THIS MUCH I KNOW
Terry Dunleavy
Wine is certainly not a vice — unless it’s consumed to great excess. Wine’s place in life is best described by two great names: Benjamin Franklin, “Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”; and Andre Simon, “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.” I have never been advised to taihoa on my wine consumption. There’s a wealth of medical research that says two glasses of wine a day are positively good for you. The current adult per capita consumption of wine in New Zealand is less than half a glass a day, and I can’t drink for the rest of you. An unenlightened minority drink to excess. Maybe it’s time we help senior secondary students better understand the joys and benefits of moderate drinking. The infinite variety of taste experiences offered by table wine (differences in grape varieties, regions, vintage years, production techniques) demand intellectual rigour for best understanding and enjoyment, and should certainly be encouraged at universities.
Hangovers? Don’t get ‘em, because I don’t drink enough. But for those who are susceptible, and more so with red wines, it is helpful to intersperse wine with a glass of water.
I am feasting with family. There are Bluff oysters, or West Coast whitebait, in season, with sauvignon blanc. Rack of lamb with pinot noir. A cheese board, with a cabernet sauvignon/merlot blend. Dessert with a late-harvest sweet wine ( riesling). I can’t recall when my children had their first sip of wine. And I didn’t come to the industry until age 43. I believe we should
follow the French and Mediterranean cultures of allowing children to join their elders at meals drinking the same wine, but diluted with water according to the age of each child. My definition of decadence is a meal at Te Motu with a glass of the 2010, perfection. New Zealand grape growers and
winemakers lead the world in sustainable practices within a formalised audited system, Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. I regard organic/biodynamic as personal choices made by producers and consumers, based on belief and/or preferences that would not stand up to identification in blind tastings. I will never compromise on the quality of the wine, and integrity of its labelling. What our wine quality says about us as a people is that we are resourceful and resilient, not afraid to experiment in our so-far-successful determination to produce wines of consistent quality and readily recognisable unique flavours. My favourite phrase in another language is “in vino felicitas et caritas” — in wine there is happiness and love, a Latin motto I created for my old company Montana Wines Ltd in 1974 for a new heraldic emblem. I can’t remember the most expensive bottle of wine I’ve ever drunk. Was it worth it? Very much so! Sarah Daniell