February in Martinborough equals peak tourist season, with cellar doors run off their feet introducing domestic and international visitors alike to our regions beautiful wines, explaining the difference between Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and hopefully sending them out the door staggering under the weight of their purchases.
Sometimes when we live here it’s easy to take our amazing back yard for granted so Wines From Martinborough would like to encourage you to get out there this summer and check out the recent changes at some of your favourite vineyards and discover some of the new, recently opened Cellar Doors.
This summer has seen Poppy and Shayne Hammond open their beautiful premises, Poppies, on Puruatanga Rd; Te Kairanga has had lots of changes including a refurbishment to their tasting room and the launch of a monthly farmers market over summer; Brodie Estate have planted a stunning meadow of wildflowers – the perfect spot to lay down for a minute and contemplate how gorgeous Martinborough Wines are; Murdoch James are just putting the finishing touches on some gorgeous big renovations; and just down the road from them a new cellar door has opened in the form of Hamden Estate.
I’m probably going to get myself in trouble here for not mentioning all the wonderful developments and changes that our local industry have had recently, but isn’t it wonderful that there are too many to list? They say that out of adversity comes opportunity, and it’s great to see our wine region innovating and evolving in the face of a global recession and major wine glut.
So despite being run off their feet with visitors and the busy summer sales season, our members still have plenty of other things happening. Pinot 2013 was held in Wellington from 28 – 31 January and saw many Martinborough Winemakers attending this prestigious event and demonstrating to the world why New Zealand Pinot Noir is so spectacular. As well as participating in the event the region will also be hosting a number of top journalists on the back of the event.
When they’re not talking, tasting or selling wine, you’ll find many standing out amongst the vines with a look of immense concentration on their faces as the vineyards are right in the middle of veraison (there’s a good word to drop into conversation and impress your friends). Basically veraison is the crucial time of year when sugar levels begin to accumulate and the acidity level begins to decline – it’s all about encouraging the perfect level of acidity versus sweetness in the fruit through intensive vineyard management practices such as leaf plucking, crop thinning and colour thinning. So if you’re following our advice and checking out a few of your local cellar doors, or chatting to someone from the wine industry while you’re in town doing chores and they’re looking a bit distracted, you know why!
