“It is time for a new chapter,” says Shawn. “Muirlea Rise has been a family vineyard for 37 years but now I am bowing out.
My parents, Lea and Willie Brown were originally from Auckland, but my father was always fascinated by the science of winemaking. He was the first independent wine merchant in New Zealand.
After a chance encounter with Sir Ron Trotter at the White Heron, where he was offered a glass of Burgundy, he was hooked. While it became my father passion, Mum just went along for the ride.
In the 1970s they began their search for the best land on which to grow Pinot Noir. The options were Central Otago or Martinborough.
In 1987 they purchased a 1.89 hectare of land in Martinborough. A house was moved onto the section, but it was burned down by an arsonist. A second house was also moved on, and this became our family home.
Martinborough was quite depressed in those years. Farming was suffering. The wine industry was in its infancy.
Work on the vineyard began. The rows were ripped turning up numerous stones. Rock relocation was the name of the game. The posts were put in by hand. It was hard labour.
But my father remained undaunted. There was no time to undertake a Master of Wine degree as he had family to support. Instead, he read avidly everything there was to know about wine.
Three varieties of clones were planted. Malcom Abel was a friend of my father’s, so they planted Abel, Cabinet Sauvignon, and the mysterious Mad Red, a gumboot import of dubious origin. The Mad Red was supposed to be a Syrah.
Martinborough is not an easy place to grow grapes. The September, and October frosts are notorious and in fact one of the worst frosts was late in December.
Dad had his own solution: ‘The Flaming Arsehole.’
He attached a 44-gallon drum to his tractor and stacked it with wood. He created a heat shield out of corrugated iron so he wouldn’t be roasted. Then with the wood on fire he would drive the vineyard rows all night to help counteract the frost damage. Meanwhile my mother slept through it all.
In successive years other vineyards flew helicopters which was a bonus for us. Each time they flew over our vineyard we received an extra burst of warmer air. My Dad would give them a thumbs up.
Then in 1998 my father became unwell. I returned home to take over. In 2004 I bought my mother out. In the interim I had worked in IT for the NZ Tourism Board and as a cooper assembling and repairing oak wine barrels.
The wine industry in Martinborough was now putting the town on the map.
Toast Martinborough became an annual event. Holding the event at the time of the Equinox was always likely to be dicey. We had put up our marquee and the wind began to get stronger so we strapped the tractor to the marquee to hold it down. Within minutes the top of the marquee was lifting again. We decided there was nothing more we could do so we went back inside. Miraculously, the marquee survived.
Toast was a really fun occasion. It was more relaxed. It was music, it was dancing, and it was magic. Naturally it was also about drinking.
By the end of the day, we sometimes weren’t sure who were the staff and who were the festival goers. It has become a lot more commercial now and the regulations are much stricter.
The wine industry has also changed significantly in the last years. There are more big players in the market. A few small boutique vineyards remain where the owners are passionate about their wines.
Every vintage is different. You do whatever you need to do to get through.
We work in the vines, make the wine and even bottle our own wine. The cost of bottling had risen so looking for cost savings I went online to see what I could find. An Aucklander was offering a bottling machine for sale. I called and was directed to the vineyard selling. It turned out to be the Martinborough Vineyard across the road, so I borrowed their forklift and transported it home. A very easy solution.
The Lion’s share of our wines are sold at the cellar door. It is a good solution for a small boutique vineyard. It means you sell less wine for more; not more wine for less.
But now is a time for a more relaxed lifestyle. We may even get a motor home and go touring.
I will be the driver going at 40km with the string of traffic 25 kms behind me. Watch out.”
