 50,000 tonnes in 2014. He has seen the company name change from Montana, to Allied Domeqc and finally Pernod Ricard. And he was the first ever recipient of the Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award.

A southerner by birth, Gerry undertook an apprenticeship with New Zealand Rail. His first two years saw him working on steam engines, his last three on diesel. Wanting to move out of Dunedin, he applied for and got a job working with Cuddons here in Marlborough. But the inevitable travel the job entailed, saw him moving on – to the Ministry of Works. While he loved the job, he was intrigued when he saw an advert in the paper looking for an engineer to oversee the building of a winery at Riverlands for the newly established company Montana.

“At that stage the framework of the building was standing, but it hadn’t been clad or anything. Mate Yukich had this big Mercedes truck and trailer and was 10

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WINEPRESS February 2015

carting the building piece by piece from the Titirangi winery. We transported the tanks, everything, including the wiring.

It was all second hand.”

He thinks if Mate could have transported the concrete slab from Titirangi as well, he would have done.

There simply was no money within the company at the time to build anything new. Gerry had £1000 to spend on equipment and there were only four months until the very first vintage was due – all 800 tonnes of it.

But finish it in time they did and suddenly Gerry was employed as a cellar hand and a day shift winemaker.

“It was pretty basic back then, very different from today.

We were making Muller Thurgau and Blenheimer.

Peter Hubscher came down and left me with an A4 piece of paper, which said how to add sulphur and how much. How to analyse the juice and stuff like that. It was pretty simple.”

That was his first vintage – 1977. A few short months later, an accident that nearly killed him, led directly

to the beginning of his career in management.

The accident where his hand got caught in a rewinding irrigation hose, saw a square sprocket pierce his wrist, snapping it, and Gerry having no way of turning the winding mechanism off. Cutting a long story short, he was rescued – just in the nick of time apparently.

“The Labour Department came to see me in hospital and told me I was seconds away from death. That was a life changer for me. But it also gave me

Our favourite Gerry pics....

From 800 tonnes to 50,000 – Gerry has seen the winery grow exponentially during his 38 years.

the intro into the management side of things. I would probably still be a baggy arse in overalls now, if that hadn’t happened. I couldn’t do the work I had previously been doing, so I went into assistant manager and later took over the management, when John (Marris) went into the vineyard side of things.”

While the hand incident is by far the most serious, it is by no means the one and only accident to befall Gerry. He has been known within the workplace as somewhat accident prone, both at work and at home.

“Even recently I would go into work on a Monday morning and say good morning to the guys, who would all want to know what I did over the weekend. It was always something like, ‘Oh I fell through a roof ’. Or ‘I fell off the boat and swam in the bay until someone noticed I was missing’. They would roar with laughter.”

After 38 years you might think that Gerry had become complacent, bored or even looking forward to leaving his work behind. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“I would do it all over again. It’s been

38 years of a high, so positive. I have been so privileged in this job, especially in a place like Marlborough. I think I have met every Prime Minister since 1976, I have met the Queen, I have met the commander of the Enterprise Aircraft Carrier. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

And throughout his 38 years, he says he has been allowed to get on with the job without anyone looking over his shoulder. Take the building of the new cellar door on SH1 back in 2000.

He initially asked the Montana board for $400,000 to extend the Keith Hay home that had been the cellar door since 1977. In the end the Board Chair Peter Masfen told him to just go ahead and build whatever was suitable, he trusted him.

If there is one bad memory, it has to do with a dessert wine, the first produced

by Montana, back in the 70s.

“It was the winemaker John Symes’ pride and joy, in fact it was everyone’s pride and joy. We had put so much effort into it.”

Peter Hubscher had come down to check everything was okay for bottling.

It was Gerry who first suggested Brancott Vineyard as the site for the Wine and Food Festival.

Given the acid levels weren’t quite right, Gerry was tasked with adding more to the tank.

“Normally we had 25 pound bags, but they had jumped up to 50 pounds, so I put one bag in not realising that it was twice as much as was needed. I mixed it all up and took a sample in and ran it through the test and the acid was miles too high. That was one of my early moments when I wished the boards would open up and swallow me. I have carried that through, thinking everyone can make a mistake.”

It wasn’t really the disaster it could have been, given they held the wine over for a couple of years, and when it was finally released it went on to win a number of gold medals.

People often asked him why he stayed so long with the same company. In typical Gerry fashion he made a joke of it.

“I would tell them that I was never paid enough to buy a suit for a job interview, so I had to stay,” he says.

Enjoy that retirement Gerry – you have well and truly earned it.

The first ever recipient of the Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award.

WINEPRESS February 2015

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11

Aging Pinot – Why Bother?

Tessa Nicholson

The age old conundrum of how long we should be aging our Pinot Noir was thrown on its head recently when well-known Australian journalist Nick Stock asked me, why would we want to age them?

In Marlborough as part of his New Zealand Pinot Noir trail (see box for story) Nick was trying a range of local Pinots, from 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was impressed, particularly with the 2013s.

“It is an exceptionally upbeat vintage that seems to be very approachable.

They are charming wines, but not in a backhanded sort of way. They are really together, really composed and really enjoyable. It’s almost off-putting sometimes when you see wines that are looking so good, when they are so young. It takes you by surprise.”

He said the 2013 vintage was one out of the box in terms of Marlborough Pinots, with the quality being “extremely good”.

Will they age well I asked.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Wines that are balanced as young wines tend to age very well.”

Then came the statement that made me

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sit up a little straighter.

“I would ask you though, how relevant is how will these New Zealand Pinots age question? To me it’s not a very relevant question.”

Okay I say – why?

“These wines are so delicious, I don’t think many of them are going to make it to a cellar to age.

“I am a living example of that,” he went on. “With New Zealand Pinot I buy from a few producers with an eye to building a cellar and I have to try and race them into my cellar straight away, or else they just don’t make it. They are so exciting when you open them. They are lively, vivacious and screaming – ‘Drink Me’.

“I often find myself questioning what I am going to gain by cellaring them, and while I may buy half a dozen bottles, I now only put one or two into the cellar. It will be fun to pull them out in a few years and see what happens, but

I do that more out of curiosity, than to drink aged wines.”

Nick says he’s not just talking about Marlborough Pinots, but New Zealand in general. And given a world-wide trend to drink reds younger, this country is in the perfect position to capitalise.

“In terms of red wine, there is a huge trend, not just Pinot, but across a lot of other styles of red wine, towards drinking very young, vivacious and enlivening red wine. New Zealand Pinot just happens to be in exactly the right place at the right time.Young red wine, particularly Pinot is one of the most delicious things you can hope to drink, so why not celebrate that?”

Especially he says since many other countries can’t produce the quality in a young wine, that New Zealand can.

“Burgundy is offering more and more ‘drink now’ red wines but the majority need to be aged to reach full potential in terms of enjoyment. But this is not the case in New Zealand.

These are wines that present an attractive open-hearted character when they are young so I say make the most of it!”

The Pinot Trail

Imagine getting in a car, having a couple of weeks to travel from one Pinot Noir region to another to try the wines. Sound good?

That’s what Nick Stock thought too.

As part of his research for a travel piece for Australia Gourmet Traveller, Nick was tasked with travelling from Martinborough/ Wairarapa and through the South Island, visiting all the wine regions renowned for Pinot Noir. With a vehicle as his travelling companion, he set off late November, soaking up the regional atmospheres, unique tourism aspects, scenery and of course the Pinots.

“Often with Gourmet Traveller we only do one region at a time. But this is different.

It’s about coming to New Zealand and following a Pinot trail, it’s about how to get there, what the experience from a traveller point of view is like and what the unique tourism features of the region might be.

“I’m physically driving to these spots, which is nice. It gives me an experience which will be quite similar to what most travellers will have. And it allows me to take in the landscape and visually get a feel for the place, which I feel is important. The landscape here is pretty striking, which has a big influence on the style of your wines.

But it is nice to get a physical fix on that as well.”

The travel piece will also focus on regional styles and provide those following the trail with each region’s top producers.

“So it will give people a hit list to travel with.”

While the article won’t provide in depth tasting notes, Nick said he will be making those available on www.jamessuckling.com, an online subscription based wine site.

“I will do a series of regional pieces, featuring more on the wine than the travel aspect.”

Nick’s article on New Zealand’s Pinot trail, will feature in the April/May issue of Gourmet Traveller.

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WINEPRESS February 2015

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Post Harvest Break

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First Young Winemaker Competition For the first time ever, young winemakers will have the chance to test themselves against their peers, in the New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year competition.

The Young Viticulturalist of the year competition has long been the benchmark for celebrating New Zealand’s up-and coming viticultural talent. Now entering its 10th year, the viticulture competition is to be joined in 2015 by a winemaking specific event, aimed at helping showcase the wealth of developing winemaking talent in the industry.

The need to recognise New Zealand’s young winemaking talent, culminated with a group of young Marlborough wine industry members banding together to develop the new competition format, which will follow a similar outline to the Young Viticulturalist event.

With the support of New Zealand Winegrowers, the competition outline developed in Marlborough will be rolled out to include competitions in both Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago for 2015.

Marlborough Young Winemaker Committee Chair, Sophie Matthews, is happily stepping up to provide support to the Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago regions and is looking for local committee members to come on board to get the events up and running.

“We are really excited to develop this competition which will celebrate the young winemaking talent in New Zealand. I feel this competition has been needed for some time and will give recognition to those who are upand-coming in the industry. We are now on the lookout for event sponsors, who would be keen to support this inaugural event,” Sophie said.

Wine Marlborough General Manager, Marcus Pickens, has been involved with the committee throughout, and helped secure New Zealand Winegrowers support to kick-start the event. Wine

Marlborough have also pledged financial support to the event in the form of prize money for the regional winners.

“Wine Marlborough is very pleased to partner New Zealand Winegrowers in the newly announced New Zealand Young Winemaker competition.

Everyone involved sees this as such an exciting development for the wine industry. It’s going to be a thrill to see the younger members of the industry step up and put themselves forward, which we hope will assist with further career development,” Marcus said.

Support has been widespread, with many established winemakers offering their time to assist in judging and running of the competition. Jeff Clarke, Chief Winemaker at Ara, has been a sounding board, providing advice to the committee and believes the event will be invaluable to the industry. “As support of a vital part of the wine business, namely our people, this competition will assist in demonstrating the skills and craft of the next

generation of leaders of our industry,” Jeff said.

Marlborough entries opened on February 1st and the selected regional entrants will undergo a day of rigorous testing, which may include challenges involving; lab analysis, blending, blind tasting, amongst other assessments. The entry forms will be available on the Facebook page and Wine Marlborough website.

The winner of the Marlborough Young Winemaker will receive $1000 cash, along with the opportunity to be an Associate Judge at the 2015 Romeo Bragato wine competition; second place will receive $500 and the third place recipient receives $250 Eligible entrants are required to be 30 years or under and must be a New Zealand resident, having completed two previous harvests or hold two years experience in a wine production role in New Zealand.

For more information, follow @NZYoungWinemkr on Twitter and @NZYoungWinemaker on Facebook.

The nine National Young Viticulturists of the Year from 2006 to 2014. A Young Winemaker of the Year competition starting this year will be based on a similar formula.

WINEPRESS February 2015 | 15

Generation Y-ine - Matt Sutherland, Dog Point Wines Annabelle Latz - Google.com/+AnnabelleLatz Successful marketing is all about putting faces to names and knowing what your clients desire.

From his London base, Matt Sutherland spent three years in a marketing and

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sales role for his family’s Marlboroughbased winery Dog Point Wines.

Returning to Marlborough 18 months ago, he admits it took being abroad to really appreciate the wonders and

complexity of wine marketing.

As the son of Ivan and Marg Sutherland, the world of wine has always caught his eye and mind.

“Funnily enough, I wasn’t really interested in Viticulture or Winemaking as a career (earlier on). I was more interested in business management and winery operations, getting wine into markets and building brands.”

Before heading to the UK, Matt had been working for a wine distributor in New Zealand and with a different wine company with brand management in Melbourne. He studied a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University after his secondary school years, which he followed up with an honours degree in Commerce. He met his future wife Jane in Melbourne, and they made the move to London together in 2010.

Despite the global economic downturn at the time, Matt was glad he went, and there was plenty of work to do .

“Being there opened my eyes as to what is required...I didn’t go there to change the world, I really just sat back for a year and observed, and looked at where I could add value.”

From his London base, Matt spent about 45% of his time in different countries, working with distributors, restaurants and retail, and educating about Dog Point’s tank fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Section 94, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

“I was literally there establishing a marketing and sales role for Dog Point.

It was all about getting into the market place and building relationships. It was about explaining to people what we do, and our wine style.

“Being able to meet so many people face to face presented the ability to ask the distributors directly what customers

wanted, what we could change, and what we could do better. I want people to buy our wine because they understand the philosophy behind our style and they like what we do. I’m not a hard sales person.”

Amongst other things his role involved supporting and assisting the distributors in the market place, and paying constant attention to the changing markets.

“It’s about building relationships, that’s what it’s all about.”

Matt was pleasantly surprised at how well New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is received in the old world markets, and how much respect is given to New Zealand wines, through the expertise of open-minded worldly sommeliers.

“New Zealand is really starting to creep into the old world markets, which is a sign we have a really cool product, and how transient the hospitality world is.”

One of the most vivid and memorable aspects of Matt’s time abroad was meeting representatives from other family owned companies and wineries who had been there for generations.

“You are talking to people associated with labels that have been around for absolutely donkeys’ years, and you feed off their never ending enthusiasm.”

These encounters made him realise that he wanted to become more integrated in the winemaking side of Dog Point when he moved home. Which happened in 2013 when Matt and Jane

made the shift to Marlborough and back to Dog Point, where his two sisters Kirsty and Anna are also involved.

“I wanted to bring something to the table, not just come back for the sake of it being a family business.”

His time overseas provided him with insight and information into the markets they were exporting to, and this has integrated superbly into his now Marlborough-based role.

“I could have stayed there longer; there is still heaps of work to do.”

Trips abroad to meet clients are still plentiful, and Matt admits they can be tiring on your own (around three and a half months last year), so it’s good to travel with workmates to “spread the load a little bit.”

“You are only going to see one person once, so you have to be in top form. Travel can be exhausting, but is rewarding at the same time .”

As is being acknowledged by peers and experts.

“Receiving the first-place prize for the 2012 Pinot Noir at the recent Six Nations tasting in Sydney was very rewarding, and we normally don’t enter our wines into competitions. It’s not that we’re against them, it’s just a philosophy we’ve adopted. We were first equal with a South African sparkling, which was great fizz. It is always nice to get third party recognition.”

The winery to customer context is

more important now than ever, due to the huge international investment in Marlborough wine, and it’s about supporting distributors in the market.

“We have to get smarter at how we take our product to the market, because we are all in the same boat.”

He believes each wine region in New Zealand needs to share information about international markets, which can happen by chatting and keeping in touch with one another.

“Because information is the most important tool in the market.”

Keeping active and fit at home is an important part of being fit for travel, which Matt said is a pleasure in Marlborough with his quick five minute commute to work, his regular running, and his love for the water which often has him out diving, fishing and water-skiing.

“You have to keep fit particularly when you are travelling, it keeps you mentally switched on, and I’ve found getting over jet lag is quicker too.”

It’s been a busy 17 months for the young couple, who have established themselves back into the region, had their wedding, and are expecting their first baby in June.

A vintage in Oregon or France may be on the cards at some stage too, a fun adventure for his young family.

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Organic Focus Vineyard Review

The Pinot being hand picked at the Wither Hills vineyard, as part of the Organic Focus Vineyard project.

Rebecca Reider - Coordinator, Organic Winegrowers New Zealand

The Organic Focus Vineyard project followed the journeys of three vineyards for three years, each in a different region.

Our goal with the project was to answer some of the many questions growers tend to ask as they consider becoming organic.

On each focus vineyard block, with the rest of the industry watching, managers converted half of the block to organic management, and left half in conventional management for comparative purposes.

To conclude the project, presentations and wine tastings from the focus blocks were held around the country in November and December of 2014.

Tasting the results In Marlborough, a portion of Wither

Hills’ Taylor River vineyard served as the local Organic Focus Vineyard.

At the final project seminar at Wither Hills in November, most attendees preferred the organic Sauvignon Blanc for its greater palate weight, texture and length. Winemaker Andrew Petrie acknowledged that the conventional Sauvignon, in contrast, was more suited to being a base for a blend.

However, a difference in yields meant it wasn’t a fair comparison. Although the organic and conventional Sauvignon Blanc had nearly identical yields for the first two years of the trial, in the third year – the year when organic and

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conventional wines were compared – the conventional block (28.1 tonne/ ha) yielded more than the organic (18.8 tonne/ha).

Wither Hills managers would ordinarily have thinned fruit from the conventional block at those cropping levels, but left it all to ripen in the interests of the trial.

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However, of all trial blocks in the project nationwide, the Wither Hills Pinot Noir was the only organic block to yield less than the vineyard managers would have liked, hovering around 4 tonne/ha.

Managers believe that this Pinot block’s young, shallow roots and heavily compacted soils made the vines particularly vulnerable to disturbance by undervine cultivation.

Still, the trial showed that there is a way out of such difficulties. A few seasons of corrective management included deep ripping, cover cropping and compost applications to feed the roots and encourage them to go deeper. After those efforts, the organic vines seemed to be recovering their vigour, and wine quality was high.

In introducing the Pinot Noirs from the trial, winemaker Andrew Petrie commented that the conventional was a “crowd-pleasing wine” for drinking now, with a “plump, juicy palate,” while the organic was the “more interesting wine,” with a “chewier phenolic structure,” subtle spearmint herbal notes, and a good potential to develop further as it ages.

Organic in the marketplace The market for certified organic wines was another topic on the agenda at the seminar. The consensus of those in the room was that organic status in itself doesn’t necessarily command a higher price, but it can result in new market opportunities that would not have otherwise existed.

To that end, at the seminar, Matua Valley Technical Viticulturist Lachy Hynd spoke on his company’s journey.

Matua’s parent company was not inclined toward organic production at first. But when the winery purchased organic grapes from Marlborough grower Cat Creek, the resulting wine was so good that they put it in their single vineyard range for 2012 as their top Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

This success led to more organic fruit buying for Matua, followed by a new contract to supply certified organic wine to the Nordic countries, which convinced the company leadership that in the European market, “There is a place for organics – not huge, but growing,” Hynd said. This year, Matua will increase their commitment to organics, by starting to convert a 30ha block of their own to organic production.

The full report of results from the Organic Focus Vineyard project will be released soon. In the meantime, the vineyard managers’ play-by-play accounts of the organic conversion process are available on www.organicfocusvineyard.com.

The Organic Focus Vineyard Project is a project of Organic Winegrowers New Zealand, funded primarily by the Sustainable Farming Fund and New Zealand Winegrowers.

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WINEPRESS February 2015

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Winemakers Shine in China Tessa Nicholson

More than two years after beginning a unique wine competition, two local winemakers have come out tops.

Wine shows are a part of the industry that members have become all too familiar with. A winemaker produces a wine, enters it into the show and waits to find out whether it has collected a medal or trophy. But the Ningxia Wine Competition was different. Not only in the fact that it involved a limited number of international winemakers, but also that it took more than two years to complete.

It was back in 2012 that the Ningxia Wine Competition appeared on the radar. The fastest growing wine region in China wanted to gain some publicity on an international scale. A call went out to winemakers around the world to take part in the competition, that would eventually see seven individuals travel to Ningxia itself, select grapes and make firstly a red wine, then a year later return to make a white wine. The wines would then be judged in 2014, with the top three earning accolades and prize money.

It began with a hiss and a roar, with international media intrigued by the very idea of the competition and the way the wine region was promoting itself.

Among those seven winemakers selected (from a pool of 50) were two from New Zealand, both domiciled here in Marlborough - David Tyney and Patricia Miranda-Taylor.

The all expenses trip or should that be

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trips to China, gave the winemakers an inside look at this northwestern wine region, that had already made a bit of a name for itself with Bordeaux reds.

When they first arrived in time for vintage 2012, David and Patricia were based in the city of Yinchuan (population 4 million). Treated very much like royalty, the pair and other winemakers were feted by the industry, local government and the media who were following their every move. While both were impressed with the wineries that were appearing throughout the region, the same couldn’t be said for the viticultural practices they encountered, prior to vintage. Systems are very different to here in New Zealand, particularly trellising.

In 2012, disease was rife, yields were down and both winemakers found it difficult to make decisions on when to pick the fruit to ensure it was at optimum quality.

The first year of the competition saw them making a red wine – a Cab Sav with a blend of Cabernet Gernischt.

While the fruit may not have been perfect, the winery was something else. Looking like a mediaeval castle, it had literally been built in two months specifically for the competition.

Once the vintage was over and the wine in barrel, the winemakers headed back to their respective countries, although they were able to make a

couple of visits back to Ningxia to oversee the development of the wines.

Then in 2013, all seven were invited back to make the white wine – part two of the competition. It appears some of the initial enthusiasm had dissipated somewhat, and only three of the original made it back. One winemaker from Spain, another from France and David from New Zealand.

Again the competition rules were quite specific. Each winemaker had to make the decision when to pick their fruit, this time Chardonnay –with all parcels coming off the same vineyard. They were then tasked with making the wine in whatever way they deemed suitable.

To say it was a long competition is putting it mildly, David says.

“It was very long, two and a bit years. I personally have been over there seven times during the competition. At the beginning there was a lot of hype, a lot of media attention and everyone was involved. But it began to lose impetus.”

David was impressed with how the wines had aged during the competition.

“It just got better and better. From a fruit point of view, I was sceptical of the quality, but as the wines developed and aged, and these wines definitely need to age, they really develop some nice richness and complexity.”

Finally after bottling both the red and the white wines at the beginning of September, the competitors attended the prize giving, held in Beijing. The wines were judged and the winners announced straight away, with David taking out first prize for not only the red wine but also the white. It was very nearly a white wash (excuse the pun) in the former category, given Patricia was placed third out of seven competitors. A huge congrats to both.

Unfortunately though, in all the ensuing publicity, including articles written by Marcus Ford and Jancis Robinson, David was referred to as an Australian. (He was none too happy about that I can assure you).

As for the wines, despite originally being told that after the competition the winemakers would be entitled to half of the wine they produced, they have ended up with none.

“Unfortunately now the competition is over, the wine is locked away at a museum for all the international winemakers. So I can’t access any of it.”

While the competition may finally be over, it is not the last China will see of David. He will continue to travel there as a winemaking consultant, and he also spends a large amount of time marketing his own brand Cirro.

WINEPRESS February 2015

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Please call myself or the team to make a booking. I look forward to seeing you soon.

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How Do We Chose Quality in Wine Tessa Nicholson

As a consumer, what is it that makes you decide whether or not a wine is of good quality?

At the end of last year, Dominique Valentin from the University of Burgundy, shared her research with members of the Marlborough wine industry. She has been attempting to discover if the tipping point for consumers choosing one wine over another has more to do with their emotional response to a bottle, or factual information relating to that bottle.

Initially she began her research in France, with a line up of local Chardonnays, of varying quality levels.

There were a number of different label styles, some had full tasting notes on the back, others had just the basics.

She then asked the panellists to sort the wines into three categories, one low quality, one medium and the other high – based only on what the bottle suggested to them.

The intrinsic qualities perceived by the panellists, showed how much they influence what a consumer will eventually purchase.

When it came to labels, those bottles that had modern designs were less likely to be considered high quality. One label had the winemaker’s name listed – which Dominique says in France is not normal – so this impacted on the panel’s perception of it being lower quality.

“If they like the label, they think they will like the wine,” she said.

Wine that was promoted as bottled by the winemaker, rather than a negociant or cooperative, also was rated as higher quality – and Dominique says that is a historical perception that has been hard to counter.

Wine bottles that displayed an award

sticker were also considered higher quality, regardless of their origin or vintage.

The only exception she says to the above, was if the wine was a 1st Cru, which superseded any other criteria, and was rated as high quality every time.

Dominique then wanted to know if those same quality perceptions were shared universally. Would two different panels, one French and one Spanish both view the same wines in the same way.

To determine this, Dominique had two separate panels, one made up of French consumers, and a similar group of Spanish consumers. Each panel was presented with 20 wines, 10 from Cote du Rhone and 10 from Rioja. Again they were asked to place the bottles into one of three categories, from low quality to high quality. There was no tasting of the wine. The data showed that participants could be grouped into one of three categories, a lowinvolvement French group, a lowinvolvement Spanish group and then a mixed group of both Spanish and French who had a higher involvement with wine. “The major Spanish group perceived the Spanish wines were of a higher quality. They could recognise the wines, they were confident about them and confident they were choosing quality.”

The French group were un-surprisingly, the exact opposite. They listed the French wines as higher quality and the Spanish as low.

But when it came to the third panel of Spanish and French who knew more about wine, they were less influenced

by the country of origin and more concerned with the label, vintage and reputation.

“So we know that quality is linked to culture,” Dominique said, “but culture is also affected by familiarity.”

All of this research is based on bottles only – not tastings.

However once the participants were asked to blind taste the exact same wines – the variation between high and low quality, depending on country of origin, was far less marked “We found very little difference in countries low and high attributes.”

What Dominique did find though was the panel of experts that blind tasted the same wines have a different view on what makes a quality wine.

“Consumers and wine professionals don’t perceive quality in the same way,” she said.

The French and Spanish experts awarded the high quality label to wines that they described as fruity.

The consumers on the other hand gave the high quality tick to the wines that displayed overtones of wood.

This in itself is an important aspect moving forward, given how often wine companies rely on the writings of experts to assist in increasing sales.

Dominique has just completed a research study where New Zealand Pinot Noir was compared alongside French Pinot Noir, with panels in both New Zealand and France taking part. She has undertaken this work in collaboration with Wendy Parr of Lincoln University and Claire Grose of Plant & Food Research. Those results have yet to be finalised. They should make interesting reading!

WINEPRESS February 2015

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For Expert Viticultural Property Advice

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WINEPRESS February 2015

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

www.ormondnurseries.co.nz

NZW Export News November 2014 Key Points • MAT October 2014 export value is $1.339 billion, up 8% on the previous year.

• MAT November 2014 exports are 190.0 m. litres, up 8% on the previous year; packaged exports are +4.5% for the period and other exports are up 17%.

• Average value MAT October 2014 is $7.03 per litre down 1.5% on the previous year; packaged export value is $8.22 per litre down 2% on the previous year.

NB: WECS, which is the source for volume data in this Report, moved to a different software system in October. This has affected the data in this Report. Going forward the new software will deliver better alignment with the Statistics NZ value data as WECS data will now record the date of shipment from NZ, not the date of certification. Short term and unavoidably this means, in comparison to previous data,YTD and MAT November exports are understated by 3.6 m. litres, all of which is packaged product. In the Report reference to ‘adjusted WECS data’ means the data includes this 3.6 m. litres Total Export Volume & Value • MAT October 2014 total value of exports is $1.339 billion, up 8% on the previous year.

• YTD October 2014 total value of exports is $526.3 million, up 2% on the previous year.

• Total value of October 2014 exports was $145.3 m. up 1% on October 2013.

• MAT November 2014 exports are 190.0 m. litres, up 8% (14.4 m. litres) on the previous year. Based on adjusted WECS data, exports are 193.6 m litres up 10% (18.0 m. litres).

• YTD November 2014 exports are 92.5 m. litres, up 2% (2.2 m. litres) on the previous year.

Based on adjusted WECS data, exports are 96.1 m litres up 6% (5.8 m. litres).

• November 2014xports were 16.6m. litres down 3% (0.5 m. litres) on November 2013.

Export Value per Litre USA 750 ml data.

- All wines • October 2014 average value was $6.96 per litre, up $0.36 per litre on October 2013.

• YTD October 2014 average value is $6.72 per litre.

• MAT October 2014 average price is $7.03 per litre, down 1.5% or $0.11 per litre on MAT October 2013.

- Packaged wines • Excluding unpackaged wine from the data, the October 2014 average value was $8.43 per litre, up $0.32 per litre on October 2013.

• YTD October 2014 the average price is $8.05 per litre.

• MAT October 2014 the average price is $8.22 per litre, down $0.17 per litre (2%) on MAT October 2013.

• MAT October 2014 prices are up 5% to the UK, but are down 5% to Australia & USA, and 6.5% to Canada.

Export Volume by Country of Destination • In November, for the major markets, exports were up 10% to the USA and 3% to UK, but were down 17% to Australia. Canada was down 19% for the month, while performance of other markets was mixed, with the best performers being Germany & Netherlands.

• YTD November 2014 growth is

led by the USA +11% with UK +7% but Australia is -6%. Shipments to Canada are +12% on last year.

Netherlands & Denmark are the other best performers.

• MAT November 2014 growth is led by the USA +15%, the UK +13%, but Australia is -3%. Canada shipments are +12% for the year.

Performance of other tracked markets is mixed with Denmark the strongest performer +32%.

Exports by Variety/Style • In November 2014 Sauvignon Blanc exports were 14.5m. litres, down 2% from the previous year, accounting for 87.2% of export volume. Of the Sauvignon Blanc exported in November, 13.6 m litres was from Vintage 2014.

• Performance of other styles was generally negative in November with Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris the best performers.

• YTD November 2014 Sauvignon Blanc exports are 80.9 m. litres up 3% on the previous year.

Performance of other styles is mixed with Pinot Gris the strongest performer.

• MAT November 2014, Sauvignon Blanc shipments are 162.9 m. litres up 9% from the previous year.

Performance of other styles is mixed with Pinot Gris +30% the strongest performer.

• Production of Sauvignon Blanc in 2014 is estimated to have been 231.1 m. litres, 36% up on the previous year. Shipments of vintage 2014 Sauvignon Blanc since release are 80.0 m. litres or 34.6% of estimated production – this is a lower share than at the same time after 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages. Based on adjusted WECS data, shipments are 35.8% of production.

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Dog Poin t Wines ‫‏‬ D o @ gPo Looking fo rward to intWines Jan 14 this year’s winemarlb o @ Fest on V rough Wine & Fo alentines od D @Marlbo roughFest ay of all days! http://ww stuff.co.nz / w The best from the last month. news/648 marlborough-expre . ss/ 57265/W festival-ti ckets-are- ine-amp-FoodMud House selling-lik Wines ‫@‏‬ e-hot-cak MudHouseW es Good luck to ine Jan 12 Cameron McPhee ‫@‏‬CamMcphee Jan the participan ts in tonight’s L 13 ad WaikawaBoa ies Helm @ Summer heat good for grape quality @ Marcus Pickens tin ‫@‏‬ #tasteforadven g #gogirls M winemarlborough @GiesenWines has ar cu sPickens3 Jan 25 ture #onlyma rl #nzwine @w @winemarlborough invested in new equipment; http:// inemarlborou borough gh showing @winem fw.to/GXskOjH #Harvest2015 atcher ou #nzwine r st h un 4 ni

ng d n re a gi on now. @CellarH ‫ @‏‬1st stop @saintclairwin

CellarHand ‫‏‬ R E K A hours ago M E e WIN NZ YOUNG r Jan 24 in the Wairau sub off k y m ll e ca in ti a W g m n ro are a region.

NZYou “The 2014s alateXposure has applications n io it et p m P co the charts”: @ wairauriver & @ #Marlborough arlborough website and @ d inem n u o. ro a nose a available @w k page from 1 Feb! ine http://go w z n # gh u boo ro ce winemarlbo on our #Fa More FM Marlb gl/WT9rcw orough ‫@‏‬ more Dan Gadsby ‫@‏‬IM_gadsby Jan 19 On air right now marlborough Jan 14 Had a great afternoon tasting aromatic K #masterchef win asey and Karena nz #wine from #lawsonsdryhills @ ner #culinary pa vi will be a hit. @ winemarlborough with uk office MarlboroughFes lion t

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Tel: 03 5782648 Fax: 03 5782546 Gouland Road, Spring Creek. Tel: 03 5705944 Fax 03 5705955

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WINEPRESS February 2015

McAlpines Roundwood Limited

Suppliers of

Quality Roundwood Contact:

Grant Cathcart Phone 03 313 8339 Fax 03 313 3767 Mobile 021 511 460

roundwood@mcalpines.co.nz

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

To have your event included in next month’s calendar please email details to tessa.nicholson@me.com

February 14

Marlborough Wine and Food Festival

20

Nuits Romantiques – French outdoor movie – 8.30pm, Clos Henri Vineyard Chapel Lawn – Marlborough. (If wet in the winery). Tickets $55 from Clos Henri, includes canapés, glass of wine and picnic of movie treats.

28

Waipara Hills Winery Tour – Waipara Hills Cellar Door - Waipara

28

Dog Point/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic – Dog Point Vineyard – Marlborough

MARCH 7

Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival 2015 – Gladstone Vineyard – Wairarapa

12 – 16 Waiheke Vintage Festival – Waiheke Island 14

West Coast Wild Foods Festival – Hokitika

15-17

New Zealand Stand at ProWein – Dusseldorf – Germany

21

Gibbston Wine and Food Festival 2015 – Queenstown

22

Waipara Valley Wine and Food Festival – Glenmark Domain – Waipara

22-25

International Food and Drink Event 2015 – London

JULY 8-10

Organic/Biodynamic Wine and Viticulture Conference – Blenheim

AUGUST 26-28

Romeo Bragato Conference 2015 - Hastings

FOR THE LOVE OF WINE, COME TOGETHER AT HERZOG’S! Host your guests in our Gourmet Restaurant or Casual Dining Bistro and call to enquire about opportunities to showcase your very own Marlborough wines.

For all you wine aficionados, come and indulge in one of New Zealand’s largest International wine lists!

HERZOG’S OPENING HOURS

BISTRO - 7 DAYS A WEEK! LUNCH: 12pm - 3pm DINNER: From 6pm - late RESTAURANT - WED TO SUN DINNER: From 7pm - late Hans Herzog Estate | 81 Jeffries Road | Blenheim |03 572 8770 | info@herzog.co.nz | www.herzog.co.nz

WINEPRESS February 2015

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News From Home and Away Falcons Flying Brancott Estate and Marlborough Falcon Trust are giving visitors to the Heritage Centre a chance to get up close to one of New Zealand’s rarest birds – the Karearea, or New Zealand falcon. With only 3000 pairs believed to be alive in the wild, the bird is one of the most endangered in the country. A partnership between the wine company and the Trust has seen hundreds of thousands of dollars raised to help in a breeding programme, where young chicks are then released back into the wild. Now a viewing aviary alongside the Heritage Centre, has been built, with two injured and re-housed falcons on display.

Adding to that, the partnership has seen Brancott Estate provide a viewing platform, where people can watch a falcon flying free among the vines.

Given the falcon can reach speeds of up to 200 kph, the display is one of a kind.

Bookings for the aerial display are essential.

“I’ve come across very few winegrowers and winemakers who give so much thought to every aspect of the vineyard, winery, winemaking, how their wines show in stylistic and quality terms and how the wines are presented in the marketplace, as Jason and Anna.

This reflects their passion, enthusiasm, extremely high standards, hard work and attention to detail in creating and crafting wines that reflect their vineyard and region, and their guiding the wines sensitively so they are generally enjoyed for their strong and distinctively clear fruit flavours. The Te Whare Ra wines are at the forefront of this movement in this country.”

Jason and Anna Flowerday with some of their bovine beauties.

Te Whare Ra Named Winery Of The Year 2014 Congrats to Jason and Anna Flowerday for being chosen as Raymond Chan’s winery of the year for 2014.

Raymond, well known for his wine writing and reviews (www. raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz/blog/ general-blog) bases his Winery of the Year on the qualities and significance of the wines in terms of excellence and how they have appealed to him on a subjective and hedonistic level. This is what Raymond had to say about Te Whare Ra and the Flowerdays.

Pask Winery Ltd. Quality Red Grapes from Hawke’s Bay Gimblett Gravels for sale for the 2015 vintage; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec. Sustainable Winegrowing NZ Recognised Vineyard. Further historic details (harvest parameters, yields etc) will be available on request. If interested please contact Gary Wood Ph 022 047 5449 or Kate Radburnd Ph 021 709066.

Scholarship For MW Students The Family of Twelve are offering an unforgettable scholarship for one student in the Institute of Master of Wine’s Study Programme. The brand new Family of Twelve Essay Scholarship, offers students a privileged insight into wine-making at all twelve properties in The Family of Twelve.

“We feel the students have a unique perspective on the wine industry of today and we look forward to hearing their views through their essays. But even more than that, we believe the wine industry is built on long term relationships, and we look forward to forming a working relationship with the scholarship winner that we can continue to build on over the coming years” said Family of Twelve chairman, William Hoare.

For more information please see: http://familyoftwelve.co.nz/thefamily-of-twelve-offer-new-zealandscholarship-to-mw-students/

CLASSIFIEDS

SWNZ submissions - need help? Grapelink Spray Diary & WiSE scorecard · spray record entry & submission · scorecard entry & submission · tutorial assistance. Contact Barb Sutton Email: barb.sutton@nettel.net.nz. Ph 03 575 7110, Text 027 326 4755

WE HAVE GONE OVERROW. Side netting for sale. 60 km available, mix of Polyside (Monofilament and tape hybrid) and heavy duty Locknet (Monofilament knitted).

Make an offer. Call JC 021 421 449 Sauvignon Blanc Grapes for sale. Mature 8 Ha. vineyard. This diverse planting of Sauvignon Blanc clones and root stocks is grown on three distinctly different terraces. Located in the desirable Lower Dashwood, Awatere Valley. Proven producer of quality fruit with a long list of awards. Call Steve 027 6716718 2015 Gisborne Pinot Gris Grapes available for supply. Approx 100T from a proven growing site, and traditionally clean, flavoursome fruit. Call Warwick 021 362 778.

Alexandra, Central Otago grapes available for 2015 vintage. 26T Pinot Gris, 6T Gewurztraminer. Call Roland 027-2923716.

Wanted. Long term supply of Sauvignon Blanc. Prefer Organic grown fruit. Require approx 20-40T. Ph 027 285 4613

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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WINEPRESS February 2015

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