Stars align for natural winemakers
‘‘We have very low crop yields and have a focus on small-volume, premiumquality wines rather than making a cashflow wine.’’ Therese Herzog
Ihave tried many natural wines in recent years, and have written a little about this style of winemaking in previous columns. I am generally quite disappointed with many of those I have tried, but the glaring exception are the wines made by Hans Herzog in Marlborough, whose natural wines are exceptionally good.
Last week Hans and Therese Herzog were in Nelson to host a trade tasting and natural wines masterclass at Hopgood’s & Co, so I went along to find out just why Hans can make such beautiful natural wines while others struggle.
I have known Hans and Therese for many years, and buy their wines quite regularly. I have seen the effort Hans puts into managing their vineyards, the care and thoughtfulness that goes into making their wines, and the passion for selling only the very best wines they can.
The term ‘‘natural wine’’ has been interpreted by winemakers in many ways, but when you get to the absolute basic principle, it is winemaking with minimal winemaker intervention, so the grape variety can express its true character.
The issue I have with many natural wines is that, to me, they are just unpleasant to drink.
There is no doubt that there is a market for funky, different and, some would say, interesting natural wines. However, these wines aren’t to everyone’s taste.
Hans Herzog wines are in a different league – a league where quality and enjoyability go hand-in-hand.
To taste a Hans Herzog wine, you wouldn’t know it is a natural product. They are simply beautiful wines with lots of character and finesse. To me, this speaks a lot about the passion of the people who make the wine, and the 500 years of family winemaking heritage they bring to their business.
They care about making great wines that naturally express the qualities of their vineyard, rather than talking about how cool funky wines are.
Winemakers have learned a huge amount over the centuries and have been striving to make better, more enjoyable wines – so why turn the clock back and make wines that aren’t enjoyable to drink? Personally, I think that if you are going to make a natural wine, make it a quality wine, not a trendy wine.
At the natural wine masterclass with Hans and Therese, we tasted a small range of wines made in slightly different ways. Therese talked about the couple’s vineyards and their philosophy of making wine, and how that philosophy is influenced by their heritage.
‘‘Hans lives and breathes the vineyard. Despite a Master’s degree in oenology, he sees himself as a vigneron (viticulturist) rather than a winemaker,’’ says Therese.
‘‘He loves to spend his time amongst the vines, and works the land and tends the vines with immaculate detail, using the same traditional and holistic approach of his ancestors.
‘‘From hand pruning to hand picking and all the hard yards in between, tasks are tied in according to the astrological calendar.
‘‘Together with extremely low yields, we aim for concentrated, healthy and vibrant fruit that will result in age-worthy wines that express the unique terroir and climate of our vineyard land.’’
Hans says the real key to making good natural wines is the work done in the vineyard.
If you have poor-quality fruit, you can’t make good wines, let alone good natural wines, because the faults in the fruit will carry through and can even be amplified in the final wine.
‘‘This means we have to do a lot of manual work in the vineyard,’’ says Therese. ‘‘We need to control under-vine growth, and the land is so stony we can’t mow the grass with a tractor mower, so our under-vine growth and the grass between rows is maintained with weedeaters.’’
An example of the Herzogs’ commitment to making the finest wines they can, natural or not, are the 28 grape varieties the couple grow on their 11.5-hectare vineyard. Many of these are small trail plantings to identify varieties that will perform well in their microclimate.
Varieties like Nebbiolo, Lagrein, Saperavi, St Laurent, Barbera and Rousanne are very rarely planted in New Zealand, but are performing well in the Hans Herzog vineyard.
‘‘We want to make great wines. There’s nothing wrong with more conventional, industrial-style wineries – there is a place for every wine style and winery size,’’ says Therese.
‘‘If you compared us to this style of winery, it would be like comparing Hopgood’s to McDonald’s. We are a tiny boutique producer versus a mass-market product. We make a lot less money because we have very low crop yields and have a focus on small-volume, premiumquality wines rather than making a cashflow wine.’’
Hans told the small group at the masterclass that the couple are open to anything.
‘‘We have to be open-minded because we want to make the best wine we can, so we will try different things, but we never use additives other than an absolute minimal amount of sulphur to stabilise the wine.’’
Herzog wines are aged before being released. Time is taken in the vineyard and winery to make the best wines they can from their little piece of paradise.
If you want to try some of these handcrafted wines with beautiful food, Hopgood’s & Co are hosting a Hans Herzog Estate winemaker’s dinner on April 14, where several courses will be matched with outstanding natural wines. Check out the Hopgood’s Facebook page or email manager.hopgoods@gmail.com to reserve your place at the table.