Stars align for natural winemakers

With winemaking flowing through his family’s veins for more than 500 years, Hans Herzog has grafted away to produce superb natural wines from their tiny piece of paradise. He caught up with food and wine writer Neil Hodgson.

I have tried many natural wines in recent years and have written a little about this style of winemaking in previous columns.

I am generally quite disappointed in many of those I have tried, but the glaring exception are the wines made by Hans Herzog in Marlborough, whose natural wines are exceptionally good.

Last week, Hans and Therese Herzog were in Nelson to host a trade tasting and natural wines masterclass at Hopgood’s & Co, so I went along to find out just why Hans can make such beautiful natural wines while others struggle.

I have known Hans and Therese for many years and buy their wines quite regularly. I have seen the effort Hans puts in to managing their vineyards, the care and thoughtfulness that goes into making their wines and the passion for selling only the very best wines they can.

The term ‘natural wine’ has been interpreted by winemakers in many ways, but when you get to the absolute basic principle it is winemaking with minimal winemaker intervention, so the grape variety can express its true character.

To taste a Hans Herzog wine you wouldn’t know it is a natural wine, they are simply beautiful wines with lots of character and finesse. To me, this speaks a lot about the passion of the people who make the wine and the 500 years of family winemaking heritage they bring to their business.

At the natural wine masterclass with Hans and Therese we tasted a small range of wines made in slightly different ways.

Therese talked about their vineyards and their philosophy for making wine and how that philosophy is influenced by their heritage.

‘‘Hans lives and breathes the vineyard, despite a Master’s degree in Oenology he sees himself as a vigneron (viticulturist) rather than a winemaker,’’ says Therese. ‘‘He loves to spend his time amongst the vines and works the land and tends the vines with immaculate detail using the same traditional and holistic approach of his ancestors.

‘‘From hand-pruning to handpicking and all the hard yards in between, tasks are tied-in according to the astrological calendar.

‘‘Together with extremely low yields we aim for concentrated, healthy and vibrant fruit that will result in age-worthy wines that express the unique terroir and climate of our vineyard land.

An example of the commitment to making the finest wines they can, natural or not, are the 28 grape varieties the couple grow on their 11.5 Ha vineyard, many of these are small trail plantings to identify varieties that will perform well in their micro-climate.

Varieties like Nebbiolo, Lagrein, Saperavi, St Laurent, Barbera and Rousanne are very rarely planted in New Zealand but are performing well in the Hans Herzog vineyard.

‘‘We want to make great wines, there’s nothing wrong with more conventional, industrial style wineries, there is a place for every wine style and winery size,’’ says Therese.

Herzog wines are aged before being released, time is taken in the vineyard and winery to make the best wines they can from their little piece if paradise and if you want to try some of these hand-crafted wines with beautiful food Hopgood’s & Co are hosting a Hans Herzog Estate winemaker’s dinner on the 14th April where several courses will be matched with outstanding natural wines.

Check out Hopgood’s Facebook page or email manager.hopgoods@gmail.com to reserve your place at the table.

STUFF Therese and Hans Herzog produce a stunning range of natural wines from their Marlborough vineyard.