Waitaki – Worth The Effort

Its potential was initially spotted near simultaneously in the late 90s by the late entrepreneur, Sir Howard Paterson and Jeff Sinnott of what was to become Ostler Vineyard. 

They both identified the north facing limestone-rich hills as possible prime sites for top cool climate Pinot Noir.

Since then it’s established itself not only as the producer of a distinctive savoury style of Pinot Noir, but also for its elegant Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and recent rising star, Chardonnay. While coolness has helped shape its elegant styles of wine, situated as it is at the very edge of viable grape growing, its climate has also bestowed upon it some of the lowest yielding vines in the country.

It’s the weather, “that can wipe out a harvest every four or five years” that’s cited by Pasquale, general manager, Renzo Miño as one of the reasons behind the company’s retreat from the region. This was combined with the “cost of growing and hand-harvesting vines… reflected in the high quality and cost of the wine in bottle” and the region’s relatively isolated location on a road less travelled between Oamaru and Omarama.

After investing what he estimates to be around $6 million in his wine interests in the region, including the Kurow winery he opened in 2009, Pasquale’s owner, Antonio Pasquale says the wines “cost too much to produce for what people are prepared to pay”. He also considers the region is not consistently warm enough every vintage to produce “memorable Pinot Noirs”, although has more face in aromatic whites and sparkling and plans to continue making a Gewurztraminer from the valley.

“The region today has yet to be built,” he states. “There are no visionary people; no airport nearby; tourism is not developed. The potential is there but North Otago is today a too hard basket for serious investments.”

Although Craggy Range also pulled out of the region, Steve Smith MW is more positive about the Waitaki and its potential. He says Craggy Range left the region due to the general decision made by the company to focus entirely on its estate vineyards and all its Pinot Noir and aromatic white production in its Te Muna vineyard.

“The decision wasn’t made because of our disaffection with the region,” he explains. “It is true to say that the first few vintages we had were difficult from a yield point of view: however that also happened to us in Martinborough. Personally I still have strong belief in the Waitaki region: it will make unique and expressive Pinot Noir and aromatic white wines. The challenge will be yields to ensure commercial sustainability.”

Steve Harrop, who was involved in the marketing of Paterson’s Waitaki Valley Estates vineyard subdivision in the region’s early days, considers a number of factors to be responsible for the current wave of defections.

“The main hurdle has been the timing of launching a new premium winegrowing region with the initial establishment costs in the vineyard, the cost of farming those grapes, followed by those unforeseen costs in the giant world of wine marketing,” says Harrop, who remains in the valley, where he runs his Sublime Wines label. “We were an infant winegrowing region trying to make as much noise as we could in a pretty difficult time for the wine industry both here in New Zealand and overseas. Then along came the global financial crisis.”

“It certainly is not for the faint-hearted, and considerable resources are required,” acknowledges Ostler’s Jim Jerram, who has no plans to up sticks. “While some of the finest examples of each grape/wine variety come from close to the cooler limits of their climatic range, there tends to be a drop in yield, which is the Waitaki’s biggest challenge.”

However, he speaks of a number of sites in the lower-mid Valley that have been identified in recent years that appear to “offer a compromise” and now “mitigates the risk” by sourcing grapes from three sites spanning 25km of the valley with a variation in heat summation close to 20%.  

“We wouldn’t be here if we did not think it worth the effort,” he concludes. “Our reputation is building and sales with it, but those who have pioneered in other regions know what effort and doggedness this requires.”

Someone fitting that bill is Grant Taylor, who comments he’s seen many people come and go over his time in Central Otago as well as in this recent period in the Waitaki, which he attributes to a combination of investors being under capitalised, involved as financial speculators, being overly optimistic and not understanding the wine industry enough.
“However, it is definitely financially viable and well worth the effort,’ he says. “It may be more difficult than anywhere else I’ve worked, but that is part of the attraction and the resulting wines are so expressive of place.”

“None of it’s to do with the wines themselves,” stresses John Forrest, who made the region’s first experimental Pinot Noir for Paterson back in 2003. “From the start I saw the wines were very different to those from anywhere else and expressive of the region’s limestone terroir. My initial excitement has been borne out by some years of superb wines.” 

“The indications are there that it can be a wonderful wine region for certain varieties,” says Michelle Richardson of Waitaki Braids. “There have been some wines that you can see real glimpses of something special, which don’t look like anything from any other region.”

“As is often the way with new ventures in high risk areas, the first person in carries the cost for the subsequent people to make it economically successful,” observes Forrest. But there are enough of that first wave left to ensure the region remains on the country’s wine map. 

Forrest would like to see the key players in the region join forces to run their own high standard viticultural service, which is something that the region has lacked. He also floats the idea that Pasquale’s exit might leave the way open for a winemaking collective in the region where he’d like to see a winemaking facility retained.

“There are still many success stories from this little valley and, who knows, if the economy turns we may see a flurry of new investment,” says Harrop. “In the end the Waitaki Valley’s wines make a valuable contribution to New Zealand’s wine portfolio - it would be a shame to not see that continue and our true potential realised.” ν

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