Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Winery allrounder excels at adapting
Adapting has been a regular feature of Sarah Fix’s career.
For the past two years, she and her colleagues at Rock Ferry Wines have been adapting their offerings to allow for restrictions imposed as a result of Covid-19.
The cellar door and marketing manager added assistant winemaker to her titles list, but it’s not an unfamiliar role.
‘‘I have a background in theatre, arts and arts admin, with an emphasis on events, but I’ve been in the wine industry for 10 years now. This job is kind of combining quite a few things,’’ she says.
Despite being born and raised in a small United States wine region – Columbia Gorge in Oregon –it wasn’t until Sarah met the man who is now her husband that working in the industry piqued her interest. Coming from Northern California, he was travelling and taking on harvests throughout the world.
‘‘That really appealed to me for many reasons,’’ Sarah says.
‘‘Even though I knew about wine, I never knew about these travelling vintage positions. I started dabbling in that, along with everything else, and I’m now in my 10th vintage.
I never thought it would continue on to that.’’
Sarah was looking to move away from the wine industry and back into the events or tourism space when she was convinced to take her role at Rock Ferry, initially as assistant winemaker for vintage 2020,then as cellar-door and marketing manager at the winery.
‘‘I kept getting approached by Rock Ferry and I eventually took the job.
‘‘I’m so happy I did, because two weeks later the first lockdown happened,’’ she says.
Since then, Sarah has had to draw on her adaptability to help the business roll with the punches of pandemic restrictions.
Lockdowns and then visitornumber limits inside and outdoors put a strain on the winery, along with many others, forcing the closure of Rock Ferry’s restaurant in 2020.
Throughout the pandemic, the winery has continued to try to offer entertainment for the community through events including yoga, the Mana Wine Festival and a recurring
Twilight Market.
Despite disruptions to both the 2021 Mana Wine Festival and some Twilight Markets as a result of Covid restrictions – and in some cases, rain – yoga has been a constant.
‘‘Yoga was originally an idea for the original tasting space, it’s so perfect in there surrounded by trees. It’s just a tranquil spot,’’ Sarah says.
‘‘We also have the gardens, and the yoga instructors have the opportunity to go anywhere on the grounds that they want to [each session].’’
Connecting with the community through events became especially important after the restaurant closed.
‘‘It’s about community collaboration,’’ Sarah says. ‘‘It’s looking at what’s here in Marlborough and utilising the space, and what Rock Ferry has to offer, while giving back to the community, which has always supported us.’’
Alongside many Marlborough wineries, Rock Ferry temporarily closed its cellar door for the 2022 vintage to reduce pressure as they dealt with a workforce shortage. It reopened on May 4, just in time for International Sauvignon Blanc Day on May 6.
Sarah enjoys the buzz harvest brings, thriving on the long hours, but also enjoys having her ‘‘regular’’ job to go back to. With restrictions easing, she hopes to be able to push forward with some Rock Ferry events with more certainty this year.
‘‘We’re hoping to do more concerts, and we have a portable stage that we haven’t been able to use because everything has been cancelled . . . we’re looking at teaming up with people in the community to do workshops over the winter as well.’’
Rock Ferry will also use international wine day celebrations, to showcase what can be achieved within the same variety of wine. ‘‘Because we now have four vineyards in two growing regions, we have plenty of library stock, some dating back to our first vintage of 2005, to share with customers,’’ she says.
‘‘That really can showcase the differences in climate effects and soil profiles.’’