Anne Krebiehl, blog March 23, harvest blog from New Zeland

Hello again - this time from Martinborough in the Wairarapa - this must be the most bijou little town ever and seriously makes me think of emigrating....

Martinborough is east and inland of Wellington on the North Island - way off the adventure tourist trail and therefore not on my Intercity Bus route. So in order to get there I have to go via Wellington and onwards by commuter train.

This train is picked up by a bus service - and the lady bus driver, spotting my huge rucksack, generously - and incredibly - offers to drop me off in front of my motel. Now that's New Zealand for you! T

The little town's streets are laid out like a Union Jack, a fancy of its founder John Martin. After dropping the ballast, I head straight - for the Martinborough Wine Centre to hire a mountain bike. The first stop is Escarpment on the beautiful Te Muna Road, the road that runs along the terraced ridge bordering Martinborough to the south-east. O

Once out of town, past olive groves, sheep and cattle pastures, I climb the steep road and find pine groves and wonderful views. There is stillness on Te Muna Road - all I hear is the sound of the wind and a few crickets. After a while the road turns into a gravel track and slowly the vineyards begin.

As I arrive at Escarpment, Huw Kinch, assistant winemaker, is in the middle of filtering the 2008 Pinot Noir. As all the filtering upsets the wine I get to taste a savoury, fruity pre-filtration tank sample. It's all raspberry and cedar notes that will mellow wonderfully with a little bottle-age. It is refreshing to see that there is no fancy tasting room, just a homestead and the winery. It is carved into the hillside and this allows me to see a cross-section of the very free-draining soil.


Huw points to the dry riverbed in the distance where all but a few flecks of green grass are left - showing up the rare slightly more water-retentive clay streaks in the soil.

Their neighbours, Julicher, unfortunately have no-one to see me when I call so I resolve to try their wine at the next best opportunity. My next stop is a very different feel: the Alana Estate is totally geared up for visitors. Their zingy, lime-scented just off-dry Riesling is a perfect foil for my bistro lunch of bread, local olives and olive oil on their sunny terrace.

Thus fortified I cycle to Ata Rangi. Eleanor encyclopaedically talks me through the tasting, touching on everything from planting density to Scott-Henry versus VSP growing systems and lets me taste the herb-scented, spicy and promising Pinot 2007 which is still a bit young, and the very powerful 2006 Célèbre (Merlot/Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon blend) which will age wonderfully with its full hit of cinnamon-spiced blueberry fruit and peppery power.

At Palliser I get to taste the bubbly and am very refreshed by its fine effervescence, great body and fresh acidity. It is their Pinot Noir 2006, however, that impresses me most, it is what I was looking for: silky depth, concentration, elegance and an abundance of cherry fruit.

Happy with my little Pinot epiphany I cycle back into town to return the bike just in time for closing. Then my phone rings and I wonder who could possibly call, nobody really knows my brand-new NZ number.

It is Charles Simons of Craggy Range's Martinborough vineyards who was given my number by Gareth, the viticulturist at Felton Road, my ultimate destination. He offers me to show me his vineyard. Without a cycle I cannot get back to Te Muna Road and no taxis are to be had in Martinborough so Charles generously picks me up.

South African born, he is passionate about the vines in his secluded vineyard even further along Te Muna Road. They are in a natural amphitheatre, allowing Charles to grow one block of Sauvignon Blanc organically (no spray or fungal migration from neighbouring estates) and using as little spray as possible on the other vineyards. The well-tended rows are densely planted with selected clones of Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.


Charles tells me how recent some of the landscapes are: various eruptions of the Taupo Volcano some 20,000 years ago that subsequently formed the huge Lake Taupo (616 sq km, 185m deep) caused further earthquakes. Together they changed the flow of many rivers, leaving old, dry riverbeds of that free-draining gravel and depositing volcanic ash.


All of this makes for perfect vine-growing soils and expressive wines. I promise myself to taste them at the earliest opportunity. I tell Charles how beautiful and quiet Te Muna is in the evening sunshine, even more tranquil than earlier in the day and all he can do is smile. Te Muna means ‘special place', I guess it is.

Anne Krebiehl, 23 March 2009

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