Wine critic urges Nelson to protect brand's value

BY LAURA BASHAM

Nelson must take care that it does not get tarred with the "sauvalanche" brush of cheap New Zealand sauvignon blanc flooding Britain, says British wine critic Oz Clarke.

The high-profile wine commentator attended the Nelson International Aromatics Symposium at the Upper Moutere Community Centre on Saturday, where 160 delegates tasted and discussed riesling and gewurztraminer wines.

They included winemakers as well as influential overseas wine trade people who had attended the Pinot Noir 2010 conference in Wellington last week.

Mr Clarke said sauvignon blanc had done fantastic things for New Zealand. "It's still the best sauvignon blanc in the world when it is properly done, but you must find a way of keeping the value of it as a brand."

New Zealand sauvignon blanc had taught people that it was worth paying more for wine, he said. This was an important message for Nelson, which did not have such big vineyards and economies of scale. Nelson produces just 4 per cent of New Zealand's annual grape harvest.

Mr Clarke said Nelson wineries should be able to sell their product at a profit.

"There's no point being in the business if you can't – go back to your apples, go back to something."

It was good that Nelson's wine industry had not expanded too fast, he said. "Hopefully, people's business plans are in reasonable balance."

The balance between supply in demand had gone out the window in the industry, especially in Australia, which had planted ridiculous amounts of grapes, he said.

He praised Nelson for holding the aromatics symposium. It was not the only place to make aromatics, but there were a few very good people in the region doing it, he said.

"But I would say well done, Nelson, for standing up for itself and saying, `We want to be part of this, too'.

"There is a big jamboree going on. Hawke's Bay has grabbed some of the action, Wellington has grabbed the big core of the action with pinot noir but, interestingly, Marlborough has not grabbed any action at all. Doesn't it want it?"

The message he would take back to Britain was that Nelson wines were special and different, and had a hand-crafted quality about them.

"I don't want to see them in every supermarket. I don't want to see them in every cheap restaurant and bar," he said. Instead, they should be on the wine lists of restaurants that made an effort, and on wine merchants' special lists.

"I don't want to see Nelson wines discounted. I don't want to see them $2 a bottle cheaper than Marlborough – I probably want to see them $2 dearer than Marlborough's.

"I want you to play your part and make it worth the while. If we bang the drum for you and trust in you, you mustn't start dumbing down in character. You must go on delivering the best that you can do. If you do, I think the relationship will be a quiet but cordial one."

German riesling expert Ernst Loosen told winemakers at the symposium that they did not need to copy traditional styles, and should find their own interpretation that best suited the region.

- © Fairfax NZ News