Waiheke winery produces another $100 corker

Photo: Grahame Cox

Mudbrick co-owner Nick Jones says his flagship Velvet wine is not the sort of bottle you'd 'crack open every night'.

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THE DIVERGENT fortunes of this country's winemakers were highlighted last week as one company prepared to launch a new wine costing $100 a bottle while receivers performed last rites on another.

Waiheke Island's Mudbrick Vineyards will launch Velvet as its flagship red at a lavish dinner later this month.

Velvet will be made from Mudbrick's finest grapes only in exceptional vintages. After maturing in French oak casks for around 18 months it will sell for $100 a bottle. The blend will vary from vintage to vintage but is likely to be based on cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

Velvet will join a handful of New Zealand wines which sell for $100 or more, among them Stonyridge's Larose, also produced on Waiheke, and Trinity Hill's Homage and Esk Valley's The Terraces, both from Hawke's Bay.

Mudbrick is a boutique winery producing only 4000 to 5000 cases of high-quality wine a year, much of which is sold from its cellar door. Only 1500 bottles of Velvet had been produced from its debut 2008 vintage. None would be produced this year because the 2009 vintage, while good, was not exceptional.

Co-owner Nick Jones said the recession had not dented the company's plans to launch the new wine. "At the moment it feels like we are definitely seeing signs of recovery, both in our wine sales and at our restaurant," he said.

"It's very much a special occasion wine, it's not the sort of thing you'll crack open every night."

But while Jones prepared for Velvet's launch party, over on the mainland, the receivers of Firstland Vineyards have been preparing to sell the final 2500 cases of that company's stock at bargain basement prices.

Firstland was one of several companies owned by American investor Ed Aster, including the luxurious Hotel du Vin, which went into receivership in July.

Last week receivers KordaMentha advertised 2500 cases of mainly pinot noir, cabernet-merlot, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc wines to be sold in 300 to 400 case lots.

Although there was no set asking price, industry sources expected it would be cheap enough to "crack open every night".

- © Fairfax NZ News