Nikki in New Zealand - a trip to Wairu River

Trip to Wairau River 

Nice trip to the Wairau River cellar. They are only round the corner from Forrest Wines and supply Laithwaite's with a couple of major brands. There's a proper story to tell here, but even when that's already been written down, it's always worth seeing everything yourself, firsthand.

 

The avenue of trees that leads up to the
Wairau River cellar

They are certainly bigger than Forrest, 450,000 cases, but still very much, even fiercely, 100% family owned and run. Founders Phil and Chris Rose were farmers, then fruit growers, who finally turned to growing grapes instead ... one of the first in the area. They raised five children while they were starting the new business and today all five, voluntarily, have gone into the business, as have their partners ... except one, who is in banking, so that's useful too. And there are 12 grandchildren so far, who could do the same.

Wairau River vineyards bathed in sunshine

The original winery was built in 2002 and has been extended considerably as they have expanded. Even then Phil and Chris had the foresight to plan for the future and, in the early days of 2002, invested in a bottling line, to ensure everything remained in-house. And it's stayed very much that way today. 

Anyway, won't get too boring and techy, but it was very interesting. The young red wine maker, Nick, was really excited about what he was doing, the experiments they were up to, the new equipment ... he was overflowing with information. It was great. They are doing three 'natural' wines, which is a real departure for them, but what's in demand in Sydney apparently. The wines are called The Funk, The Soul and The Hipster! Lunch was extremely tasty at their fancy bistro place there. How very nice.

This basket press was a whole lot fancier and more automated
than the one we used in the Barossa

There is a strong connection with this winery and Hunter's down the road. As the Rose children grew up, they often spent time with Jane Hunter, while Mum and Dad were busy working and the two families often shared wine experiences, too.

The picture above shows the fancy modern basket press that Wairau River has. The winemaker, Nick, showed us the 'cake' of skins and pips that is the end result and was telling me how they stuck rocket fireworks in one of the first cakes from it – bit of a spectacle. Don't think Dan at RedHeads will get any ideas – we could never get the cake off in one piece!

Nikki in New Zealand - a sad farewell

Bannockburn fruit arrives, digging out ... and sad farewell 

Snow had arrived down in Central Otago, up on the mountain caps, and the fruit was ready to pick in the vineyard – the Riesling and the Pinot Noir. Samples had been sent up regularly to John and the team to assess, and come Sunday afternoon the handpicking started. All Monday and all Tuesday it continued, with 34 bins arriving at Forrest at 6am on Tuesday morning and 39 bins on Wednesday morning.

The Pinot Noir – all three clones of 777, 667 and 115 – were looking tip top, healthy, ripe. The Riesling had a touch of rot here and there, but Dave wasn't worried, that would "all come out in the wash", so to speak. They were expecting it from thin-skinned Riesling.

 

The Pinot Noir grapes being tipped into the receival
bin for destemming

It was very cold first thing this morning – five layers on
I still needed to jump about to keep warm

The grapes arrived by lorry in the individual bins and each of those had to be weighed before they were put through the destemmer. A few were kept whole bunch and added to a couple of the vats to bring more fruitiness to the blend through carbonic maceration.

Meanwhile, it was time for some of the Marlborough Pinot Noir to come out of tank and be put into barrel. First the wine is drained off and put into tank, then the residual solids – skins, pips, lees and so on – are dug out. And 'sweetly' Beth said no vintage experience would be complete without a dig out. Yes, it was my turn to get back into the tank and dig it out. Well, I hadn't done one since leaving the Barossa.

Just as a 'bonus' the Wall Street Journal were at the winery doing an article on Forrest Wines, so the experience was documented. Not only by the professional cameraman, but John also had to get a few shots in too!

 

What a deep pit of a tank

Dirty hands again ... just as I was getting them clean

With a door at the bottom of the tank, it was a whole lot easier shovelling out than it had been in the Barossa at least.

And it was good to get my hands dirty again!

Big thanks to everyone at Forrest Wines for making me so very welcome indeed. It's been a really great experience. I've learnt a lot, particularly from the great man himself, and had a thoroughly fab time.

Much easier shuffling out with my hands
I decided

Mark Hoddy in Oz - The Big Barossa

These days it seems everyone talks about the small estates that produce limited releases of quirky and micro cuvées, whacky varietals and so on. But how about giving the larger wineries and famous big names a little bit of praise, too? They may be all-controlling taking the majority of the market share with their big blends, but these well-priced wines are often what the general tourist and wine drinker wants.  Also, remember that these pioneering wineries all started from scratch and formed the foundation upon which South Australian wine still stands today. 

I find the big names rather interesting from a marketing point of view. And you have to admire their ability to make very good, well-priced large blends … and to be honest I want to get the T-shirt and say I've visited them! So today I decided I would put on the tourist cap/bumbag/sandals and socks and visit the big, well-known wineries to see for myself.

First up was Wolf Blass in the northern part of the Barossa, a couple of clicks outside of Nurioopta. The huge winery was found easily with more signs than you could shake a stick out and the cellar door access is directly off the motorway with its own exit! Easy peasy.

You are greeted by the pristinely clean car park and the smooth, immaculate circular visitor centre surrounded by the usual over-watered, bright-green lawns and, of course, the giant bronze eagle so synonymous with the Wolf Blass labels. 

Like most of the big Aussie winery names, it was all started by one person … in this case the German Wolfgang Blass. Back in 1966, he recognised the potential of the wines that could be made here in the Barossa. He famously said his style of red and white wines would “make strong women weak and weak men strong” he also stated “no table wine over 15% vol should ever get any medal. Anywhere in the world, ever”, so perhaps that’s why all the Wolf Blass wines are 14.9% vol...??!

The cellar door is bright, immaculate, airy and the dominated by the enormous trophy cabinet (it’s like the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid!) The tasting bench is sleek as are the staff and the glasses and a tasting list are slid under your nose without you even noticing. 

I tasted the White Label Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills) Chardonnay and the Eden Valley Riesling which were cold, fresh and fine. The Adelaide Hills 2012 Cabernet at $49 a bottle seemed a little steep for the money, but it tasted ok and the hundred-odd other visitors seemed to love the wines. Plenty of mixed cases of wine were being sold, along with branded hats, t-shirts and, of course, the branded bum bag.

Before leaving I decided to try the Brown Label Classic Shiraz 2012 … apparently a re-release of an original label from the 1970's. With its $50 price tag it was the most expensive free wine on offer for tasting, very oaky and mocha dominant … but I do like the label.

Next I headed back to Tanunda and for the Peter Lehmann Estate. This property has was purchased by Casella back in December for a tidy sum of AUD$57 million. In true Casella fashion they have ramped up the production for their first vintage in charge and doubled the fruit processed at the Lehman cellar compared to the previous vintage. They’re now challenging TWE for the position of Australia’s second largest wine company.

The cellar door has a nice feel and staff are super-friendly with good wine knowledge. I started with their cold fresh Fino sherry; great at $18. The Barossa Verdejo is a good low-alcohol option and the 2009 Semillon is light, zesty and aromatic. For the reds I enjoyed the silky and fresh 2011 Mentor Cabernet. The Ruediger 2013 Cabernet is bigger and bolder and although the 2010 Stonewell Shiraz may be $100 it’s ripe, earthy and chocolaty with dark cherry fruit and a peppery finish.

The gardens are really lovely, the sun was shining and my stomach was saying lunch. I ordered a platter that came with cured meats, nuts, local cheeses, bread crackers and a glass of red. I thoroughly enjoyed the lunch out on the relaxed terrace overlooking the lawns. Nice job, Mr Lehmann, I hope Casella can continue your hard work and passion.

Feeling revitalised I made my way south through Tanunda to the last visit of the day, Jacobs Creek. Everyone knows this brand and I was keen to see what their cellar door was like. Jacobs Creek’s first release was a 1973 vintage ‘Claret’ wine back in 1976. I even have a 1983 bottle of Jacobs Creek ‘Claret’ in my cellar back in Bordeaux and have often strangely looked at it thinking if it might miraculously be still good to drink. 

The entrance to the 'visitor centre' is unmistakable with its grand landscaped entrance where a sign informs you that the wine tasting is 800m down the drive. As you meander down the driveway though the pruned and strategically placed gum trees and gardens you finally arrive at the new cellar door; sorry; visitor centre! They have everything here for a full day without having to leave the sprawling estate, even bike trails.

I wanted to buy a bottle of the blend they are so famous for, to taste blind with winemaker mates later on. It was $10. They asked me if I was in the trade to which I replied yes without attracting attention and they gave me 40% off! I am not going to argue with that! 

Later on no one got the wine in the blind tasting. It didn't win but with the Bbq food the bottle ended empty without complaint! Maybe I will open that 83'?! 

All these big names had changed the name 'cellar door' to 'visitor centre' but everywhere we went people were enjoying themselves and confident with the wines. I guess they were comforted by the array of silverware as they handed over their dollars before heading out into the sunshine to enjoy a cheese platter in the manicured gardens. And why not? I did. But I didn’t buy a branded bum bag.

Nikki in New Zealand - screwcaps and ageing

Screwcaps and ageing

As it traditional around the world, once harvest is underway and crazy hours of 24/7 or similar are underway, a cellar tends to put on the food. Here at Forrest Wines, there's always a hearty breakfast for the crew that started at 3am or 4am – bacon, eggs benedict, spicy beans or whatever. And for those on the late shift or all-night shift, there's supper catered for.

Living with John and Brigid Forrest at their house on the estate over this harvest period I've been part of that too ... and the very interesting collection of wines we've had with supper. Chris and Gus are the vintage supper boys, the only two on the late shift, and it's been Chris on the whole who has brought over a couple of mystery bottles.

We also had a delicious bottle of the 2002
Botrytised Riesling – a wonderful sweetie
that was still ageing very gracefully in its 75cl format

What's this got to do with 'screwcaps and ageing'? Well, the mystery bottles have tended to be from the Forrest Library. Then we'd play the game of 'What grape?', under 5 years, 5-10 years or 10-15? and perhaps drill down further. And what has been amazing is how young and vibrant very many of the old wines have tasted.

And yes, since 2001, they have all been under screwcap! Quelle surprise! Or perhaps, not really. I didn't realise initially, but John in fact was one of the original four (along with John Belsham, John Stichbury and the late Ross Lawson) who founded the Screwcap Initiative in 2001. Now bottles under screwcap in the last ten years have increased from 100 million to three billion worldwide (out of a total of 7 billion total), while 90% of New Zealand's wines are under screwcap closure. That's a huge shift.

John's fundemental point is why on earth would you firstly add an extra flavour, one that you don't want ie cork, even a healthy cork, to your perfect wine? The original Initiative proved that these corks were not neutral by putting various different types of cork in different glasses of acidified water. All left some colour taint and flavour. Secondly why add in the gamble of closing your precious wine with a closure that, at best, is variable and, at worst, 10% of the time adds a fault – mustiness of varying degrees.

Hence Forrest's move to screwcap in 2001.

So, back to what we tasted – the 2001 John Forrest Chenin Blanc (wow! honeyed candied fruit, apricot notes, buttery and a bit toasty – in top form, probably my favourite of the 3 weeks), John Forrest Chardonnay 2004 (creamy buttery fruit with super weight, balance and length and tasting youthful!), Tatty Boglar Pinot Grigio 2007 (this one was Northern Otago and had luscious peach fruit, with freshness and roundness), and Forrest Gewurztraminer 2003 (perhaps a tad light for Gewurz, but otherwise classic rose petal and spice). Only one we tried – a Chardonnay – was a tad oxidised. We even had a Forrest rosé 2009 – ancient for a rosé – that was very drinkable indeed. It still had gentle fruit, had lost a bit of zip, but was definitely very enjoyable imbibing.

The Doctor certainly attributes this freshness to the screwcap closure. He can't imagine entrusting his best wines, indeed any of his wines, to the random nature of cork anymore. And that's the same for most of what I've seen in New Zealand. Wairau River showed me their bottling line, bought in 2002, and where they had the capacity to insert corks into a bottle, they'd even bought the corks, but had not once used the facility. 

Interestingly, however, at Auntsfield, site of Marlborough's oldest vineyard dating back to 1860, Ben Cowley said he was putting their top Pinot Noir back under cork. They only produce a thousand cases of Pinot Noir, but he said it would open all sorts of new markets if the wine had a cork closure. That's what customers want when they pay $80+ for a bottle. Indeed, he said touring Europe, France in particular, he found many sommeliers totally unfamiliar with screwcaps, attacking the closure with a corkscrew!

A selection of Forrest Wines, all under screwcap except the 2000 on the left

Secondly, he was up for corks in these top Pinot Noirs because he liked the romance of it, that every bottle will be unique and age just slightly differently ... a more natural wine, perhaps. And certainly a different point of view from John.

At Rockford Wines in the Barossa, they also told me that their Basket Press Shiraz was closed with cork, allowing the wine to breathe a little and gain the complexity from ageing. So the jury is still out for some.

Meanwhile, John and Brigid went to their infrequent wine group gathering to enjoy a selection of blind bottles on Friday. Guess which was wine of the night? 1998 Forrest Chenin Blanc ... with a cork closure. The first bottle of it they opened was a little oxidised, the second was sublime!