A plea for 09...

John Forrest has likened it to standing on the edge of a cliff. Read more about the 2008 Marlborough grape glut and current reaction as we head towards the 09 harvest. Is Marlborough in danger of ruining its reputation, and by implication, the image of all New Zealand wine abroad?

The Marlborough Express has the story here.

Growing season nearly halfway through

Great shot that

Indeed we are almost now in the back half of the growing season. Here in Canterbury the grapes are rapidly growing and are approaching (or in some cases are there already) bunch closure. From here the grapes will rapidly grow, the hard berries will soften as they accumulate sugar and colour. The vines will be trimmed of excess growth, crops will be thinned and bird netting will be applied. More on that as it happens.

The weather since Christmas has been brilliant - hot dry days where the temperature got close to 30C often. We probably havent had a start to summer like this since 1998 (a great vintage year). The only rain to speak of came down on Christmas Day (brief) and Saturday just gone (torrential-30mm in 2 hours) which interupted the one-day cricket match between NZ and the West Indies. The season continues to shape up as potentially great.

For the record the West Indies won the rain shortened 28 over game, scoring the winning runs off of the second-to-last ball of the match.

Merry Christmas

Seasons greetings from everyone here at Sandihurst. We hope you have a great Christmas and enjoy the holiday period. Despite all the winter imagery, here in New Zealand it is summer so its usually hot - our holidays usually feature BBQs and beaches at some stage or other. Especially since nowhere in NZ is further than about 1.5 hours from a beach. Its a great time for friends and family - and of course to enjoy a special glass or two of wine. Sandihurst wine. And if you dont have any then drop by the tasting room, we'll be open right through.

Growing Berries...

Practically no rain for a month and then over the weekend we get 30mm. It warm again now but that little burst should get the vines (and the weeds) moving.

Canopy work continues, thinning, leaf plucking and adjusting the folliage wires. Things are tidy, bunches are exposed to the light and airflow, the weeds are under control and the vineyard dogs are slowly working their way through the local rabbit population. Soon it will be time for a pre-bunch closure botrytis spray to keep the grey mould in check.

In the Vineyard just before Xmas

At this time of year the flowering is now complete and the little grapes are beginning to grow. Presently they are around 3-5mm diameter. As well as finishing our shoot thinning we are also starting remove leaves from around the fruiting zone. This has a number of benefits. It aids berry development and can reduce green flavours. Berry skins thicken which is great for tannin and colour extraction in red varietals. It increases airflow in the canopy which reduces disease pressure. It exposes the berries to UV light early and reduces the risk of sunburn later in the ripening process.

This video just briefly shows the mechanism of leaf removal - essentially the leaves are pulled into a rotary blade by means of a vaccum. Other more technical machines such as the Collard Defoliators work on pulsed air pressure to do the same job.

Everything you need to know about French Wine in a minute

Excerpt from the recent James May/Oz Clarke TV series. Some of it might be true.

Give some wine this Christmas...

Boxing clever

Sandihurst has a great Christmas wine special on at the minute. For only $115NZD and including free delivery anywhere in New Zealand you get;

2 x 2008 Sandihurst Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
2 x 2007 Sandihurst Central Otago Pinot Noir
2 x 2006 Sandihurst Canterbury Riesling

Amazing value and a real saving. This would be a great Xmas gift as these wines are all drinking beautifully now.

You might also consider a great looking wooden box for your wine, as seen in the photo above. The boxes cost $8 for a single, $11 a double and $23 for a 6 bottle box. In addition you will get a further 5% off the retail price of any wine you decide to purchase to go into the box.

Order forms can be found on our website or you can email us directly at info@sandihurstwines.co.nz

In the news today...

Put that down!, slowly.

The most expensive wine for sale in NZ at this moment - here's a shameless just-in-time-for-Christmas piece of journalism about two bottles of Chateau Petrus. Is there anyone in NZ who could do it justice? - can I suggest instead a case of Sandihursts finest every week for a year would be a better bet. Practically the same price.

No such thing as bad publicity of course but this article, in NZs national Sunday newspaper, is about the Waipara Valley wine region. Substance not included.

More worrying for small wineries like ourselves is the next article in toady's NZ Herald regarding the huge volume of Sauvignon Blanc 2008 that is available and the cheap prices it is selling for. With last years crop 40% up on previous years, massive new plantings about to crop and a fabulous fruit-set period just passed, this years crop is likely to again be huge. Great for the consumer perhaps but those in the industry must be seriously worried. With 50% of the nations vineyard under SB we cant afford to ruin our reputation overseas.

How much is out there ??

With fruit set in the vineyard practically over its time to get a feel for how much crop is out there. It was warm and fine throughout the fruit-set period so its likely each vine will be carrying a reasonable sized crop. This initial crop estimation is a general guideline as to whether we need to drop any fruit at this stage.

Usually growers will randomly select a number of vines through the vineyard, count the number of clusters per vine, apply a historical bunch weight average, add a dose of gut instinct and then arrive at an approximate yield.

We expect each vine to carry not more than 2kg of fruit through to harvest. At our average row spacings of 2 x 1.5 this should equate to around 5 tonnes/hectare - a figure in line with most quality conscious vineyards and will also give a juice yield equal to legal limits in France for Grand Cru vineyards.

On a vine spacing of 1.5m each vine will have approximately 10-15 shoots each supporting 2 bunches of fruit. Depending on the varietal we can expect the average weight of each bunch to be around 100g. Growers will keep annual bunch weight data to help predict yield more accurately. And so we arrive, after thinning and other canopy management techniques, at something around 2kg/vine.

What we don't want is a repeat of 2008 when everyone everywhere seemed to be caught out by larger than average berry sizes which resulted in huge crops and overflows in wineries all over the place. Not good for the wine quality and ultimately the image of NZ wine abroad.

The issue that wont go away...

A good article written by Jamie Goode over on WineAnorak prompted by the BBCs new TV programme called Cork,Forest in a bottle. The basic premise of the article is that cork is a wonderful natural product with a current problem (TCA). This resulted in the inevitible rise in popularity of alternative closures which , in turn, has forced the cork industry to make huge inroads into solving this issue. Corks are fighting back !

The fact of the matter is that if screwcaps did exactly the same job as cork then of course we would all be using them. They dont and cannot. The interesting point surrounding corks is their ability to aid in the bottle development of wine via the interaction with air. Not air from the outside but from the compressed cells within the cork itself. There is some semi-technical but really interesting reading on the subject over on AppelationAmerica here and here dispelling the myth that corks 'breathe'.

A word from the floor...

Just a word on what is going on in the cellar at this time of year.

08 Pinot Noir - 140 barrels, most of which have been there for around 6 months were recently tested for levels of Malic acid to see how complete the MLF was. All barrels came back with a level of below 0.01g/l

The 08 reds are exhibiting slightly higher pH levels than in the past as growers tried to give the grapes extra hang time in order to achieve full ripeness. Bacteria work better the higher the pH levels are so the current dose now is needed to keep them at bay. This should see the barrel maturation period out nicely before I need to rack/blend and bottle in April next year. Its the first sulphur the wine has had since the grapes arrived.

08 White Wines - Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer - Our whites spend a little longer than most on lees and consequently we bottle later too. While there are a lot of 08 whites on the shelves already ours wont come out for another 4 months or so. All the whites have been sitting on lees up until now - gaining a little texture and complexity. From today I will be giving each wine its first coarse filtration as I begin to assemble the blends. Coarse filtration by plate/frame filter as we use here, essentially brightens up the wine from its cloudy state, takes out the larger particles and gives us a clearer idea of where each wine stands.

At this stage the Gris and Gewurz are going to be dry wines whereas we will have two Rieslings - one Canterbury and one Waipara - with between 15-25g/L sugar. This is a great fresh style balanced with higher acidity and low levels of alcohol, around 10-11%. Its a winner.

Another reason to love corks...

At Sandihurst all our wines are bottled under cork. We believe it is the best closure for the developement of the wine in the bottle. Now Decanter magazine reports on another reason to love the mighty cork.

A year-long life cycle analysis of the environmental impact of cork, plastic and aluminium screwcap stoppers has found what is already widely accepted: that cork is the most environmentally-friendly stopper. The was study undertaken by analysts Pricewaterhouse Coopers and was commissioned by Amorim, the world's largest cork manufacturer.

The report found plastic stoppers, including the plastic capsule that goes over the top of the bottle, are nine times more damaging to the environment - and aluminium screwcaps are twenty-two times - than cork stoppers, including corks with a plastic capsule.

The first independent survey comparing all three main types of wine bottle stopper, the study was conducted in accordance with ISO (International Standards Organisation) protocols which require peer review, and involved representatives from manufacturers of the other types of closures as well as a life cycle analysis expert.

It calculated various environmental impacts: non-renewable energy consumption, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric acidification, formation of photochemical oxidants which cause ozone layer depletion, the production of solid waste, and the eutrophication (loss of animal life) of surface water. Of the seven environmental impacts studied, cork performed best on six of them.

The anti-cork brigade will no doubt be up on their soapboxes already, yes we know the report was funded by a cork manufacturer. But this result is clearly not in question. Most of these people are forever on about cork taint as opposed to wine developement, i think a more important issue. One day cork manufacturers will beat the taint issue and where we we be then ?

Sandihurst - Google Street View

Here we are , as seen from the new Google Street View application launched this week. Not that exciting really.

Where in the world is......Brennan Vineyards

Driving out of Queenstown towards Cromwell/Wanaka. The first Valley you come to is the Gibbston Valley, home of Bungy Jumping and a number of well known wineries - Peregrine, Chard Farm and Gibbston Valley to name a few. Just past Peregrine but not as far as Waitiri Creek, on the opposite side of the main highway, you will find the Brennan and OVO Vineyards. This is where we source our Central Otago Pinot Noir. Check out Google Earth for a broader view of the region.

Air New Zealand Wine Awards

A short video advertising last years wine awards, sort of. Full results for this years awards and other NZ wine competitions can be found here.

Sinking Ship...

The Australian Wine Industry?

Confirmation that the Australian wine industry is in trouble it seems. Their recent Wine Industry Outlook Conference has called for a 60% reduction in wine producers and a 20% reduction in overall wine produced within the next 10 years. The current estimated surplus of grapes this year is projected to be a massive 680,000 tonnes. They also suggest that, with 90% of wineries not making money, wineries with less than 80 hectares of vineyards or turnovers of less than $5 million will be forced to close or joint-venture with other wineries to survive. Scary. Amazing. Read more of the article here.

Today in NZ, Wine Industry big chief Phillip Gregan has seized upon this to issue a warning for our own industry. He suggests the lessons to be learned are as follows;

1. Don't get ahead of the market. Clearly that in Australia vineyard planting has got ahead of market demand.

2.Don’t harvest more grapes as an industry than you need – it depresses wine prices and winery profitability and hence the ability to invest in marketing = long term negative consequences for all industry participants.

3. Wineries and growers must talk to each other. Contracts are crucial.

4. Quality, not quantity. That is the foundation on which the industry is based and is the only path to a prosperous and profitable future for growers and wineries.

5. Dont believe too much of our own press. The industry has been very successful but it has been achieved through a lot of hard work, a big investment of capital, a good shot of innovation and more than a drop or two of luck. Dont get complacent.

Sound advice we are all well aware of. Hard to believe we could turn out like the Australians, given they are largely based around export of lower priced large volume wines, the complete opposite of NZ. Although, despite our good name abroad, where will we be if the world stops drinking our Sauvignon Blanc ? Its 50% of our national vineyard - are we the only country with a statistic like that ?

Sandihurst Canterbury Riesling 2006

Here's my 'review' for our 2006 Canterbury Riesling that I've posted over on Chateau Petrogasm. Its an interesting website where wines are reviewed by image only. Check it out.

Weird Weather

It was no picnic in Nelson yesterday

In the last month we have seen extremes in weather across the South Island, from only a couple of weeks ago when we were experiencing the lows of morning frosts to the last few days here in Canterbury when temperatures have peaked at just over 30C.

Yesterday across Nelson and Marlborough there was torrential rain and flooding. In vineyards around the region between 30-50mm rain fell during the day. In Nelson some vineyards were flooded. We have yet to hear how this may have affected vine flowering.

Contrast that to Waipara with 30C yesterday and where less than 10mm rain has fallen in the last month. Weather forecasters are now predicting a hot dry summer with drought-like conditions through until at least February. The start to the season has been likened to that of 1997-98 which was one of the hotter vintages on record.

Central Otago has seen some moderate-to-heavy frost damage so crop levels will be down in the region but overall the season start is promising with low rainfall and a steady building in temperatures. GDD for the last month have been only around 40 compared to Waiparas 140 and Marlboroughs 110. Expect Central to gain quickly through the summer though as the semi-Continental climate starts to produce those intensely hot summer days. Central Otago town Alexandra is regularly the hottest, driest town in NZ through each summer.

The Gift of Flowers

News from Waipara over the last few days is that flowering has begun. In line with their geographical position, Marlborough is usually a little ahead of Waipara with Central Otago a little later than both of them. This is about normal for this stage of the season. Grapes are self-fertilising so once the flowers have open they rely on the weather to complete the job. And warm, fine and settled weather is forecast for the remainder of the week so this bodes well for a great fruit-set. Without any frost issues and with a good level of potential crop on the vine there will almost certainly have to be a reasonable amount of crop thinning done to ensure full ripeness for the fruit come harvest time.

Alot can change in a year, apparently...

From the US magazine Business Week, February 12 2007;

"The cool-climate wines of New Zealand have long been popular with wine critics. But to me, the pinot noirs are often too vegetal and green, the sauvignon blancs reminiscent of cat pee, and the chardonnays grotesquely over-oaked. This is a country of young wine producers where everything remains a work in progress, but for now the prices of these wines do not translate to quality in the bottle."

To today's press release regarding the new (7th) edition of his influential Wine Buyers Guide where 5 NZ wineries have achieved a 5 star rating with a further 21 rated 4 stars and another 80 rated as 'good'. That's practically 20% of all NZ wineries. Parker's team of writers does not grade individual wines but on the wineries overall ability to deliver consistent excellence, bucking vintage ups and downs, delivering regardless of circumstance. The previous editions of the guide granted NZ only the smallest of mentions.

What a difference a year makes.

Where on earth is...Williams Hill

Williams Hill - Waipara - Pinot Noir

Get yourself onto Google Earth and see where our vineyards are. Until I work out how to hyper link all the coordinates I will have to post them up here one by one. Plug in the coordinates from the map above and have a broader, better view.

Just for the record...

As much as I dont like them (or quite often, agree with the judges!) Wine Competitions appear to be a neccessary evil in the ongoing battle, especially for smaller producers such as us, to sell wine. It seems that the wine buying public need the reassurance of a sticker on the bottle in order to make a purchase. And this rule applies the world over. Even our agents and distributors in other countries seem to like stickers or competition results as it gives them a degree of comfort in the product they are trying to sell.

In an ideal world people would trust their own judgement and palate ! Competitions have too many variables in play. The country factor - how would one foreign Sauvignon Blanc fare against a sea of NZ Sauvignons? The judging factor - do they have a nationalised cellar palate - will a wine that is a bit left field do as well? Does Gold Medal in one country mean Gold in another - most unlikely. What about wine age - does a Gold medal now mean it will still taste 'gold' 2-3 years later? All competitions dont use the same judging criteria or scoring systems. Big wine companies who make 'show reserve' wines just in an attempt to win medals - just part of the advertising budget or a sideline to keep the winemakers interested ? I could go on. However, theres no getting away from it so I had better get used to it.

So after all that heres the Sandihurst list to guide you when you are next out..

2004 Riesling Medium Canterbury - Winestate - 5 STARS, Wine NZ - Shortlist Best Buy

2004 Riesling Dry Canterbury - Winestate - 4 STARS
2004 Gewurztraminer Canterbury - Winestate- 5 STARS
2004 Pinot Gris Canterbury - Winestate- 5 STARS

2006 Pinot Noir Canterbury - Liquorland Top100 GOLD, Decanter - 4 STARS, Cuisine - 4 STARS, International Wine & Spirit London - SILVER Best in Class
2006 Riesling Canterbury - Air New Zealand Wine Awards - SILVER, Selections Mondiale des Vins Canada - SILVER, Canberra International Riesling Challenge - BRONZE, International Wine & Spirit London - SILVER Best in Class
2006 Pinot Gris Canterbury - Bragato Wine Awards - BRONZE

2007 Pinot Noir Waipara - Air New Zealand Wine Awards- BRONZE
2007 Riesling Nelson - International Aromatics Competition - BRONZE, Air New Zealand Wine Awards - BRONZE

2008 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough - Bragato Wine Awards - BRONZE

Modest success then. The one interesting theme for me from this is that we tend to score better for wines that are entered after at least a years maturation in the bottle. Confirmation to me of our wines ability to improve as they age.

Coming to Hong Kong

Heres a photo of a recent tasting in Hong Kong which featured our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008.

We are currently putting the finishing touches (ie: labelling and packaging) to a new shipment to HK scheduled to leave next week . So look out for us, for in the not too distant future you will soon be able to enjoy, not only the Sauvignon, but also our Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007, Canterbury Riesling 2006, Nelson Chardonnay 2007 and Canterbury Pinot Gris 2006.

The wines should be available in both Hong Kong and Macau. I will post our agents details and from where you can find our wine shortly.

The monthly Kiwi music video...

Nesian Mystik - Its On

"Like Vietnam in the bad old days"...

Just a wrap on the recent frost event that had up to 500 helicopters on standby around the country. TV3 News featured the story and you can view it here or read more here.

A week of warm settled weather has followed and it appears that, fingers crossed, the spring frost season may be over.

Next key event to look out for will be flowering or fruit-set. Warm temperatures here will ensure healthy crop volumes and give growers the option of deciding on how much fruit to retain through to harvest. Cooler temperatures can reduce and affect crop levels and, as happened in 2007, this may still be excellent for winemakers but will certainly not be welcomed (financially) by growers. Stay tuned...