Small and steady
Katherine Jacobs with husband Jeremy Corban at their Big Sky vineyard in Martinborough.
She will display wine from her Big Sky vineyard alongside 14 other small vineyards from Martinborough at the upcoming “Unique and Boutique” tasting in Wellington.
To be part of the event, which has been running for about five years, the vineyards have to be small and genuinely boutique in that they are family owned.
Jacobs says at a time when larger vineyards around New Zealand in Hawkes Bay and Marlborough are struggling, the family-owned ones are surviving.
In the Wairarapa, about 30 of the 50 vineyards are family-owned, she estimates.
“Many have another income to support them; my husband commutes into Wellington for work everyday,” she says. “Some were also started long ago in the 1980s like Cabbage Tree (in Martinborough), so they aren’t holding debt. Debt is what has hit vineyards expanding into large-scale commercial operations.”
And because boutique vineyards are smaller, they generally make premium wine.
The wealthier buyers of this aren’t so affected by the recession, and the wine hasn’t taken as big a hit as some of the larger labels that can now be found in supermarkets at a fraction of the price they once were.
Jacobs does admit the plummeting wine prices have hit the 20-acre Big Sky vineyard to a degree. Their Pinot Noir, which used to retail for $39, is now $32.
“But we’re still in that premium bracket,” she says. “Another point of difference is that Martinborough makes a very savoury type of Pinot that real Pinot lovers like. We have a limey soil, and a microclimate. The key with Pinot is to have a long, slow ripening period, so we’re still picking now, but vineyards (elsewhere) have finished [due to weather].”
Weather does affect Martinborough too, however, and Jacob’s says a major obstacle is the frost.
“Last year we got frosted up, and ended up with a tiny crop.”
Big Sky uses frost pots and wind machines above the vines, which circulate air around the vineyard so frost doesn’t settle.
Their neighbours have a 200-acre plot, and use a sprinkler system. They’ve also used helicopters to shift the cold air.
“Frost is a challenge for anybody, but it keeps you tough,” laughs Jacobs.
She says the great thing about the upcoming Unique and Boutique is that those who come will be face to face with the makers of the wine. “Plus, I get to dress up and get out of my gumboots.”
Unique and Boutique, 5.30-8.30pm, The Boatshed, May 19.
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