WHO IS TOPS IN ORGANIC WINES

The Aotearoa NZ Organic Wine Awards is an independent wine show committed to discovering and promoting New Zealand’s best organic wines. 2022 is our ninth year of operation. Once again the number of entries has grown, signifying the huge momentum NZ Organic wines have.

The New Zealand Organic Wine Awards is not affiliated with Organic Wine New Zealand, or Wine New Zealand. We are however members of OWNZ and strongly support the work that they undertake. Furthermore we resolutely agree with OWNZ’s stance on certification for organic vineyards. All wine submitted to the New Zealand Organic Wine Awards must be produced from 100% certified organic or in-conversion grapes.

We thank our sponsors Riedel New Zealand and Fisher and Paykel. Without your support the awards would not be possible.

Our judges remain impressed with the exceptional standard of wines entered to the awards.

I’m heartened to see the continued growth of the organic wine sector in New Zealand. The momentum is well and truly with us, and long may it continue.

Our entry rates increased for the ninth consecutive year, however the rate of growth has slowed. This could be as a result of fewer wineries reaching the end of certification and becoming eligible to enter. Numbers of wineries and vineyards undertaking certification tends to be in clusters, presently there are a large number of vineyards early to mid-certification and respectively fewer achieving certification within the previous 12- 18 months.

Winery entrants were up 4%, and total wines entered up 8%. A number of wineries that have previously entered wine have chosen to expand their entry to encompass more wines. This could be to capitalise on a good vintage, build on existing success, or as more vineyard is converted to organic. This continues the trend we have experienced in the previous three years awards.

A few previous entrants chose not to enter, in the main, timing was the issue. The entry is around harvest time and small wineries are very busy, as well as a time many wineries have lower stocks of wine. Our plan is to bring forward the awards for 2023, which will launch in January.

The dominant region (in the form of champion wines) shifted this year from North Canterbury to Central Otago, claiming 5 of the 8 available champion accolades.

For 2022 we issued 8 Champion, 31 Gold (excluding champions), 56 Silver and 68 Bronze. Organic Wine growing allows for greater expression of terrior, vintage as well as characteristics not typically associated with a varietal, we believe this impacts the judging of top performing wines, particularly when judging complexity elements, which increase the score, pushing more wines into to the ‘gold bracket’. It is also worth noting that the entry standard for the Aotearoa

We believe organic viticulture creates the potential for a winemaker to craft a superior wine.

Our goal is to increase the market share of New Zealand’s organic wines domestically and internationally.

Organic Wine Awards tends to be higher than many other awards, owing to the fact that many ‘Premium NZ Wineries’ are also organic.

This logic correlates with over-representation of organic wineries in lists such as Real Review Top Wineries and the NZ Fine Wines selection. We did award less gold medals in 2022 than previous years, however this is likely due more to refinement and maturity of our consumer based judging model than a change in the quality of the wine.

We uphold a strict threshold for gold, silver and bronze medal wines, to ensure that consumers can be assured of a top quality wine from a gold medal winning wine, as well as from silver and bronze. Many great wines are not awarded a medal, however we want to assure our consumers the very best of what New Zealand’s organic wines have to offer.

PINOT NOIR

Once again Pinot Noir was the largest varietal category, increasing almost 15% on previous highs. 8 Gold medals were awarded to Pinot Noir’s, 5 from Central Otago, and 3 from Marlborough. The gold medals were awarded to wines vintages between 2017 and 2020. Our Champion Pinot Noir for 2022 is Amisfield’s Breakneck Reserve Pinot Noir 2019.

SAUVIGNON BLANC

6 Sauvignon Blanc’s were awarded gold in 2022. SB entry volumes were consistent with the last two seasons. Of the 6 gold medals, 5 are from Marlborough wineries and 1 from Nelson. The champion Sauvignon Blanc is Tapi’s Sauvignon Blanc 2021.

RIESLING

The volume of Riesling entries are the higest we have seen, ending the downward trend for Riesling entries. 4 Riesling’s were awarded Gold medals this year. The Champion Riesling was Amisfield’s Dry Riesling 2020.

PINOT GRIS

The volume of Pinot Gris entries dropped slightly this year, continuing the downward trend of the past few years for entries in this class. 3 Pinot Gris’ were awarded gold,all heralding from Central Otago. This year’s Champion Pinot Gris is Quartz Reef’s Bendigo Pinot Gris 2021.

CHARDONNAY

Once again, Chardonnay was our third largest varietal class, close to rivalling Sauvignon blanc numbers. 6 Chardonnay’s were awarded gold. The Champion was Seresin’s Chardonnay 2021.

ROSE

Rose entries were consistent with last years entry numbers. The concentration of entries was focused in Central Otago. We awarded 3 gold medals and the champion rose is Amisfield’s Pinot Noir Rose 2021.

SYRAH

Syrah entry volumes were up slightly on previous years.

Gold medals were issued to 4 Syrah’s, from Marlbrough and Nelson regions. The 2022 Champion Syrah is Giesen’s Organic Syrah 2019.

RESULTS

NZ ORGANIC WINE AWARDS ‘RIEDEL WINE OF THE SHOW’: TAPI SAUVIGNON BLANC 2021

When it comes to wine of the show, our judges like to select a wine that stands out from its varietal class. The Tapi 2021 Sauvignon Blanc achieves this as a standout wine amongst a highly competitive varietal class. Tapi are a lesser known brand in NZ, based in Marlborough, with wines predominantly available in Australia.

NZ ORGANIC WINE AWARDS ‘SUSTAINABLE WINERY OF THE YEAR’: WRIGHTS VINEYARD AND WINERY

The Sustainable Vineyard of the Year accolade recognises where a winery has excelled above and beyond SWNZ requirements, and organic certification, including social responsibilities to sustain and improve the local environment.

Wrights continually seek to improve their practices, and seek out new initiatives. Their current projects include native planting, composting, on-premise vegetable gardens for use at the cellar door, sponsoring and support of local community initatives and activities. Wrights are a shining example of how a winery can add benefit to the local area, both economic and social, whilst running a healthy, organic vineyard.

NZ ORGANIC WINE AWARDS ‘RIEDEL WINERY OF THE YEAR’: AMISFIELD

A second time champion of the Aotearoa Organic Wine Awards, Amisfield first received the Winery of the year accolade in 2020, and follow up in 2022. Receiving three champion accolades, for Pinot Noir, Riesling and Rose. Amisfield push the boundaries both in their onsite resturant and in the winery, the rewards for these efforts are evident.

CHAMPION WINES

The below wines have been awarded champion status as the highest scoring wine within their varietal class.

• Champion Pinot Noir:

Amisfield Breakneck Reserve

Pinot Noir 2019 Champion

Sauvignon Blanc: Tapi

Sauvignon Blanc 2021 • Champion Riesling: Amisfield

Dry Riesling 2020 Champion

Pinot Gris: Quartz Reef Bendigo

Pinot Gris 2021

• Champion Chardonnay:

Seresin Chardonnay 2021 • Champion Sparking: Quartz

Reef Methode Traditionnelle

Vintage Rose 2016 Champion

Syrah: Giesen Organic Syrah 2019

• Champion Rose: Amisfield

Pinot Noir Rosé 2021

LEAVE WHAT YOU HAVE IN BETTER SHAPE

About a quarter of Central Otago vineyards are now run organically or biodynamically, and this, it seems, enables a wine to be able to speak of its terroir, to express its place to the aware taster.

Certainly some such wines have a sense of “somewhereness” or their own “turangawaiwai” - a Maori concept, taken up by New Zealand winemakers, of “a place to stand” or how a person’s sense of themselves is shaped by where they come from.

When Rudi first developed Quartz Reef it was a stony, weedy desert just as it still is beyond the rabbit proof fence surrounding the lush vineyard.

Initially, against his principles, he applied herbicide.

“I was so overwhelmed by the site, a lack of water, too many weeds and lots of wind, the 3

W’s hit me hard. Also it was very difficult to work the land because there were so many rocks in the soil.”

However, biodynamics was always on his mind.

“I was nine years pregnant with the idea but I just didn’t have the confidence and I felt too scared to fail,” he said.

However, in 2007, encouraged by some friends, he made the call and converted the whole 30ha vineyard.

“There was no tiptoeing. It was a big breakthrough to have three people with the same philosophy and understanding and it gave me the comfort to make the change.”

The goal was not just to eliminate the use of chemical sprays and fertilisers but to promote the health of the soil and in turn the health of the vines and quality of the wines.

At the time, he explains, the soil had no fitness because the rabbits allowed little to grow and there was no organic matter. The composts and other preparations since applied to the soil have made the vines more resilient.

“If you work within the biodynamic guidelines you leave what you have in better shape and you increase your awareness. We need to understand this is a northern hemisphere philosophy and not everything applies to the south. Ideally what we aim to do now is to incorporate native plants that can achieve the same thing.” So what actual change did it make to the vines and wines?

“It’s tricky to put the finger on the pulse. Not only do the vines get older, we as people have more knowledge,” he says.

“I used to say that with Quartz Reef wines the structure was a bit like stainless steel - the strength of it, but now stainless steel has been replaced with titanium, which is much smaller, much slimmer, but has the same strength, so you are no longer seeing these beams. You see very fine lines and this is reflected in more finesse and also I think a more precise expression of the land itself.” It takes time for a vine to get its roots down, for the winegrower to get to know the different soils within their vineyard and their effects on the grapes and resulting wine. Quartz Reef’s vines are now 21 years old and Rudi is producing a single block pinot, the gold label Royal series named after Austro-Hungarian emperors. “We always have isolated the various blocks, but this seems to be unique in its own right and now we need to learn a bit more about it,” he said.

The soil at the steeper end of the vineyard is different from the rest and produces a different wine. A “rock salad”, he calls it, with several types of large rock in the sandy loam left by a glacier several thousand years ago, whereas the soil in the rest of the vineyard is finer gravels and clay.

The first single block releases from the glacial soils is Franz Ferdinand 2015 ($120). It’s more assertive and powerful, though still with the dark fruit, spice and chocolate, balance and length characteristic of the other pinots, but perhaps with more innate strength and harmony.

TRULY ORGANIC

As part of that process they have converted their 92ha vineyard, planted on the slopes above Lake Dunstan in the late 1980s, to organics over the past few years.

Winning the Vineyard of the Year award at the New Zealand Organic Wine Awards in 2020 - Amisfield Lowburn Terrace riesling and Breakneck Reserve pinot noir were also champions of their varietal classes - was a matter of great pride and confirmation they were on the right track, he said. The vineyard, spread over 92ha of slopes and gullies, offers several different aspects and soil types which can contribute to differences in the fruit grown there. With organic viticulture the blocks are expressing their individuality more, offering different characteristics in the fruit which, with care, can be conveyed in the wine, he said.

“As the blocks are converted to organics, they start to shake off the uniformity and start showing their individuality.”

One block that differentiated itself early, even before the organic conversion, was Rocky Knoll, a rocky hump with both north and south facing slopes that not only produces fine grapes but also has its own indigenous yeasts, different from in the rest of the vineyard.

Another is Block 7 on the gentle slope near the winery which was the first to be converted to organics about 7 years ago. The award winning Breakneck Reserve pinot was made from this block.

“The flavours in the fruit [of Block 7] are clearer and more vibrant which is exciting. It shows we are definitely on the right track,” says Greg.

Assistant winemaker Ben Leen says organics is giving them a different relationship to the place.

“The differences between the blocks is more apparent in the grapes. It’s less monolithic as a consequence. The nuances are more apparent,” he says.

The whole team was involved in solving some of the problems that arose during conversion. It was spread over several years to minimise the dip in production that vines go through in their first year of so of the new regime.

While conventional and even sustainable growers spray herbicide under the vines to keep down the weeds, organic growers have to solve the weed problem in a different way. The Amisfield team cultivates under the vines to remove weeds, but they are also moving the irrigation lines from along the vine rows to the centre between the rows. Not only does this deprive the under vine weeds of moisture, it provides water to the inter-row plantings during dry summers and also encourages the vines to extend their roots out and down towards the moisture, which is good for their health and the flavour of the grapes.

Inter-row planting of a variety of companion plants such as clover to fix nitrogen, and others that attract beneficial insects, encourage the soil microbiota and aerate it with long roots, is an important aspect of organic viticulture.

Viticulturist André Lategan has dug a “rootarium” between two rows. This hole, about a metre or so deep and lined with glass, allows them to observe vine roots spreading as they reach for the moisture.

Before conversion the vines had no competition, but under the organic regime they are competing with the companion plants which makes the vines stronger and more resilient to pests.

Instead of commercial fertiliser, compost is now used.

“Walking the block and spreading compost by hand enhances your affinity with the place and you pay more attention,” says Ben.

“Now Block 7 has density and concentration you can see other blocks are about to get. There’s an unquantifiable dimension to the organic vineyard,” he says.

“It takes more care and attention and costs more but the results are not only in the wines but also philosophically. I feel more of a vigneron, closer to the growth of the vines. It feels good to walk though the vineyard - it feels right now. When I saw a sprayed weed under the vine it didn’t feel right,” he said.

WINES

There’s so much more to try than pinot noir in Central Otago, especially at Amisfield.

Compare the fragrant, lively dry riesling and the awardwinning intense, crisp and luscious Lowburn Terrace.

Three sauvignon blanc, the fresh, gooseberry sauvignon blanc, the richer, minerally fumé style and the intriguingly complex, honeyed noble sauvignon.

Chenin Blanc is a special rarely found except at the cellar door - fragrant and fresh with hints of crisp apple - don’t miss it if it’s available.

And of course you can’t miss the spicy, red-fruited pinot noir - there are usually several vintages to compare at the cellar door, and if you are lucky they may have one of the reserves open as well.