Sophie’s Wrap Up

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Durvillea

So I forgot to do my blog last week, the reason being that since I was in Brisbane for work I decided to take a couple of days holiday and visit one of my friends down on the Gold Coast. Where I had a fabulous and blissful few days relaxing and catching up with an old school friend.

But enough about that, I will fill you in on whats been going on in the last 10 days or so. So after the Barossa Jason and I flew to Brisbane where we met with the Smashing Bottles boys; Kris, Paul, Phil and Jak.

Smashing Bottles boys, Jak, Phil, Paul and Kris

The first day we were there Jak picked us up and took us round the Brisbane trade. As the whole trip has highlighted, it is just so great to be able to meet the people who are distributing our wine, and to get the chance to see who is selling our products, and who have it on their lists.

These boys are extremely passionate about our wines and it was fantastic to see what restaurants and retail outlets they have managed to get our wines into.

Simon also met us in Brisbane, as he was over doing a new release tasting with NZ Wine with Astrolabe. Simon and I then met up with Libby for breakfast the next morning, before Jason and I went off for the morning with Kris and the afternoon with Phil, doing trade visits and tastings. It seems we have a good scope in Brisbane from the City area, the suburbs, all the way down to Kingsland and up to Noosa.

Durvillea Pinot Grigio at The Wine Emporium, Brisbane

Brisbane was a great way to end a great trip round Australia meeting all of our distributors and getting a chance to see how each market worked. Especially as it was the warmest place we went to, and I was holidaying afterwards!

So after four days in the Gold Coast it was back to Blenheim, to again meet with the Smashing Bottles boys who were over in NZ for the Bledisloe Cup. After a day of looking round Marlborough and visiting our growers vineyards to see where all the wine comes from we took them out to diner to d’Urvilles (where they have Durvillea and Astrolabe on their list).

Being back in the office this week has been great, but busy. We have had the whole team back in the office, which has been great. Lots has been going on, especially as we start to plan more bottlings and the rest of the year.

Breakfast with Simon and Libby at Au Cirque, Brisbane

We are even starting to think about events next year, such as the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival. Next week, my blog will be from Simon, as I am going to get him to write a bit of an update on what is going on out in the winery at the moment, to fill you in on that side of things.

Before I go, a couple of exciting things that happened this week; one was that a container of Durvillea touched down in China. We are excited to see how the wine will go there, and which variety will be more popular, they have taken Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The second is that we are getting ready to send a pallet of Durvillea into Denmark!

Who’s that girl? Introducing Meg!

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Durvillea

meghat

The fourth ‘Who’s that girl?’ interview in an occasional series – questions from Libby this time.

Born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1985 Meg is the eldest daughter in the Forrest-Waghorn family.

Where do you fit within the Durvillea family?: Well, I’m the eldest of the Forrest-Waghorn girls. In terms of Durvillea I’ve mainly been in charge of setting up and maintaining our social networking sites – particularly this blog. Along with Libby, Bella, and the Astrolabe team I’ve had some input into the design and development discussions.

What is your favourite part of being involved with the brand?: I really like the way I can legitimately spend lots of time on the internet! It’s also nice to be able to find a place for some of my skills in the family industry. I have also come to appreciate all the different skill areas we have in the family and business.

How would you describe the Durvillea range?: Approachable and affordable wines that don’t sacrifice quality and integrity. I also think we have a great back-story and a classy, identifiably New Zealand label.

Do you have a favourite amongst them?: Normally I’m a dry riesling fan but I’m really falling back in love with Sauvignon Blanc as a result of my Durvillea involvement. In the face of some uncertainty about the future for Marlborough Sav Blanc it’s great to see our wine still getting a great reception as a quality example of the variety.

Libby, Arabella and Meg. Gisborne, c.1993.

What was the best thing about growing up in the wine industry?: Well, as Libby has said, wineries are reasonably entertaining places to play and vintage is always an exciting time. The wine industry is great as it is so seasonal; it keeps you in touch with nature in a way. Another nice thing about the industry is the types of people who are drawn to it, people who care about hospitality and the finer things in life in general.

You live in Wellington, what do you do there?: I moved to Wellington to study in 2004. I’ve been working at Wellington City Libraries for several years now. Librarianship (although I’m not a qualified librarian) is another ‘family industry’, Ma [Jane] is a trained librarian and that’s been at least as influential as the wine stuff! I’m also working towards a Masters degree in New Zealand Literature.

Client relationship manager Sophie McLernon, and Meg. Te Kauwhata, circa 1987.

What would your ‘perfect day’ in Wellington be? Any tips for visitors?: On a fine day a stroll around the city waterfront accompanied by Café Eis gelato and a lovely Wellington soundtrack by the excellent Phoenix Foundation. On a wilder day I love the south coast. I also like to show visitors around my lovely home suburb of Newtown which has a surprising amount of great food and coffee options and cute little stores. For visiting tips I recommend the expert advice of the Wellingtonistas.

How about at home in Blenheim?: The absolute best place to eat in Blenheim is the cramped but cosy Cruizie’s café on Maxwell Road in town. I love their chicken stuffing sandwiches more than I can say. On a summer’s evening the Craiglockhart River in the Waihopai Valley is a lovely place to swim and you get a good look at the famous spy balls on the way there.

: Arabella and Meg

And for international visitors – what NZ sight is your absolute must-see?: I’d have to go with the turangawaewae of the Waghorn family, the lovely Banks Peninsula. You could even go Hector’s dolphin watching with another branch of the Waghorn family…

And finally, who would you recommend Durvillea wines too?: Basically people like me who want a quality wine but are on a budget. At the moment we as consumers are swamped by cheap, anonymous wine so I like to think that people who want a wine with a bit of integrity and personality will be attracted to Durvillea.

Meeting our Australian Distributors

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Durvillea

Wow, it has been a big week. Jason and I are in Australia at the moment, Adelaide today, to be precise. This is to give me the chance to meet our Australian distributors, as I am going to be supporting these markets more now, to allow Jason to focus more on Europe.

Durvillea SB as the recommended wine on the Ichi Ni wine list, Melbourne

We started off in Sydney where we met with Shane and James, from Lewis Fine Wines. We had a lovely lunch at Pendolino, and it was a great chance to get to meet them and to get a feel for the market over there. Just by chance it turned out that our Israeli and Hong Kong Astrolabe distributors both lived in Sydney, and neither Jason and I had had a chance to meet them before, so we were able to meet up with them to discuss their respective markets. We now have plans to send Durvillea into Israel, hopefully by Christmas.

Neil, the restaurant Manager and I at Paesano's, Knox City, Melbourne

Next stop was Melbourne where we met with Ian, Andrea and Sarina from Twelve Bottles, they have been doing a fantastic job, and it was great to get a chance to see them in action.

While things have been tough with the recession it looks like things are finally starting to pick up over there.

We ate at some great places that sold our wine, such as Paesanos in Knox City, an Italian family restuarant, where Frank’s mum still cooks in the kitchen!

Jason, Ian and I with two of the staff at Ichi Ni, St Kilda, Melbourne

Another winner was Ichi Ni, in St Kilda, fabulous Japanese tapas, especially the Wagyu Beef and the soft shell crab California roll. The soft shell crab was fanastic with our Sauvignon, it was also great to look round and see other people drinking our wine.

Then off to the Barossa, after a very early morning flight we arrived into a very windy and warm Adelaide (the place where Meg was born). We hired a car and made our way through the beautiful country side to meet with Kym, Dave and Michael from Teusner Wines. The plan is for our Brisbane distriubutors Smashing Bottles to expand into SA, possibly enlisiting the help of Kym and Dave. The Barossa is a beautiful place, with the oldest vines I have ever seen, a complete contrast to the young Marlborough vines I am used to.

Kym talking to Jason about the Grenache bush vines

After a great lunch at Wanera with Kym and Dave and a bottle of their Avatar wine, Kym offered to play tour guide, taking us around the Barossa country side, showing us his different blocks, from bush vine Grenache to Mataro.We were also lucky enough to join the boys in their Burgundy tasting they were doing that afternoon.

We are off to Brisbane tomorrow to meet with Kris and Paul from Smashing Bottles. But before I go I must fill you on on one of the highlights of this week, Jason and I’s return trip to Adelaide today. Deciding we needed to get some more photos of the gnarly 130+ year old vines we veered off the highway in search of some, finally finding some on one of the dirt roads of the Barossa. Unfortunately on entering one of the drive ways we felt the car sink down into the mud.

We hear there was a lot of rain there last week…..

Fraser, the only other Kiwi we met in the Barossa managed to lend a hand

Down on the Farm – Cautionary Tales of Chicken Keeping (Part Two)

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Durvillea

The Famous Five

Janeolives

PART ONE HERE

Sunday 30th August – It is pouring with rain here and I have just been down to visit the chickens. Wet chickens look very dismal. They were hoping I would open the gate. So now they are huddled in the coop looking very disappointed with life.

After my saga with Hillary and Roger I was a little shattered and the flock was depleted to 2 remaining hens, Winnie and Dot. However Barb Sutton came to the rescue.

Now Barb is really a legend in her own time. Barb is proprietor of Birchmore Farm at Blind River and is the purveyor of a variety of farm produced goods at the local farmer’s market. After asking her where she bought her chickens from she turned up with 3 lovely ladies in cardboard boxes. Bess, black, beautiful and the leader of the pack. She was named after the black haired daughter in the poem “The Highwayman”. May, (Mayflower) the barred Plymouth Rock and Hettie, small, red and by far the smartest of all the hens. However as the mother of 3 redheads I firmly believe that this is not a coincidence.

chickengroup

So the girls established themselves and I decided that there was room for more. Egg megalomania. I wanted more. Also for some extraordinary reason I love chickens. So I bought 2 baby wyandottes, Mihipeka and Fran, and a very beautiful little black silkie. Now silkie’s have a ridiculous topnot that looks very much like a Russian ladies fur hat, think Dr Zhivago. I was tempted to call her Anna from Anna Karenina but Antionette she became. She was very sweet but definitely the odd one out. I was concerned about how she would fit in with the others who are all large bodied hens. Hens are not into individuality. Obviously this concerned her too as she drowned herself in the pond. I suspect she dipped her head in and the weight of the water in that fabulous topknot was her undoing. I was devastated and feeling that the trials of chicken keeping were just too much much. However the needs of the survivors meant I had to keep going.

Chickenonsink

I kept Fran and Mihipeka separate for 2 months and integrated them slowly with the others. Carefully lifting them as they roosted into the hen house. The pecking order establishment thing is an unpleasant process.

Daily I let the hens out to free range and one day I came home to find May ripped to bits in the olive grove. She had been killed by a dog and while I don’t have an eye witness account I suspect “Basil” a Jack Russell who sometimes roams to our vineyard. I am not fond of dogs especially small chicken killing dogs.

egg

So now I am down to my fabulous five. Egg production is up. They spend more time penned to protect them but it is roomy. I plan to add some girls soon.

Sunday 6th September: I began this post a week ago and the weather this weekend was fantastic. I have spent the weekend in the garden. Today I picked 2 spears of asparagus the perfect accompaniment to a poached egg. Winter has passed, spring is here and life is good down on the farm.

- Jane.

Update from the Vineyard

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Durvillea

It is the end of another busy week in the Durvillea and Astrolabe office, and with Jason and I off to Australia on Sunday to visit our Australian distributors, I have managed to run out of time to do my end of the week wrap up.

: Spring

However as it is the beginning of spring and the growing season I thought it would be a good idea to give you an update of what is going on in the vines. Jeremy Hyland is our viticulturist and has worked along side Simon since their Gisborne days, coming up almost 20 years!

This is an update from Jeremy as to what is going on in our vineyards.

The last of the pruned vines will be wrapped down in the coming days bringing to an end what is our most labour intensive practice for the year. Unfortunately it is also the coldest period for our committed crews out in the field it has been a long four months. As they finish laying the foundation for the coming season on some of the later varietals, the early blocks of Pinot have the first buds bursting into life after what has been the warmest August since records began and so a new growing season begins.

: Astrolabe farm this morning, pruned and frosty

Jack Frost is definitely an unwanted guest from here on in. Other action in the field at present includes mulching of prunings, dropping of foliage wires, compost spreading, fert applications, weed control, trellis maintenance, any replanting, irrigation maintenance and in most cases getting the sheep out of the vineyard!

So thats a wee update from the vineyard, as Jason and I are away next week, Jane will be looking after the office, and updating you with whats going on.

Durvillea Wines

A wine label from Marlborough, New Zealand

Monthly Archives: September 2009