No Wimbledon wines wanted at Wither Hills
Sunday 14 November
Amid tales of falling profitability, receiverships and deep discounting, it’s interesting to see a winery expanding with the aim of increasing its production by 150%. Wither Hills in Marlborough currently has the capacity to process 6000 tonnes of grapes, which is fairly significant, but building work has already started on increasing that volume to 15,000 tonnes in the coming years. The local council is expected to give resource consent to Wither Hills to do this in the next few days.
The banks are not lending money at the moment and most companies simply don’t have the money to be able to expand on small scale let alone 150% but that’s where being part of a multinational corporation, Lion Nathan (owned by Japanese brewer Kirin), helps.
The expansion will rejig the company’s varietal mix. Ben Glover, winemaker at Wither Hills since 1998, says: ‘We think we are at risk if we are selling 80% Sauvignon Blanc. We need the facilities to drive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.’
But Pinot Noir often lacks something in Marlborough – often it’s juicy, sweet and not particularly structured. Glover claims: ‘It’s quite difficult here because we have got people making lolly red wine to pigeon pair it with Sauvignon Blanc.’
‘I think Marlborough should have more kudos. We are a big region and I think Pinot gets missed but there are six or seven producers who make great Pinot Noir.’
With more vine age, and experimentation with stems in the ferment, the structure is starting to come but there are still plenty of ‘Wimbledon wines’, as Glover calls them - that’s strawberries and cream.
Drink Seresin wines; win a free wine course
Wednesday 20 October
Have you booked a place on my Introduction to Wine course yet? If not, why not? It kicks off on 13 November at Longroom, Ponsonby. For those readers outside of New Zealand, it might be a wee bit far to come but if you are in the land of the long white cloud, you can win a free place on the 13 November course. Here’s how…
If you buy a case of wine from the lovely people at Seresin Estate in Marlborough, you’ll be entered in the draw to win a free ticket. It’s as simple as that. It helps that Seresin’s wines are bloody tasty too. I particularly like their 2009 Memento RIesling for summer at just 10% alcohol plus their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc has lovely restraint and texture.
Click here to go to their website and buy a case of wine and be in with the chance to come and spend five hours with me tasting your way around the world of wine and having a delicious lunch.
I’ve never been lucky in prize draws although I did once win an INXS album at a tombola when I was eight. I was more a Kylie and Jason fan at the time though.
If you’re luck’s not in, you can always come along to my course with a limited offer of buy one get the second half price. Go to this link to access the special offer page for the 13 November course and for the 4 December course
South Africa: Safari so goodie
Tuesday 31 August
So I’ve finally made it to South Africa after eight years working in the wine industry and this being Africa, day one meant safari.
I’m not sure what I was expecting as I boarded the Big 5 Wine Safari vehicle at Warwick Estate in Stellenbosch but it wasn’t a comparison between a white rhino and Sauvignon Blanc, that’s for sure. But life is full of surprises.
Wrapped in a fuchsia pink blanket to stave off the cold spring day, our tour guide Ivan took us around the wine safari, also known as a vineyard tour.
“Cabernet Sauvignon,” he said “is like a lion. The lion is the king of the jungle. When Cabernet is young, it is aggressive on the palate; as it becomes older, the tannins calm down, just like when a lion ages.”
Hmm, a bit tenuous, but I see what you’re driving at Ivan and I’ve never heard a wine compared to a wild animal before. It’s refreshing for a wine journalist who has seen enough stainless steel tanks and barrels to last a life time.
Sauvignon Blanc…which of the Big 5 safari animals would it be? The white rhino, of course. The link was fresh green grass: the rhino eats it; the wine smells like it.
Cabernet Franc is apparently like an elephant because they both have thick skin and you can keep the wine for a very long time. Warwick does a single varietal Cab Franc, a relative rarity in South Africa, but I couldn’t see any relation to Dumbo or Nelly.
The buffalo is another safari favourite but it’s unpredictable and wild hence the comparison with Pinotage. And last but not least Merlot gets likened to a leopard – because it’s smooth. For wine connoisseurs, it might seem a bit silly but the wine industry needs a bit of fun injected into its rear end. It’s a great way to educate the consumer, link the wine trade with a successful tourism industry - and make wine seem less elitist.
Kiwis face up to challenges
Thursday 26 August
It’s good to see the New Zealand wine industry facing up to the challenges it faces rather than bury its head in the sand or, worse still, deny things aren’t smelling of roses.
So, at today’s Romeo Bragato conference in Marlborough, Stuart Smith, chair of New Zealand Winegrowers, made a balanced and wise speech.
Falling profitability, oversupply, and the strength of the NZ dollar have been the crux of the problems the industry now faces, leading to Kiwi wine companies struggling or going out of business. Winegrowers also called for another harvest of 265,000 tonnes after two record harvests of 285,000 tonnes in 2008 and 2009.
Having spent seven months in New Zealand I don’t profess to be an expert but there are things I have noticed on my way round the country’s wine regions that have surprised me. I believe there’s naivety among the smaller players of the trade. No doubt, that occurs in many other wine producing countries. Consulting for an independent wine merchant in the UK for the past seven months and looking for new wines for its portfolio, there’s a lack of awareness of what’s going on outside New Zealand. Poor branding (or lack of it), dated labels, and an unwillingness to negotiate on ex-cellar prices makes you wonder if they’ve ever been to the UK, US or Australia to look at what’s on the shelves and the competition they’re up against. Obviously, many New Zealand producers are on the ball but many smaller wineries are making wine for themselves.
Here’s some snapshots from Smith’s address, offering another insider’s insight into the industry:-
After two decades of sustained growth, we are all now experiencing the worst trading conditions since the mid-1980’s. The global recession and markets trading down combined with issues specific to our own sector have seen grape and land prices fall sharply, bulk exports lift, in-market wine prices down, the NZ dollar is high against the UK pound and the US$ … times are tough, very tough indeed.
He later added: “Falling profitability is the major issue for growers and wineries right now. It is the issue that must be addressed – but it in turn is a function of a number of different issues. Supply and demand, the value of the NZ$, tax rates, compliance costs - these are all issues affecting profitability, so we need to have a range of strategies to address these issues as far as we can.
“...So going forward we must continue to be market led, harvesting no more grapes, making no more wine than the market can profitably absorb.
In that vein, we have been asked frequently in recent weeks ‘What is the demand for New Zealand wine out of the 2011 vintage?. Our assessment at this stage based on information from our wineries and looking at market trends is that a vintage of 265,000 tonnes which is the same size as 2010, would be sufficient to meet demand for NZ branded wine in the next year.”
Sauternes is not just for Christmas
Tuesday 24 August
Sauternes is not just for Christmas - or to drink with foie gras. That’s the message that the sweet Bordelais want to tell the world with a marketing budget under 500,000 euros each year.
The old foie gras/blue cheese and Sauternes are so deeply entrenched that it’s going to have to take one enormous effort to alter perceptions.
Thomas Dejean of Chateau Rabaud Promis, admits: “Sauternes, foie gras, Sauternes, foie gras. It’s a reflex. We have to create more moments. As an aperitif, it’s fantastic - like a Sauvignon Blanc it’s incredibly aromatic.” Yes, but it’s not dry Thomas - and that’s the issue.
There certainly are plenty of other occasions that you can drink Sauternes but it’s a bit of a push to serve it at every course. Similarly, the Champenois try and force fizz down your throat at every course too, and that gives you really bad guts and makes you yearn for a still wine.
Nevertheless, I have to admit that there were some fantastic combos thanks to ex-sommelier and consultant chef, Georges Gotrand. He works his dishes around the wines - not something every chef would do for a sweet wine but then he’s getting paid to do it.
Nevertheless Chinese-style chicken marinated in sesame oil and soya sauce with coriander was sticky and viscous and a lighter-style Cadillac worked famously with it.
Likewise curried monkfish with dried coconut and an ‘04 Sauternes both married well. The sweetness complementing the delicate spices and the viscosity of the wine working with the creaminess of the sauce.
There were plenty of surprising matches and I have to say it did change my mind but will I get a bottle of sweet Bordeaux out next time I have a coconut-based curry? I’d like to say yes but then I’d probably be lying.
