Anna and Jason Flowerday are hitting their straps. As winemakers they’re experienced, having both worked for some of the bigger wine corporations in Australia and elsewhere, and since, 2003, they’ve been making wine in one of the world’s most famous wine regions… Marlborough. Known only, well… mostly, for Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough is New Zealand wine’s … Continue reading ‘Chardonnay’s New Postcode’ – Te Whare Ra, Marlborough
Bart Arnst is one of New Zealand’s leading organic grape growers. In another life, he may well have been a prop in the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, or, perhaps a member of the Hells Angels MC. But, in this one, he plays the role of a gentle giant sitting amongst a sward of yarrow cover … Continue reading ‘Push The Progression’ – Bart Arnst and The Darling Wines of Marlborough, N.Z
William ‘Will’ Hoare made his first wine in Marlborough when he was 11 years old, and was later kicked out of high school for selling bottles of it to his friends, and fellow students. “As punishment, I had to help out at Cloudy Bay, making boxes up by hand, for about eight months,” recalls Will. “Every day, … Continue reading ‘Less is More’ – Fromm Winery, Marlborough, NZ
Dr. Mat Goddard, evolutionary biologist and senior lecturer at Auckland University, studies natural yeasts, especially those yeasts involved in winemaking. Recently, he and his team at the Auckland University Faculty of Science, conducted a study into indigenous yeast populations in vineyards throughout the Marlborough. The study compared yeast populations in conventional, organic, and biodynamic vineyards and … Continue reading Microbiological Biodynamics – Churton, Marlborough NZ
“Nous sommes en pleine croissance axée terroir vin, en utilisant des méthodes biologiques pour le faire.” New Zealand Translation… “We’re growing terroir focused wine, using organic methods to do so, bru.” – – Clos Henri, in New Zealand’s famous Marlborough wine region, is located on a 3,000 year old river bed, which sits just above … Continue reading The ‘T’ Word – Clos Henri, Marlborough, NZ
“There’s something we don’t talk about, which I think is the most intriguing thing about wine,” says Colin Ross, Estate Manager at Seresin, in Marlborough, New Zealand. “We ignore the alcohol, the 12.5%, which is a spirit, and not all alcohol has the same effect, so, as potential drug growers it’s something we should all … Continue reading Happiness and the Human Touch – Seresin, Marlborough, NZ
“With the way wine seems to be going, I think you need to be a winegrower, not just a viticulturist, or winemaker,” says Jason Flowerday, winegrower, and part owner with his wife Anna, of Te Whare Ra (‘te fahree rah’ TWR), in New Zealand’s most famous wine region, Marlborough. Jason and Anna purchased TWR in 2003, … Continue reading The House in the Sun – Te Whare Ra, Marlborough NZ
“I don’t know why everyone isn’t organic. I think it’s really simple,” says Claire Allan, winegrower and proprietor at Huia (pron. ‘who ee ah’), located in the Marlborough winegrowing region of New Zealand. “It’s just a simple set of rules that you adhere to.” Huia (named in honour of a native New Zealand bird, now … Continue reading Organics is Easy – Huia Vineyards, Marlborough, NZ
“In the new world, everyone talks about winemakers, like they’re heros,” says Hans Herzog, owner and vigneron at Hans Herzog Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand, “but we should be talking about the vineyard, and winegrowing, because that’s where wine really comes from.” Hans thinks of himself as a vigneron, a French term for someone who … Continue reading A Whole New World – Hans Herzog Estate, Marlborough N.Z.
– GO TO ROOTSTOCK! – Just about every Australian and New Zealand winegrower I’ve written about, here on The Wine Idealist, will be at this weekends festival. Taste their natural, organic and biodynamic wines and meet them all in person, along with an entire two days jam packed with international winegrowers, artisan food, beer and … Continue reading Go! to Rootstock, Sydney – 2014
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