A PLACE TO STAND
The NZ wine industry is so much bigger than just Marlborough. From Gisborne to Hawke’s Bay to Nelson, there are so many incredible wine regions to explore.
From Gisborne to Nelson, we explore the many and varied wine regions of NZ.
There’s a cat named Jack who lives among the vines at Millton Vineyards & Winery, located on the lush banks of the Te Arai River near Manutuke in Gisborne. He appears right at home – weaving in and out of the garden greenery, curling himself languidly around any passing ankles – but Jack is quite new to these parts. He just turned up one day last year and never left. Such is the lure of James and Annie Millton’s welcome mat.
Established in 1984, Millton Vineyards & Winery was NZ’s first organic and biodynamic wine estate, and is one of the country’s premium wine producers.
James will admit to doing things a little differently. Actually, he uses the term “maniacal” – but ‘untraditional’ may be a slightly better fit. He says he can see auras, if you believe that kind of thing, and he shakes hands with his team members each morning so he can get a sense for how they’re feeling.
“I want the people to be happy because happy people make happy vines, and happy vines makes happy wines,” James states. “You can taste that. And at the end of it, the worst
disease you can have in the vineyard is a bunch of grumpy people because the vines can see that, you know?”
Perhaps it’s a Gisborne thing. When delegates descended on the region earlier this year in readiness for the Chardonnay & Sparkling Symposium, the welcome was even warmer than the belting January sunshine. The traditional Māori welcoming ceremony, or pōwhiri, held at Whakato Marae, left guests in awe – and with a deeper understanding of the local history and culture.
It was the first event of its kind to ever be held at a marae (Māori meeting grounds), and the organisation was led, in large part, by the head of Gisborne Winegrowers – who happens to be Annie Millton. The following evening, dinner was held at the historic Opou Homestead – a magnificent colonial home, set on 12 hectares, which has been in Annie’s family for five generations.
Of course, there was wine. This was, after all, a celebration of New Zealand’s significant contribution to the industry. But it was clearly also a celebration of place. Or, as James referred to it, tūrangawaewae –a Māori concept commonly translated as ‘a place to stand’, which alludes to our place in the world, where we feel especially empowered and connected.
Place had already surfaced as a leitmotif for many Symposium guests – who had arrived in Gisborne fresh from Sauvignon 2019 in Blenheim. ‘Place’ was the theme of the opening day, and speaker Sam Harrop – a New Zealand Master of Wine, among other things – spoke very passionately on the subject, concluding that an emphasis on place would help to elevate the reputation of sauvignon “from savage white to noble variety”.
Later, it was a case of ‘our place’, as delegates separated into groups to be bussed to a range of Marlborough wineries for lunch – not at the winery restaurants, but in the backyards, as if attending a friend’s barbecue.
My destination? The Coterie, a hub for premium contract winemaking in Marlborough’s Renwick. And it was here, under the olive trees, that I met winemaker Ben Glover, co-founder of The Coterie and owner/winemaker at Zephyr Wines.
“New Zealand is a beautiful long country with cool climates,” Ben said of his ‘place in the world’. “You smell sauvignon blanc and you think blue sky, green grass, snow on the hills … But from here you can go an hour and a half that way and ski, or 40 minutes the other way and go diving for crayfish, and then you’ve got this beautiful plain right here. So if you can capture that in a glass, I think you’ve done a really good thing.”
As well as Ben, I met his dad, Owen; brother, Jack; and sister, Lucy, and caught numerous glimpses of his wild-haired son, George. Evidently, like so many local wine operations, Zephyr is a true family affair.
Originally a dairy farmer, Owen converted the farm to vines in 1988 when he realised that the 4am starts the cows were demanding were not endearing the industry to any of his children. Nineteen years later, led by Ben, the family launched Zephyr – a range of single-vineyard wines that hail from the farm.
The next generation is already showing an interest in following suit. George, 16, and his oldest sister, Molly, 14, helped out during last year’s harvest at The Coterie – and all four of Ben’s so-called “free-range kids” help to hand-pick fruit each year for a small family field blend.
Succession planning is an important consideration for New Zealand wine, given the weight of first-generation farmers in the game. Thirty years ago, there were fewer than 100 New Zealand wineries in the game – but today, there are over 670. Master of Wine Emma Jenkins, who performed Master of Ceremonies duties at Sauvignon 2019, says that the succession conversation is crucial to protecting the industry’s future.
“It’s something we have to think about in terms of how we actually maintain control in the way that we want to,” she says. “Obviously, you need to have outside investments … but you can very easily see that if you mapped out the ownership model of Marlborough, a lot of it is held in hands who may not have the same sort of long-term vision that people who are on their own land would.”
Locals are also best placed to promote the local product, although not always best at it. “I really struggle. You could call me a soft seller,” says Ben, who says he prefers to rely on authenticity to sell his creations.
Emma adds that, “New Zealanders are much more likely to say ‘Oh nah, this old thing?’ They are very proud of [their wine]… but we’re not ones to really blow our own trumpets.”
Given an opportunity to toot that horn, Emma says she would like international markets to recognise the depth of New Zealand wine.
“Many people don’t realise the depth and the diversity that’s here,” she says. “You have to get out there and explore what’s happening in the different regions to realise that New Zealand is blessed with a pretty remarkable wine climate that allows us to make a really large range of varieties and styles that are high quality. There’s a lot more to New Zealand wine than Marlborough.”
So we discovered – aboard an Air New Zealand ‘Wine Flight’, no less. This charter flight delivered guests to Gisborne from Marlborough, but not before taking the scenic route over the key wine-growing regions of Nelson, Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay. Everyone had a window seat, and everyone got to dine on a restaurant-quality meal. And, of course, everyone enjoyed a matching NZ wine. This journey isn’t available to the general public – but if feedback is anything to go by, it should be. The patchwork of vineyards against mesmerising drowned valleys; serene, gently snaking rivers; and the glittering Pacific Ocean was a sight to behold – the diversity of landscapes a fitting metaphor for the country’s winemaking capabilities.
Of course, the flight wasn’t all encompassing – with several wine regions outside our line of sight. But where better to land than Gisborne, home of the first vineyards in the world to see the sun each day?
“For those people who get out of bed early enough to see the sunrise, you’re energised as a result,” states James. “When you’re in the vineyard and you see the sunlight coming up, you get energised as well. And as a result … you get an intuitive feeling with what’s going on. At first light, we are first to be out in the world to see the sun. I think you can taste it.”