Red alert in a cold climate

Peter Gordon is cooking hundreds of delicate, bite-sized morsels on a portable barbecue propped precariously on a trestle table on a braid of the Waitaki River.

The rugged South Island setting is hardly the place anyone would expect a red wine to be made, much less a globe-trotting chef like Gordon to cook, but he easily slides into the part of laid-back Kiwi chef.

It is all part of his working day as a partner in this country's newest wine venture, Waitaki Braids Wines. The chef, restaurateur and now vineyard owner is using fresh wild salmon, trout and eels from this well-stocked southern river. His partner in business and life, Michael McGrath, is feeding the morsels to hungry journalists, designers and hangers-on who are awaiting the wine.

When it appears, Waitaki Braids pinot noir tastes great but is almost eclipsed by the surprising taste of truly fresh food and the live jazz played by Nathan Haines. The setting brings the wine into sharp focus because while it is distractingly beautiful, Waitaki is also noticeably chilly - it is a wonder any wine is made here.

Like Central Otago, Waitaki is an inland wine region and its relatively dry climate makes it devoid of a problem that besets most New Zealand winemakers: mould. Despite this big tick in its favour, Waitaki has a cool climate that pushes the outer boundaries of what grapes can realistically be expected to do - ripen in conditions where frost and snow often abound at harvest time. But since wine writers must keep open minds at all times about where grapes can grow, I am here with a small group to check out the place.

It is not the first time I have tasted wine from Waitaki; that was two years ago at a limestone church in downtown Auckland. There, a pinot noir from a small vineyard on Doctors Creek Rd, Waitaki, took me by surprise with its ripe fruit flavours - not what I expected from a crisp, cold place.

The man who got the Waitaki Braids brand rolling is investment banker Steve Cozens, who went into partnership with winemaker Michelle Richardson, Gordon and McGrath.

Cozens says there are about 400 to 500ha in Waitaki considered suitable for grape growing but adds that all the winemakers who are pioneering vineyards there agree it is too early to be sure. One thing is certain: the area's viticultural potential will be explored fully with Cozens, businessman Colin Reynolds and winemakers John Forrest, Steve Smith, Jeff Sinnott and Grant Taylor pioneering the vineyards there.

As to why restaurateur Gordon got involved, Cozens says he'd always liked Gordon's food so he phoned him and asked him to be a partner in the new venture. A conversation later the partnership was set in place. As was the catering for the official launch last month on that stony braid in the Waitaki River.

* The 2004 Waitaki Braids pinot noir is only available in Peter Gordon restaurants in Auckland, London and New York and online at the website listed below.