Bargain Pinot Noir?

Birth of a Wine Blogger has been in hibernation for a while, a bit like our dormant vines. 

Recently I was woken from my slumber by a colleague in the industry sending me a link to a Facebook post he had published. He was making the point that a certain Pinot Noir (see link) is on promotion in supermarkets for just $10 a bottle. He went on to say that it must be made from wine at the lower end of the spectrum, sourced from the countries featured on the label, to retail at that price.  He asked, in a world of commoditised, characterless wines, is this something we really need?

Check out: http://tinyurl.com/nesvbh2

What concerns me about this, as a dedicated Pinot producer, is that Kiwi consumers will buy this wine thinking it is a bargain, try it, may not have a great experience, think all Pinot Noir is the same, and be turned off the variety forever. 

Why did he conclude that the wine must come from the "lower end of the spectrum"? 

Let's dissect the $10 and see where he is coming from. Of the ten dollars, the government collects $3.66 (the ALAC levy of about 3 cents, plus $2.13 excise duty and $1.50 GST); pretty good return for the government! 

Then, assuming the retailer takes a 30% margin ($3) and the distributor a 20% margin ($2), that leaves $1.34 for the winemaking! Let's be conservative though and say the winery sells direct to the retailer, so no fee for the distributor. In that case the remaining sum is $3.34. Let's see where we end up if we consider that.

What's left to cover the wine component after allowing for bottling costs, freight and distribution, warehousing, marketing and other related expenses? Say these add up to $1.80 per bottle. That leaves $1.54 for the wine. Say my analysis is too tough. Add another $1 back to cover that. That leaves me to ponder the quality of wine you might buy at $2.54 per bottle? 

Contrast that with the cost per litre of our 2015 Pinot Noir. That was over $13 per litre, before bottling, taxes, etc. So even if my costs are high, we can safely assume it is not top quality, hand-picked Martinborough Pinot Noir in the wine we are discussing. 

Disclaimer: I have not yet tasted this wine. I will as soon as I can get a bottle though, then I'll report back. If I have wronged a good product I will admit that. However, my comments above are based on experience and general principles. I can say with confidence is that I have learned in my 30 years in the wine industry is that it would be an absolutely amazing achievement to deliver a 'Premium Pinot Noir' (which is what the label claims) for $10, let alone $2.54. 

Sheep versus Machines - Who Wins?

In past vintages we have always used machines or people to do our leaf plucking. The plucking is intended to remove leaf material from around the bunches so that sunlight can penetrate through to the berries. It also helps air circulate and so reduce the risk of fungal disease. A good leaf-pluck is a major contributor to growing quality grapes for our wine-making team to work with.

This year we did a trial block using sheep. Were they better than machines? Well have a look at the two images and see if you can pick the work the sheep did!

Yes, the one on the right - a terrific job, a much more complete and thorough pluck, with huge savings in time, manpower and expenses. On top of that, they fertilise as they go! And we can reduce use of tractors with very positive environmental benefits. We are so happy we are going to set up as much of the rest of our vineyard as we can to use sheep more widely for future vintages. The secret is a big mob, in a small space (around 3-5 ha), pluck that block, then move to the next one. One thing that surprised us was that the sheep showed a preference for certain vines over other - maybe they are secret grape connoisseurs.

We have always been concerned that the sheep would eat or damage the grapes, hence this year's small trial. We did not need to worry - they ate all the leaves, and did not touch the grapes. We are converts!

For those following the progress of my selected Pinot Gris vine through the 2013 vintage, it is the top left photograph - sadly it did not get the sheep treatment - that will now be next year.

2013 Vintage Looking Good

Pinot Gris, 26 Nov. 2012.

I went out today to take the attached photos of Pinot Gris and could not help feeling we may be in for one of the really good vintages in 2013.

I know it is not a good thing to celebrate too early but the current vintage is looking great for us at Blue Rock. Our elevated and sloping vineyards meant no frost damage at all, compared to horror stories from  Central Otago where Spring frosts did huge damage in some regions. There were also reports of frost damage in parts of the Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa.

We are looking at a harvest with the promise of both quality and quantity. There is a good bunch count per cane so what we need now is a good flowering through end November and the crop should be an excellent one. In fact, if the flowering is too good, we may be faced with having to fruit thin so we don't over-crop the vines.That is not a bad problem to have!

I did smile to myself when I took the photos as I was thinking I have been very lax in keeping my blog up to date. At one stage I had thought it would be interesting to take a single vine and post a picture of it each week through the season, but travel and other commitments got in the way. It was so lovely out there today that I am motivated to pick the idea up and follow it through from now on; let's see how I go!

Pinot Gris before flowering

I felt it would be good for those interested to see just how quickly vines grow through the season  and how much they change over time. For those not familiar with grapes, what you see here are very much potential grapes; these wee guys still have to flower and be pollinated before they develop into full sized berries. So, what we need over the next few weeks are warm days and gentle breezes for that to happen successfully. Rain and/or strong winds are not what we want - that just washes or blows the pollen away. I'll post photos of the same bunch over time so you can follow the development of the grapes.

'Moby Dick'

At Murdoch James Estate, we have one of the oldest if not the oldest, balloon presses in New Zealand. It is a Wilmes, made in Germany, and dates from the late 1950's we believe. This is not one of your modern computer controlled, hands-off, "press 'start' and come back later" wine presses. Our press needs an operator to be in attendance at all times to care of its every need. One well-known local blogger referred to it as 'Moby Dick'; a big presence, imposing, round and long, and somewhat daunting. I must admit, it certainly looks a lot like the great white whale. The name stuck and all our team now think of this wonderful machine by that name. 

But now 'Moby Dick' (thanks for the name to both Jared and Herman) is in serious trouble. The gearing between the electric motor and the press cylinder has broken and parts to fix it are not able to be found. Yet we are not giving up! We have started a global search for the parts.

But, like Thomas the Tank Engine, where Thomas's steam power was under threat from upstart diesel locomotives, if we cannot revive Moby he may have to be sold as scrap. And that would be a tragedy. Like Thomas, we want Moby to fight back too, and prove his worth. He has a place beside our new press to provide back-up. We want to save him and continue to use his talents where we can. Moby is gentle to the grapes when pressing, and as we have to be there all the time to tend to his needs, we can see exactly what he is up to and encourage the very best from him. 

 As to how can you help? Well, we hear every day about the power of social media to galvanise support for important causes. And, what more important cause than saving Moby from the 'harpoons' of the scrap metal merchants. If you know of anyone who might be able to help let us know. We will fly the parts in from anywhere in the world if they are in good condition.

 

Maybe you know of a relation to Moby who is past restoration, but could become a part donor and keep Moby alive for future generations? We are going to post on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to make sure we make every effort to save him, so pass the message on if you are motivated to do so. If you can help, call us at Murdoch James Estate (+646 306 9165) or e-mail me at info@murdoch-james.co.nz. We would love to hear from you!

Time to learn a new word? Try Veraison!

This is what we have been hanging out for, veraison. Which is what?? Well read on: There are many European words that have been adopted by New World winemakers often because one French or German word can replace a sequence of English ones. Véraison is no exception: it is a wine-making term meaning "the onset of ripening". It is originally French, and the official definition of veraison is "change of color of the grape berries." Veraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening, and many important changes occur in berry development occur at this time.


The accompanying image shows what I mean, so berries are still green, other partially coloured and some quite dark. What we want now is warm weather for a couple of weeks to ripen all the berries fully. It is this phase of development that gives the sugar levels and flavours we need, while the acidity drops and the seeds mature. It is this ripening which makes grapes so attractive to birds, and requires the nets we talked about in the last posting to keep them away!

This year we are very late in reaching veraison and so are keeping everything crossed for fine weather over the next month, leading into harvest. We have a winemaker from France joining us this year for vintage, so I will have even more French lessons for you all soon. 


On the social media front, we now have a Facebook page in place for Murdoch James Estate http://www.facebook.com/pages/Murdoch-James-Estate/306091360747  - now to use it. Meantime have a look and tell me how you'd like it to evolve! I also recently got my first Twitter spam messages, but at the same time am getting lots of encouragement to persevere. Good feedback on the blog too, so if any readers would like a specific topic covered, let me know via the comments section