'Massive' potential for wine tourism
The new face of the Central Otago Wine Association says the region’s flagship pinot noir is his favourite tipple, but encourages wine lovers to try Central Otago’s white wines, too. He chats with Pam Jones.
ANGUS Bradshaw enjoys pinot noir — in moderation — but also has an ‘‘increasing interest’’ in Central Otago’s pinot gris and riesling.
‘‘These are wines I would urge wine lovers to add to the cellar. I am increasingly exploring Central Otago pinot gris, some of which is still an unknown and unheralded pleasure.’’
Mr Bradshaw, who owns Grasshopper Rock vineyard, near Alexandra, became the president of the Central Otago Wine Association (COWA) late last year, and said he was enjoying the role.
COWA has 127 vineyard and winery members from throughout the Central Otago wine region, which includes both the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts. This represents close to 85% of vineyards and wineries registered under the Central Otago region that pay levies to New Zealand Winegrowers, and includes all of the region’s most significant producers.
COWA’s main purpose was to support the ongoing development of the Central Otago wine industry and promote the Central Otago wine brand through COWA’s whollyowned subsidiary, Central Otago Pinot Noir Ltd (COPNL), Mr Bradshaw said.
A big priority for COWA’s board and management was a review of COWA’s strategy for the wine industry, he said.
‘‘We are undertaking work on that at the moment and we will be consulting with our members and other stakeholders shortly. That’s a real priority for us as we work in pretty dynamic operating and marketing environments, and so creating a plan that helps us navigate our way to further success is critical to the health of the industry and the contribution that we make to the economy.’’
COWA was involved with a ‘‘vast’’ range of issues, including health and safety, industry benchmarking, management of spray drift through a recently updated vineyard locator map, and seasonal labour, including the recognised seasonal employment (RSE) scheme. ‘‘When you look at the industry supply chain and meeting the needs of local and global markets, there are lots of complexities and dependencies to be managed. Our job is to work collectively to address barriers to growth and to collaborate to grow the strength of the brand to protect our ultrapremium position in the market and support wine sales.’’
Mr Bradshaw said Central Otago’s wines continued to be respected locally, nationally and internationally, and winegrowers acknowledged the vision of the early pioneers in the region.
‘‘The early pioneers in the Central Otago wine industry had incredible foresight and understood the need to aim for top quality in terms of viticultural practices and winemaking and to build an ultrapremium position for the region’s wines. Their efforts and our ongoing promotional events and campaigns are all focused on sustaining that position.’’
Protecting Central Otago’s reputation and brand was also important, Mr Bradshaw said.
‘‘It’s not just about promotion, but also brand protection and with the introduction of the Geographical Indications Act, we are working on registering Central Otago as a GI. This will give us formal grounds to protect our brand and intellectual property.’’
Mr Bradshaw’s own vineyard was planted in 2003 and had its first vintage in 2006. Grasshopper Rock produces about 3500 cases of single vineyard pinot noir a year and exports primarily to the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as selling to Auckland markets.
Smaller volumes are exported to the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong. The vineyard is also building its online volume and ‘‘experiencing an increasing interest in cellar door tasting’’, which Grasshopper Rock hosts by appointment.
Regionally, grape plantings were increasing, Mr Bradshaw said. There were 1972ha of vines in production in Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes district in 201516, and this had grown 6% to 2084ha by the end of last year.
Seventysix percent of grapes were pinot noir and this remained a flagship for the region, Mr Bradshaw said.
Continued growth in planted hectares was expected, ‘‘but our eye has to be on quality and value, not quantity and volume’’, Mr Bradshaw said.
He said other ventures in the Central Otago wine industry were also important.
‘‘Less to do with the promotion of our wines, but everything to do with growing the talent we need to attract into the region, competitions like the Bayer Young Viticulturist and Competenz Young Cellar Hand of the Year competition are all about underpinning the reputation and development of the region’s wine industry.’’