Generation games

As sons and daughters begin to eclipse their parents, John Saker celebrates family-owned wineries.

There’s a generation gap at Glover Family Vineyards (aka Zephyr Wines) in Marlborough. It’s called a driveway. On one side of it are Owen Glover’s vines; neat, trim, a bare strip of earth beneath the vines providing clear evidence that herbicide is on the menu.

On the other side are son Ben’s vines, more unruly in appearance but certainly in fine health. Unlike his father’s, they are now farmed organically.

The situation provokes plenty of two-way, goodhearted lip. The natural order of things dictates that the younger generation will win out in the end, and Owen will be fine with that. That the estate continues to be farmed by Glovers is what matters most. Love of place is paramount.

For Ben Glover, who has learned the craft of winemaking at different stops over the past 20 years, there’s no place he’d rather be than right here in the lower Wairau, making the best wine he can.

Where would we be without family-owned wineries? They and their wines supply the industry with much-needed heart and soul. They innovate, they’re less prone to bullshit than their corporate cousins and in general, they dominate the quality end of the industry. For those reasons alone we should support them, and for other reasons too, not least that it’s a much tougher road for them than it is for the internationally connected big players.

There are a lot of highlights in the Zephyr Wines range. Poised, well-balanced rieslings are a special source of family pride, and the dark cherry, salineedged 2016 pinot noir is worth checking out. But I was particularly intrigued by Ben Glover’s singular take on sauvignon blanc (see tasting note below).

Further north in the Wairarapa is Coney Wines, established by Tim and Margaret Coney in the 1990s. It has always been a diverting stop to make on any Martinborough wine tour, both for Margaret’s excellent food and Tim’s wacko wordsto-music renditions.

As with Zephyr, the younger generation is now firmly in the frame. A few years ago, daughter Lisa returned to the fold after studying winemaking in Australia. Older vines, excellent fruit and astute winemaking have combined to create the winery’s first ever reserve pinot noir. It has been worth the wait. Coney Wines Reserve Pizzicato Pinot Noir 2016 $49 Magenta rimmed, this wine exudes those classic Martinborough pinot scents – crushed berries mingling with wet straw. Attractive ripe fruit is deftly carried by fine tannins to a long, juicy finish. Both are immediately seductive and built to last. Enquire at the winery.

Zephyr MkIII 2017 $35 (at Glengarry) Ben Glover calls it his “away in a manger” wine. The mirabelle plum, nectarine and chamomile-infused palate certainly has an engaging feral edge. Satisfyingly weighty and textural, it’s a sauvignon blanc that almost demands that it be talked about as you taste it.