Here's a bit of a mind bender: in which wine region anywhere in the world can you find five wines vying for a competition trophy that are made from such diverse grape varieties as Albarino, Arneis, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Gewürztraminer?
The answer is: Gisborne.
It has slipped from third biggest to fourth biggest wine region in New Zealand but its reputation is morphing from bulk wine region into the country's hot bed of wine experimentation. And what wines. The bunch of unlikely suspects listed above is just the tip of a tasty iceberg, as the judges at the fourth Gisborne Regional Wine Awards discovered this month. The team was led by winemaker and chief judge Tony Bish whose fellow panel leader was Jim Harre; wine consultant for Air New Zealand. I was lucky enough to judge alongside winemakers Rod Easthope, Simon Fell and Simon Nunns. Our associate judges were James Hillard and Matthew Fox. Talk at tastings often revolves around the vineyard and its vital role in the style of wines that we drink but this competition was a constant reminder about how diverse the white wine vineyard in Gisborne is becoming. In this case it is very much thanks to the country's biggest vine nursery, Riversun, which is based in this region. It is the dynamic hub from which MD Geoff Thorpe imports and distributes a diverse range of grape varieties. Just as importantly as the wide range that Thorpe distributes is the fact that these vines are certified to be disease free. He owes this to two things. His own viticultural standards are exacting. Then there is his close relationship with the French company ENTAV; arguably the world's most important vine nursery. Thorpe has now signed a 25 year contract with ENTAV, which means that all vine material and rootstock are genuinely what they are claimed to be. This is no trifling detail. There have been many viticultural crimes and misdemeanours; both intended and unintended, including the unusually intense Merlot in Chile, which turned out to be an entirely different grape altogether - Carmenere. There are many other such examples. Suffice it to say that the grape busters who figured out the Merlot/Carmenere confusion work at ENTAV. They have raised the global bar of viticulture and continue to do so via relationships such as the one they have with Riversun. This means the world's vineyards are now able to rely on the cuttings they receive of new and interesting grape varieties that ENTAV is building up in its own nursery in the south of France.
Variety is the spice in Gisborne...
This year was the fourth for the Gisborne Regional Wine Awards. The competition is growing, not only numerically in terms of the number of wines entered, but more importantly in strength because it now clearly highlights the diversification possible on the top shelf of New Zealand's varietal mix. Viva la difference. It's what makes life interesting.
The Gisborne Regional Wine Awards... The winners
The outstanding freshness and varietal purity in each of the five wines listed above made it a tough job for us judges to choose a winner this year but once we we had tasted, retested and thought intensely about this impressive bunch, we decided that the clear winner was the 2012 Villa Maria Reserve Barrique Fermented Gisborne Chardonnay. Made by Nick Picone, it was far and away the classiest full bodied Chardonnay in the competition this year, thanks to its purity of fruit flavour married to cleverly integrated white nut flavours (read: solids, lees work, great balance) and a vibrant core of acidity, which can sometimes be lacking in some Gisborne Chardonnays. This wine not only deserves its award, but should serve as an inspiration of style for other Gisborne winemakers.
Albarino or Alvarinho - its heritage and its new identity in Gisborne
The Albarino grape's correct name is Alvarinho and it originally comes from the border between the north of Portugal and North West Spain, where it is widely planted and goes by both names. It was thought to have been introduced to Australia this century but was later discovered to have been Savignin Blanc, due to a labelling error in a Spanish vine collection (information source: Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson MW, Julia Harding MW and Jose Vouillamoz). The best examples of Albarino (the name this grape goes by in New Zealand) tend to be bone dry or extremely close to it. The taste errs strongly on the dry side and is underpinned by firm acidity, which adds freshness and succulence, stretching out this wine to a long finish and adding lift to its aromas of grapefruit, orange zest, fennel and green apple. Gisborne viticulturists Doug and Delwyn Bell considered importing Albarino to New Zealand about 12 years ago (2002) as a possible newcomer to their vineyard, but the Australian mislabelling error delayed things. The Bells eventually became the first in the Southern Hemisphere to plant it, by a matter of a few weeks. "It does well in a wet season, it is easy to pronounce and suits traditionally maritime climates, so on that basis we thought it would be a natural fit for New Zealand," says Doug Bell. So far, so very good. And I will be writing more about this in my newspaper column on Saturday 21 June. Watch that space; details here.
Read my Guide to Gisborne Wine Grapes in Your Weekend magazine on Saturday 21 June in The Dominion Post, The Christchurch Press and The Waikato Times.
