Hay in the pond - Makes a change from grapes on the vine!

This winemaking is such a serious business, that I had to share this very different experience with you.

The consequences!

Our vineyard is about 32 hectares in size, but we only have around 22 hectares in vines. We also have about 10 hectares that we graze cattle on. This time of the year we close off a couple of paddocks to cut enough hay for me to get the cows through winter. Usually we cut the hay on one of our low lying blocks, but this year we decided to cut it on one of the sloping paddocks. That was no big deal if we had also stuck to cutting and storing the hay in the traditional small square bales. However, I decided to be efficient and to store the hay this year in the big round bales. Now, any intelligent person would have seen the consequences of this combination, but not me!

Chris to the rescue!

Round bales on a slope do only one thing. They roll downhill, and fast. So I have had to drag them out of drains, ditches, holes, but worst of all, out of our ponds!!

When it came time to call for volunteers to swin out and retrieve the floating one in the big pond, candidates were few and far between!! In the end, Chris jumped in and pushed it to the side where, after 3 broken ropes, we finally managed to drag it out with the vineyard tractor. Remember these big bales are 10 times the size of a traditional one, so are pretty heavy, even before they get water-logged!

On dry land at last!

All great entertainment on a Friday night for sure!!

Monday it was back to vineyard work - somehow not that exciting by comparison! That said, we are having a wonderful year with the grapes. A warm and dry Spring followed by a hot, dry Summer. Just a few more weeks of this and we should have a stunning harvest in terms of both quality and quantity.

On the road again.......

I'm in Singapore this week for the NZ wine promo. Tonight (Saturday evening) was a consumer tasting at Loof. Loof is a rooftop bar/restaurant in that great city. They describe themselves as: "loof is a bar on a roof, a playfully versatile space which is multidimensional, split-level, and a juxtaposition of raw against refined. loof is designed as a refuge for the bedraggled office worker, a respite for the brilliant mind, a sanctuary for fools, a canvas for the budding artist and the launch pad for a brilliant night." Sounds great eh? That's what I thought too, but try pouring tastings for a big crowd in 30 degrees plus, and near 100% humidity! Anyway, good fun and lots of new converts to Murdoch James Estate wines. And a great location. The bar is on the roof of an office block with spectacular views of Singapore and nearby skyscrapers. Think I'll just come for a glass of Murdoch James Pinot Gris and enjoy the view next time though.


Tomorrow is a free day then Monday is full on with trade and media promotions. 

While I am away working hard to get Murdoch James established in the key Asian markets, back at home wine-maker Carl is preparing to bottle our specialty wines: 'The MacIntyre' (our port style fortified red, named after a much loved old friend who died last year), the 'Rhiannon Rosé (this is our Pinot Meunier rosé named to celebrate the birth of my first grandchild), the 2010 Riesling, the 2009 Blue Rock Pinot Noir and the 'Trafalgar' (our ice-wine style late harvest wine). Lots on, but very exciting. There are some great wines in this grouping! Make sure you are on our contact list if any sound interesting as most of these will just be sold at cellar door or direct to our regular internet customers.

Our Chardonnay vines bite the dust!

A few months ago, we made the hard decision to remove our 26 year old Chardonnay vines.

They were ungrafted plants which, for those that do not know, meant that they were vulnerable to phylloxera which is a sap-sucking bug related to aphids. This bug eventually drains so much goodness from the vines that the plant will die. Martinborough was free of this problem until about two years ago when poor quarantine practices at one of the local wineries saw it established here. Now with phylloxera one thing is certain - if it is in town it will spread to all the local vineyards eventually. So the upshot is that all ungrafted plants here are going to die.

What folk now do to avoid this risk is to graft the vines you want (i.e. Syrah, Reisling or whatever) onto phylloxera resistant Amercian rootstock

But phylloxera was not the main driver for the decision. We are in Pinot Noir territory and if we make a great bottle of Pinot, we can sell it for upwards of $40, while a chardonnay will command a much lower price. So it came down to simple economics. In this difficult financial era we have to optimise our efforts, and so we have decided to replace the chardonnay with Pinot Noir.

Now that is an easy decision to make in the winery office, but as you can see from the photo above, heart-breaking when you look at the consequences for these old vines. Specially when one then looks at where the other vines are up to at this time of year. All are now bursting with new life as the sap starts running and the buds break out; as the accompanying shot of our Pinot Noir vines shows.

As you can see we have cut the charonnay right back and will pull out the roots by tractor, leave the ground fallow for a year, then replant with grafted Pinot Noir. For those wondering why everyone did not just graft from day one, think about this: an ungrafted vine is free (just stick a cutting in the ground and the vine will grow), but a grafted vine comes from a nursery and costs between $4 and $6 each. So you can see why folk were tempted to go with ungrafted plants when they might need thousands of vines!

The saddest day at Murdoch James Estate

Obituary: Pepper Fraser.

Pepper - The Chardonnay 'Guard Dog'!

Last week we lost our beloved Pepper. For those that do not know she was an Airedale we raised in Australia and brought back to New Zealand when we came home to plant our first vineyard. She has been Jill's and my companion for over 14 years and she welcomed many folk at our the cellar door all that time. Everyone got an inspection and had to pass approval before being allowed in, and a few pats on the way past were obligatory. In later years, as she aged, the process changed a bit. In the last few years, she just lay there happily, lifted a leg for visitors to scratch her tummy, then they had to step over her to get to our restaurant or tasting room. 

Lovely, gentle and friendly, she converted many children who were frightened of large dogs to dog-lovers. It was great to see, and over the years many kids have come back to the winery looking for her. It was always a great thrill to see them recognise her and rush to pat her, pull her tail, or just cuddle her. 

Sadly no more now, but our memories of those 14 years are rich and rewarding;  'walkies' every morning and night, a big wagging tail at the front door on arrival home (no matter how late we were), a big snuffly head out the window of our cars as we drove through the smells of the New Zealand country-side, a patient companion sitting at our feet in the office while we worked at nights communicating with customers all over the world, but best of all unconditional love from a wonderful dog. 

As I write this I find it unbelievable anyone can abuse pets. In doing so, while demonstrating they are undeserving humans, they are missing out on one of the most uplifting experiences anyone can ever enjoy.

Raising a puppy teaches you patience and tolerance (think chewed favourite shoes and furniture!) but most of all it taught me that most of the stuff people consider important in the world pales beside the experience of sharing part of your life with a very special pet. The sad thing is that they don't live as long as we do, so parting always seems to come too soon and with a rush.

While we knew the end was approaching, it was still heart-breaking the day she passed away.  

Pepper - all your family and friends, your acquintances, visitors to the winery, your buddies in the local dog population, the postman, and our neighbours, as well as Chardonnay, Rocco and Winston, will miss you for terribly. But in the fullness of time we will recall with increasing pleasure the best dog anyone could have been fortunate to have been given the gift of sharing 14 years with. 

RIP

Are elections all bull?

Lot's been happening in the last few weeks. Firstly one of our New Zealand distributors has merged with another company and no longer need us, so we have been given the 'pink slip' and asked to move on. Not too bad an outcome actually as they did not sell a lot of our wine, but still disappointing after all the work we put in. However, that's life and as consequence we need to identify a new partner to help us sell our wines in the domestic market. While we are doing that I have been out an about in the market calling on key customers and filling the gap. To that end I was recently in the Hawke's Bay to see a key on-line marketing company, and on the way back to Martinborough I spotted the accompanying scenario in a paddock just outside Havelock North. Nothing to do with wine, but it really made me smile. Does this bull know something we don't? Or is he telling us to vote for Mr Mackintosh? Or does he just think local politics is a load of 'old bull'?

In the vineyard, the team is almost finished pruning and the canes they have had to work with look great, so we are looking forward to a good vintage in 2011. But the most exciting news of the month is the recent arrival of Rhiannon, my first granddaughter (and maybe our future wine-maker!). Well.........  maybe I should not get too far ahead on myself, but as the great granddaughter of Murdoch James Fraser, she is the 4th generation of the Fraser Clan to be involved with our winery so it is all just wonderful.

With spring upon us and summer just around the corner, the restaurant and cellar door are picking up as well. Quite busy most weekends and great feedback on Bloom Restaurant and Terrace. We have a wonderful team there who lease the restaurant from us. Michael and Jerry have been open just under 12 months and the number of repeat visitors is amazing. With a lovely deck ready for summer, and their decision to move to a full organic menu, we can only expect that to continue and for their business to grow. And this is good for Murdoch James of course, as visitors to the restaurant often stop for tastings, to but wine, or to do one of our 'Grape to Glass' tours.

Our Man in Japan

Yesterday was one of the hardest days I have worked in a long time!  We participated in the New Zealand Winegrowers Toko Wine Fair, and the turnout was exceptional. There was a trade tasting first, from 12.30 to 5.00pm, than a short break, followed by a consumer tasting from 6.30 to 9.00pm. There were over 400 people at each event, tasters were often 2 or 3 deep in front of our stand, there was the excitement of working in a language we had little knowledge of, we were on our feet all that time, and no time for coffee or a snack - so, don't let anyone tell me that travelling and promoting wine is a junket!!

That said, while it was a very long day, it reminded me of the need to be out talking to all our customers worldwide. This event gave us the opportunity to present our wines to customers directly and to start continue building a bond with them. The wines were extremely well received and our importer Pony Group Inc has indicated they will add another 2 wines (Pinot Gris, Martinborough Pinot Noir or Syrah) to the two they already carry (Fraser and Blue Rock Pinot Noirs), so that was a great outcome. We have worked with the Pony company for about a year now and we could not wish for a better partner. A great hard working team, organised and capable of selling premium wines in a challenging market. Mr Wada is the sales manager (here in the photo on the left) and he is very supportive of our wines. We also had assistance from one of the Pony team as at each session and that was invaluable for someone whose Japanes does not go much further than 'konichiwa'. Tomoko (in the photo below) helped us in the morning session and one of her colleagues did the same in the evening session.


We found the Japanese public to be highly knowledgable about wines, and very keen to taste new releases from New Zealand and I am really enthusiastic about the prospects for our wines here. We presented the 'Fraser', 'Blue Rock' and 'Martinborough' Pinot Noirs, the Pinot Gris and the Syrah. What really motivated were the large number of people who came back later in the day and said our wines were among the best they had tasted at the show.

Tonight and tomorrow we have wine and food match dinners at Tokyo restaurants, then a few days break before we move onto Korea, so watch this space for more on our Asian sales adventures.

Our North and South Dinner

Well, we hosted our Martinborough vs Otago wine and food dinner at Ortega last Tuesday with a sell out crowd upstair for the dinner, and the Welsh rugby team downstairs dining as well. We were hoping for some fine Welsh songs later in the evening, but none eventuated. I personally think the guys were very focussed on being in good shape for the All Blacks on Saturday. Best of luck for them in the game too. We will certainly see a much more competitive game than Ireland was able to contribute last week for sure.

The dinner went very well; a lot of great discussion, some good-hearted disagreements, lovely food, good company and new friendships. I have to remind myself that this is actually my job too!

We thought Davey and the kitchen team at Ortega had done a good job of matching wine and food, including some that were quite a challenge to the wines, but all came through OK. The service was excellent and we can recommend the restaurant whole-heartedly. But rather than me writing some notes that may have some suspected bias, why not check out a blog posting from one of the guests?

Click this link: http://roarprawn.blogspot.com/2010/06/wine-onanist.html

The event was so successful we will do it again next week (sold out) and again in August (date to be confirmed). Think we could take the idea national too!

It's pruning time again!

Started puning this week and guess what!? After one of the very best spells of autumn weather on record, we have just had two weeks of almost solid rain, so the team are doing what they can in the few clear spells we have had. I admire their perseverance as the work solidly in the cold weather. I realise I am very lucky to have a lot of indoor work to do just now!

For me it is annual budget time for the business. It's a hard one this year, as we try to build a robust plan against a background of a global economic crisis, which seems never-ending; yesterday Greece and Spain, tomorrow who knows what. What I do know is that this crunch has had a huge impact on wine prices and has driven a shift on consumption patterns. No more $100 wines on corporate expense accounts, two $9 wines at the supermaret instead of one $20 one, and less dining out are just a few things I've noticed. Result? Less sales of premium wines, which are our main focus.

On top of that costs have increased; excise duty is about to go up to $1.95 per bottleand GST is about to increase to 15%. Think about that when you buy a $7 bottle of wine - nearly half is tax, and after the middlemen take their share, there is not a lot left for the winemaker! In addition, suppliers have increased costs of things like cartons, bottles and labels, and inputs like freight are also on the rise. Result? Slimmer margins and declining profitability.

This puts planning pressure on wineries and their budgets, and we are not immune to that.

All of which makes budgeting a challenge, particularly in a climate where banks are not that sympathetic either. All sounds a bit gloomy, but while things are tough our social media initiatives are really helping offset flat exports and slow domestic sales. Our Facebook, Twitter and Blog activities have introduced a lot of new people to Murdoch James Estate and our wines. We have shared experiences and ideas with lots of folk and made a lot of new friends. While it is hard to show with direct evidence that this contact is helping with sales, it is no coincidence that, since we embarked on our social media journey last year, our direct and internet sales have increased dramatically.

On top of that we have made great contacts to help with things like label designs, names for new wines and potential new distributors. It is all very exciting and stimulating, and certainly lift the cloud of economic gloom off our shoulders!

What's best? Martinborough or Otago Pinot Noir?

A few blogs back, I was chatting about how fantastic a Winemakers Dinner we hosted in Hong Kong had gone. If you missed follow this link:  http://birthofawine.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

A few of our followers asked if we ever did anything like in in New Zealand? Well, the answer is yes! Here is your chance to enjoy a similar event in Wellington, and at the same time answer the commonly-asked question, which region makes the best Pinot Noir: Martinborough or Central Otago? We are hosting a dinner at Ortega on Tuesday 15th July at 7.30pm, entitled "THE NORTH & SOUTH DINNER".

This is a wine and food-Matched Dinner  with Murdoch James Estate of Martinborough & Olssens of Bannockburn, Central Otago. Over the last few years there has been an ongoing debate about which of these two regions produces the best Pinot Noir wines, and the theme of this dinner is designed to allow participants to form their own views. The concept is a dinner comparing the wines from Murdoch James Estate in Martinborough and Olssens in Central Otago. Both are small family owned vineyards producing premium quality wines.  In additional to the matched wine and food menu, guests will also get to try a back vintage of each of the wineries flagship wines, including the Fraser and Slapjack Creek Pinot Noirs.  Around 12 wines will be tasted on the night, all matching an inspiring menu.

Places are filling fast, but if you are interested, feel free to e-mail me at info@murdoch-james.co.nz and if you are interested in more detail, here's the menu:

Olssens & Murdoch James Dinner Menu

First Course

Couturier Goats Cheese & King Prawn Canneloni,

tomato chipotle salsa with a lemon infused reduction

matched with

Murdoch James Sauvignon Blanc 2008,    

Olssens Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Second Course 
Spicy Cakes Fish, citrus salad, chilli jam mussel 
with a tamarind lime dressing

matched with

Murdoch James Blue Rock Riesling  2008,

Olssens Riesling Dry 2009 

Third Course

Slow roasted Pork Belly, truffled lentils & cabbage,

sautéed mushrooms & Pinot Noir gravy

matched with

Murdoch James Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008

Olssens Nipple Hill Pinot Noir 2009                                

 

Fourth Course

Rustic Salad of Rabbit, lardoons, walnuts & blue cheese

matched with

Murdoch James Estate Blue Rock Pinot Noir 2008

Olssens Jackson Barry Pinot Noir 2008

 

Cheese Course

Livarot Cheese with brandied prunes             

matched with

Murdoch James Estate Syrah  2008

Olssens Robert the Bruce 2008

Autumn in Martinborough - Cow go crazy on grapes!

Back home now, to the most stunning Autumn weather we have ever experienced. How's this for a sunset?!

All grapes are in now, and while the quantity is a little down on 2009, the 2010 quality is great. We are looking forward to finishing the ferments and seeing what the final wines look like. It's a bit like waiting for a grandchild to be born!

I often get asked what happens to the waste skins and stalks. Well, they are all either composted or recycled - how recycled? Well check out the accompanying recycling 'machines', and they just love the pressings - I call these my 10 Fat Ladies (even though a couple are gentlemen!). Yes, in addition to wine growing, social media, wine sales, blogging and vineyard maintenance, I also breed angus cattle. Great fun, and a wonderful breed to work with. But, when we take the fork-lift into the paddock with the tipper full of grape skins you have to dump and run! There is literally a stampede as they race across the paddock to get first taste of them. I used to have a much bigger herd, but the financial pressures of the last 12 months forced me to downsize my farming interests a little. That said, they still give me a lot of pleasure and keep me grounded. And maybe grow the herd again in the not too distant future. I've got chickens, cats and dogs too, so sorry, some more pet shots to follow in future blogs.