There was a very evident change in the age and nationality demographic this year: travel difficulties during and post Covid saw mostly retirees, grey nomads and grey-haired blokes like me — and blokesses — stepping in to help with harvest.
This year the backpackers were most definitely back, along with all the young overseas interns in both the winery and vineyard crews.
It made for a refreshing change and reminded me how diverse our industry is as I worked alongside people from Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, the US, Australia and Norway (and of course New Zealand), just to name a few.
While harvest and vintage sees an influx of overseas workers, there are many others who have made New Zealand their home, working in various aspects of the wine business.
Wine seems to have a magnetic pull on people, whether they be dreamers, visionaries, marketers, artisans or whatever, and there is a significant number of migrants contributing to our local industry. I won’t mention names to protect their privacy (frankly the list would be far too long), but off the top of my head I came up with the following list of countries represented by winery owners, winemakers or marketers: Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom and United States. That’s already quite a mix and I’m likely to have forgotten others.
Adding assistant winemakers, viticulturists, vineyard and winery staff, etc., would undoubtedly have added more.
Some of the them have come from a wine background, others transitioned from other occupations, but they all bring their own experiences and insight to the table, helping create an ever more vibrant and diverse industry in Otago.
The interns too bring their own experiences to Otago before taking lessons learnt back to their homelands, increasing the connectivity of Otago wineries with colleagues across the world.
2018 Misha’s Vineyard Verismo Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Colour shift from a
young wine,
development, forest
floor/mushroom, lead
pencil, earthy touches,
fragrance, fruit neatly
supporting the whole.
Complexity. The palate
tauter than the nose, still
surprisingly grippy
tannins, a bolder style
teasing you with its
potential, closing with
graphite, pencil
shavings and sweet lift.
Nose wonderfully
engaging, palate still unfurling.
2019 Grasshopper Rock Earnscleugh Vineyard Pinot Noir
Rating Outstanding
Wisps of funk (in a nice
way), fragrance, flitting
from strawberry to
blueberry to red fruits,
gravelly minerality,
spice flecks. The palate
brimming with flavour
yet deftly balanced.
Juicy, youthful,
emerging savoury
nuances, that gravelly
quality again, fine
tannins, great length.
An iron fist in a velvet
glove, deceptive power and gets the
salivary juices flowing. Lots going on.
2022 Mora Bannockburn Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Lovely nose, quite
savoury, dustiness,
darker fruits, a herb
backdrop, perfume
growing (rose petal?).
Similar notes on the
palate, silky entry,
fresh and vibrant then
some attractive
chewiness. Definitely
youthful but super
balance and
drinkability already.
Depth, yet light on its
feet, good length and
mouthfeel, not
overblown and lovely pinosity.
