Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine

Get farmers together and the first thing they do is talk about the weather. It is, after all, critical to production outcomes. Talk to Northland's recognised wine guru, Rod McIvor of Marsden Estate, and he might not be able

to tell you what he did for Christmas but he certainly knows without notes that on the 19th March the heavens opened up after a fairly dry January and February.

 

What didn't show up sufficiently this year was the sun and the heat and it's affected the grape harvest in some areas of Northland. The sugar content is low for some grape growers but by no means all. It's site-specific.

 

''Karikari and Kaitaia missed a lot of that rain so the sugar levels were up to an acceptable level before we got that March rain. It's the later blocks that didn't ripen so quickly that have the low sugar content in their grapes.''

 

Rod McIvor remaindered 15 tonne of grapes and, as with other grape producers, it wasn't an easy decision to make. The cost of production didn't go down because the sun decided to hide behind clouds and yet the returns won't be there if there isn't wine to sell.

 

Northland's contribution to New Zealand's wine production is small at .02 percent and this year the region produced a low 111 tonnes of grapes sufficiently formed for wine production -adrop of 50 percent over last year. These figures might be alarming were not for the fact the grapes and wine produced out of Northland

have both increased in quality thanks to education seminars regularly conducted by Mark Nobilo of the famous wine-producing family further south and a strong wine growers' association.

 

''The standard has increased dramatically over the past five or so years'' says Rod. ''Back then, if we'd had a season like this last one, it would have been a total disaster but the standard, knowledge, experience and expertise has lifted so I'm quite happy with the fruit we did pick.''

 

Northland also has unique market conditions to grapple with. Very little wine is taken out of the region. Nearly all of Marsden Estate's impeccable pinot gris, for example, is consumed within a 50 kilometer radius of where it's made. Moreover, because of the small amount produced here, the region isn't nationally recognised as a credible wine-growing district. In fact Rod McIvor says the feedback from some retailers is that having Northland on the label can devalue the wine and there are those, even within the industry, who don't realise that Northland wines are now of a high standard.

 

Then there's our weather. Northland's season can be two or three months longer than in other places. Bud burst can still be occurring as other parts of the country are pruning.

 

''That's why competitions are so important'', he says. ''It's the only way we can have our wines judged on a par with other regions and it's done blind so there's no stigma attached.''

 

This month he starts bottling rose´, sauvignon blanc and pinot gris and he's 'very happy' with the full-bodied wines like chardonnay and after 20 years in the business Rod McIvor knows about the vagaries, the swings and roundabouts, of this kind of farming.

 

''You have good years and bad years and it would be boring otherwise.'' he says philosophically.

 

Total New Zealand wine production this year is down 18 percent over last year so Northland isn't unique in those terms and locals supporting locals is an important part of our wineries staying afloat. New World in Kerikeri is a well-known promoter of local wines and in September selected Northland wines will be exhibited in Auckland