GISBORNE CELLAR DOOR HIGHLIGHTS

a glass of wine, something to eat in lovely surroundings - the joys of visiting cellar doors.

Kirsten Searle and the late Denis Irwin share a bottle of Matawhero’s iconic Irwin Chardonnay which celebrates Bill Irwin and his son Denis, founding the vineyard in the 1960s.

GISBORNE WINERy VISItS

Tasting is meant to take you out of your comfort zone, to try something you wouldn’t normally, says Shona egan of Bushmere Estate, and I totally agree. Visit wineries, try something different from your usual tipple and explore the diversity of your favourite varieties.

By Charmian Smith

Matawhero

Matawhero is one of the key winery visits in Gisborne, not only for the fine wine, lunch platters and peaceful ambience among the vineyards, but also for its history.

Bill Irwin was one of the pioneering grape growers in Gisborne, importing vines like the famous Mendoza chardonnay clone in the 1960s. In the ‘70s and ‘80s his son Denis made wine, his famous gewürztraminer and chardonnay becoming icons of the New Zealand industry. Denis even sent Queen Elizabeth wine after her 1978 visit to New Zealand.

Kirsten and Richard Searle bought the estate from Denis in 2008, replanting the run-down vineyards and restoring the cellar door building.

Don’t forget to check the underground cellars with dusty bottles from the 1970s and ‘80s as well as Denis’s private cellar which represents some of the best New Zealand wines of the period - probably undrinkable now, but an essential part of the history, Kirsten says.

Do try Matawhero’s fresh gooseberryish sauvignon blanc, the fragrant, dry gewürtztraminer, and, of course the wonderful chardonnays. Matawhero winemaker Kim Crawford uses American oak rather than French, lending a hint of vanilla which marries well with the undertones of citrus and stone fruit characteristic of Gisborne chardonnay.

An unusual variety in New Zealand, chenin blanc is a crisp, creamy, lingering white - Kirsten describes it as a cross between sauvignon and chardonnay. Matawhero also makes a fragrant, slightly earthy merlot with a grippy finish, and a juicy malbec with a hint of eucalyptus from the nearby gumtrees.

The Searles are planning to offer vineyard accommodation next summer. matawhero.co.nz

Millton

Millton Vineyards is a taonga of New Zealand wine. On their return from Europe in 1984 James and Annie Millton took over the family vineyards and converted them to biodynamics - the first in the southern hemisphere. Over nearly 40 years they have built an enviable reputation for their wine and their devotion to their principles. Now many other leading wine producers are following in their footsteps as concerns about the environment, soil degeneration, and wine additives are becoming more mainstream.

Millton’s modest cellar door is surrounded by trees and the Te Arai vineyard nestled in a bend of the Te Arai river. In summer they serve platters. Their wines vary from classics such as the rich, zesty Opou Riesling, the complex, textural but totally delicious Opou Chardonnay, and the harmonious Te Arai Chenin Blanc (one of the best in the country), to wines at the leading edge of modern trends, such as field blends and skin-fermented “orange” wines with no additions. With the Milltons’ long experience and meticulous winemaking, these are among the best of their style in New Zealand.

There are refreshing Crazy by Nature blends and the delicious skin-fermented Libiamo (meaning “let us drink”, an aria from Verdi’s opera La Traviata) which are certainly not to be missed.

I was blown away by the field blend Libiamo which oozes tropical fruit, mango and peacharine, with intriguing hints of herbs and a wonderful texture.

“The gewürztraminer gives the aroma, the muscat gives it the fullness and marsanne gives it weight,” says Annie.

The intense, rich Libiamo Chenin Blanc 2017 was made in an amphora, a huge clay jar with a narrow neck, an ancient wine vessel revived for natural winemaking - a marriage of ancient traditions and modern trends which characterises the Millton Vineyard. millton.co.nz

BushMere estate

David and Shona Egan have been growing grapes for nearly 50 years, but when the corporates pulled out of Gisborne about 15 years ago, they decided to produce their own wine and open a cellar door. At first they served platters like everyone else, then put in a commercial kitchen and restaurant when they found people wanted more.

About 5 years ago they sold the restaurant, housed in a former fruit packing shed, to Melissa and Ian Murphy and it remains the only vineyard restaurant in the region.

Amelia Riwai based in Hawkes Bay makes the wine. Try the invitingly fragrant pinot gris, the ripe gewürztraminer oozing rose petals and the typically rich peaches-and-cream chardonnay.

Bushmere’s point of difference is montepulciano - a serendipitous mistake as they thought they were planting replacement chardonnay but found the vines had been wrongly labelled, Shona said.

It makes a delicious rosé oozing summer berries and pomegranates, a fresh, a very drinkable red and the pièce de résistance, Diavolo Rosso, a fortified port style, ideal with blue cheese or chocolate truffles. bushmere.com

a real family affair: Geoff and nicola Wright of Wright’s vineyard and winery with their five sons, from oldest to youngest, noah, eli, luke, Guy and otto.

Wrights

Wrights is a real family affair. Geoff and Nicola Wright run the operation with the help of their five boys. In the kitchen Noah, the oldest in his early teens who is said to have a fine palate, makes particularly deliciously rustic pizza for lunch - I can recommend the Farmers Market pizza. Elijah asked me if I could guess how many rows he had weeded that morning - 26 was the answer. Luke brings the food to the table, and even the youngest two, Guy and Otto help stack bottles.

Geoff’s great grandfather, Stanko Jurakovich, was one of the early Yugoslavians to make wine at Kumeu west of Auckland - hence the Wrights’ claim to a 90-year winemaking history! While working as an accountant Geoff came to Gisborne following his dream to own a vineyard. Nicola, who says she came to Gisborne “in search of Mr Wright”, is a barrister and solicitor.

With a philosophy of sustainability, the family run their three vineyards organically. They planted a vineyard at Ormond, built their mud-brick house there and also bought an older vineyard in the Ormond Valley. The cream corrugated iron winery and cellar door with shady pergolas and garden, once a fruit packing shed, is in cooler the Manutuke vineyard near the coast. Not surprisingly, it’s family-friendly and there’s live music in summer.

Their philosophy of social justice, biodiversity, ecorestoration and plant-based consciousness, appeals to younger customers, Gen Y and millennials who are now in their 20s, Nicola says.

The Wrights make two tiers of wine: fresh, fruit-driven wines with minimal preservative under The Natural Wine Co label, while the Wrights Estate wines are more complex. The aromatics, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, rosé and a sparkling wine are good drinking but my picks were the chardonnays, the fresh, lively fruity Natural Wine Co Chardonnay and the Wright’s Estate Chardonnay from the old Ormond Valley vineyard which had a similar mineral note but more palate weight and spice from oak ageing.

The Wrights also have a stall at the busy Gisborne farmers market on Saturday mornings where you can taste and buy their wine. wrightswines.co.nz

stoneBridge

The Gisborne farmers market is also cellar door for David and Mairead Hart’s StoneBridge wines. I particularly enjoyed their 2019 viognier, rich with oodles of fruit, lots of nutty creaminess from barrel fermentation, and their 2020 pinot gris, deliciously fresh with attractive pear and stone fruit. Unusually they also offer “40fied”, a port made from merlot. facebook.com/StoneBridgeWines

hihi

Also at the market is Andy Nimmo with his Hihi wine, named after the elusive stitchbird. Owner, winemaker and general dogsbody, his self-described, innovative, affordable wines offer a different outlook on Gisborne.

Making just chardonnay and pinot gris would bore him, he says.

“I want to make people laugh with Gizzy Fizzy [actually an attractive, slightly nutty sparkling] and cater to more than one palate.”

You can taste perhaps a dozen of his unconventional wines at the market, ranging from a sparkling albarino (he’s the only one crazy enough to make one, he says) and Bubbly As, a sparkling gewürztraminer/ albarino with a fresh finish, to a few different port styles.

Don’t miss his 2019 Albarino - a Spanish variety oozing fruit but still fragrant, fresh and textural, one of his best. My other favourites were the rich, nutty 2018 Viognier, and his several gewürztraminers at different levels of sweetness which ooze rose petals as good Gizzy gewürz should. While Gisborne reds are sometimes lacklustre, Hihi’s Montepulciano 2019 is a ripe, fragrant, spicy red with firm tannins - this Italian style wine is ideal with pizza or pasta.

Despite not having regular cellar doors, several other winemakers are happy to show visitors their wines if you phone first. hihi.co.nz

tW

TW stands for Tietjen Witters, wine from neighbouring vineyards on the “golden slopes”, a narrow strip of vineyards running along the lower slopes behind Ormond, Waihirere and Hexton, that have become famous particularly for their chardonnay.

It’s well worth calling to make an appointment to visit one or other of the partners, Paul Tietjen or Geordie Witters, for not only are the wines fine but also the experience of driving into the vineyard, Paul pulling up on his tractor, and tasting wine on the deck of his house overlooking the vineyard. This is the sort of encounter that inspires people to venture into grape growing themselves.

Clearing junk from the seat of his ute, he takes us round the vineyard, explaining the soils and the many varieties he grows.

A man of the land: Paul tietjen of tW wines is likely to pull up on his tractor and show you his wines on his deck overlooking the vineyard.

What had looked like a flattish vineyard from the road proves to be gently sloping, hence the golden slope moniker.

Back in the early 1980s the young Paul Tietjen had been impressed by the rave reviews of New Zealand wine he’d seen in the UK and came back to plant a vineyard in 1983.

While others were planting kiwifruit, he bought land from his father and planted vines. For many years Nobilo bought his grapes and their Tietjen chardonnay was one of the most highly rated in the country.

Paul still sells grapes to other growers, but he and his friend and neighbour Geordie Witters decided to start their own label in the late ‘90s. The wines are made at Solander cellars in Gisborne.

They produce chardonnay and pinot gris of course, but also some unusual varieties such as verdelho, carmenère, viognier and malbec.

TW like to hold their wines until they are ready to drink rather than rush them on to the market, so there are some older vintages among their current releases.

I particularly enjoyed their 2013 Verdelho, a white variety from Portugal, full bodied with a rich complexity. Viognier 2016 is rich, understated, textural and beautifully balanced with that slight saline, oiliness that you expect from this variety.

As expected, the chardonnays are delicious. There’s a fragrant Estate Chardonnay with a hint of creamy nuttiness, a richer Reserve with undertones of oak, and a superb Platinum Chardonnay, tight, textural, intense wth a lingering complex finish.

TW’s fresh, lively rosé is from carmenère, a red variety much planted in Chile, and they also make a soft, easy merlot, and a peppery malbec with hints of dried herbs. twwines.co.nz

Bond Block

Denny Zame’s Italian great uncle Antonio Zame established Capri vineyards in the 1950s, making fortified wines that were popular at the time.

The childhood memory of visiting his vineyard and winery inspired Denny to buy his present vineyard at Ormond about six years ago However, when no one wanted to buy his first crop, he decided to produce his own wine made by John Thorpe of Solander cellars.

Denny grows chardonnay of course - I was impressed by his 2019 chardonnay, beautifully balanced with juicy stone and citrus fruit, the palate filled out with light nutty oaky undertones. He also makes a sparkling blanc de blancs, a rich, fragrant pinot gris, a gutsy rose and a soft fruity merlot. bondblockwines.nz

longBush

John Thorpe, a member of the entrepreneurial and hardworking Thorpe family (see sidebar), runs contract winemaking facility Solander cellars, his own wine label, Longbush, and a few restaurants.

Longbush is named after the Longbush Reserve, a stretch of native bush alongside the Waimata river and the Waikereru Eco-sanctuary restored by his sister Dame Anne Salmond and her husband Jeremy. Appropriately, the wines depict native birds, a different bird for each variety. There’s also a reserve range, The Family Co, and a couple of sparklings, Cosmos a fresh, fruity blanc de blancs, and Luna, a sparkling muscat.

Longbush Gewürztraminer 2020, whose label sports the koromiko (bellbird), is fragrant and intense but, unusually for Gisborne, restrained, perhaps because it was so young. I also tried the 2017 which was much more floral, oozing rose petals with a rich, silky, oily texture. It obviously takes time to develop.

Don’t miss the 2020 Longbush pinot gris with fantails on its label, oozing ripe pears and stone fruit, longbushwines.com

There are many other artisan winemakers who don’t have cellar doors. You may find their wines at some of the places below, or buy them on line.

gisBorne Wine centre

The place to find a large selection of Gisborne wines from many of the smaller winemakers is Gisborne Wine Centre and Crawford Road Kitchen on the inner harbour.

Besides selling wine they offer food to share and tastings that may include unusual wines like the late Denis Irwin’s 747 Estate La Blanc Peche, a powerful textural nutty buttery viognier, or the structured Taruheru Chenin Blanc, or the wonderfully rich and zesty Millton Opou Riesling, gisbornewinecentre.co.nz

Bridge estate

Another place to taste Gisborne wines is Bridge Estate, a rustic wine bar and cafe in a converted stable, which serves tastings and platters in a vineyard just outside Gisborne. You may find the elegant Ashwood and Spade Oak wines or the the softer StoneBridge wines and Andy Nimo’s quirky Hihi wines among others. bridgeestate.co.nz

For a personal experience visit and taste at denny Zame’s Bond Block.

a wine tasting: one of the most enjoyable things to do when on holiday.

Siduri Wine Bar

If you’re looking for something different, call by Siduri Wine Bar in Peel St. This hip space with cool music specialises in organic and biodynamic wines, offering about 8 wines by the glass that change regularly - when we called there were 6 unusual Europeans listed, not unlike what you might see in a Parisian wine bar. Of course there are sometimes local wines on offer too. Owner Sam Millton (son of James and Annie of Millton Vineyard) is very knowledgeable also serves antipasto snacks and pizza. It closes over vintage when Sam is working at Millton. instagram.com/siduribar

SunShine BreWery

A winemakers told us the 30-year old Sunshine Brewery had improved 500% so we called into their taproom. Apparently they have a new brewer and there’s huge line up of brews on tap, from classic IPAs and golden lagers, through a range of hoppy beers to interesting specialities such as mango and passionfruit sour, or a slightly funky gruit Belgian pale ale. A good spot for those looking for a cleansing ale after too much wine tasting. sunshinebrewing.co.nz

Thorpe

The Thorpe family of Gisborne is remarkably entrepreneurial. Their parents, Jack and Joyce, came to Gisborne in the 1950s to start Columbine Hosiery with Jack’s brothers George and Alan. Later they developed kiwifruit, persimmon and navel orange orchards.

Their children followed in their entrepreneurial footsteps and the third generation are now involved. John Thorpe runs Longbush wines, the winemaking facility Solander Cellars and restaurants such as The Works, in a former freezing works on the inner harbour; Bill Thorpe developed orchards and diversified into First Fresh, packing fruit from local orchards and distributing it here and overseas; Rick and Carol started Waimata Cheese, now the largest privately owned cheese producer in the country; Geoff Thorpe runs Riversun vine nursery which supplies much of the planting material for vineyards around the country; and their sister, Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond, is a well known historian, anthropologist, social scientist and writer.