Simon and Jane in Christchurch Botancal Gardens. Our first photo together.

I have been asked to write a biography for Simon. Our wine company is based on him. He is the winemaker, an owner and director. It is his creativity, skill and vision that leads and inspires us. Astrolabe and Durvillea wines are made by him.

This isn’t a new thing for him. He has been making wine since university, 30 years ago. It is about then that I came into the story. Simon and I met at Canterbury University in 1980. He was studying botany and I was studying history. We met through friends, and one of those instrumental in that is Paul Davenport, one of our partners in Astrolabe. However, I am getting ahead of myself. We need to rewind a bit.

Tailing at Double Bay, Banks Peninsula

Simon was born in 1959 in Darfield, the youngest son of David and Lois Waghorn, and youngest sibling of David, Sarah and Hugh. Darfield is a small rural town west of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains. The Waghorns led a rural life and also farmed a small property on Banks Peninsula – Double Bay. Simon attended the local primary and high schools before heading off to Canterbury University.

Earlier 1980's at Double Bay.

After completing his BSc, Simon began a Masters in Natural Resources. He had a particular interest in seaweed. To help fund his studies and lifestyle he worked in a liquor store. Here he became exposed to wine. Growing up in rural South Island in the 1960’s and 1970’s was an era of spirit and beer drinking, meat and three veg. Simon had also joined the university wine club. It was also at the store, Quill Humphries, that Simon picked a brochure for a post-graduate winemaking course at Roseworthy College near Gawler, South Australia. He was interested.

 

 

Simon and Rob Woodgate outside Yalumba

Before committing to winemaking he decided to try out the industry by working in the cellar. With the help of introductions from Tom Maling, family friend and a senior employee at Quill Humphries, in January 1982 Simon abandoned the Masters and headed for South Australia to work at Yalumba Wines in the Barossa Valley. Although an undergraduate I followed, enrolling in Flinders University in South Australia to complete my BA. At this time Simon’s move was a very left-field career decision. The number of trained winemakers in NZ at the time could probably have sat together at a dining table.

Moving to Te Kauwhata

At the end of the year we returned to New Zealand, married and moved to Te Kauwhata in the Waikato. Simon worked for the year in the cellar at Cooks Wines before applying to Roseworthy. Back to Adelaide we went, Simon enrolled in a post-graduate diploma of Oenology. Meanwhile I completed a Graduate Diploma in Library Studies.

At the end of 1985 studies were completed and we had a small daughter, Meg. Simon was offered a job back at Cooks as assistant winemaker and the thought of a steady income and family within reach, was appealing. At this stage a generation of young, university trained winemakers were emerging and returning to NZ. Kim Crawford, Neil Culley, Brent Marris and Mark Robertson. For these young winemakers timing was everything. They entered the industry as it was on the rise.

Within two years Simon was promoted to chief winemaker at Corbans in Gisborne, as Glenn Thomas and Dave Pearce moved to the emerging region of Marlborough as foundation winemakers for Vavasour and Grove Mill respectively. A considerable number of talented winemakers worked for Corbans, including James Healy, Claire Allen, and Alan MCorkindale.

Vintage 1991 in Gisborne. A very tired father with 3 small girls

In Gisborne Simon developed his skill with Chardonnay. This culminated in 1995 with the Chardonnay he made winning the supreme award at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. However he had left Corbans earlier in the year to head to Marlborough and begin Whitehaven with Greg and Sue White. To this day Simon retains a small shareholding in Whitehaven. It was a challenging year but Simon soon began to understand Sauvignon Blanc. In the next few years in order to supplement the family income Simon also took on the role of managing Marlborough Valley Cellars, a joint venture between Saint Clair Wines, Kim Crawford Wines, and Cairnbrae. It was busy time and Simon was also consulting to Tohu Wines.

In 1996 on the shores of Lake Taupo we sat with Paul Davenport and Sally Lewis and planned to have ago at making our own wine. Astrolabe was born. Initially producing a chardonnay, the opportunity to invest in a vineyard development in Waihopai secured a sauvignon blanc supply. We were away. Show results were excellent culminating in winning the Best Sauvignon Blanc in the world in 2005 and 2008.

At this point the range had grown and Simon also decided to withdraw from his other responsibilities and focus on Astrolabe, his own brand. As a senior judge on the NZ wine circuit Simon had a good understanding and respect for the show system. However he made the decision to withdraw from shows in order to follow his own clear idea of the Astrolabe style.

Meg and Henry's wedding March 2011

Libby and Pete's wedding March 2012

Aside from winemaking in the last twelve months, he has hosted the wedding of 2 daughters. These have been milestones for him, as not only has he welcomed two sons-in-law into our family but for the first time since his early twenties Simon has invested in not one but two suits. These have been tailored for him by P Johnson Tailors www.pjohnson.com.au . The young man who guided Simon through this process is winemaker and tailor Tom Riley.

Now it is vintage 2012. Simon is busy with the harvest. Astrolabe wines are Simon’s wines, they speak of his integrity and skill as a winemaker.

Simon checking on a ferment

Appendix i:

In 2005 we bought our Nolans Rd property and renamed it Astrolabe Farm. Simon and I own this property and by default it has become the home of Astrolabe. The first vintage of Astrolabe was from the chardonnay vines on this property. We are still Astrolabe growers today.

Appendix ii:

In 2008 we decided to create a second label. We created Durvillea as the little sister brand. It gave me and our daughters the opportunity to create a brand about the women in our family, accessible quality and affordable wine, made by Simon.

Just a quick post today – Jane has been down in Timaru and Dunedin this week, so you can look forward to a blog coming from her next time.

2011 Durvillea Marlborough Chardonnay

Ross, Hannah (from Jules Taylor Wines), the lovely Slaine (visiting from O’Briens in Ireland) and I have come to the end of a long week, and have decided to have a glass of wine whilst we work this afternoon. We thought we would crack open none other than our 2011 Durvillea Marlborough Chardonnay. Bottled somewhat recently, it hasn’t reached its maturity yet — however, it is drinking quite beautifully.

There is only a limited release of this first Durvillea Chardonnay (100 cases), so if you are lucky to get your hands on some, we hope you find it as delightful as we are finding it now – we are getting lovely Creme Brulee and white fleshed nectarine characters.

Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy a glass of chardonnay on us (………..just kidding, you will have to buy your own).

Take care,

Genevieve

Me (Genevieve) on the harvester

Hello Everyone

I just thought I’d give you a little update on what has been a-happenin’ here at Durvillea. This is my first vintage, and I am learning lots of new things, so I thought I’d share it with those who, like myself, do not know as much about harvest as the “seasoned” do.

So, it is vintage here in Marlborough… grape-picking time. Vintage has started a couple of weeks late this year.  A lack of warm, dry weather means that the grapes have taken somewhat longer to ripen.  On the bright side, a smaller fruit set this year has helped move that ripening along. The grapes are the soul of this business, so we are patiently letting them take their sweet time … pun intended.

The sugar levels in the grapes are measured in “Brix” (degrees Brix to be precise). You want the sugar content to be just right – for it is the sugar, of course, that converts the grape juice into alcohol. However, we also need to make sure the flavours in the grapes are at the correct maturity level before the sugar gets too high. So, the balance between flavour maturity and Brix is crucial. The grapes must be picked exactly when (or as close as you can get) to the plant being physiologically ripe.

Jane trying a Pinot Gris grape

However, in saying that, Simon + Tim (winemakers) and Jeremy (viticulturist) really only pick on flavour – they just use the science as a guideline. There is a 3-5 day flavour window where the grapes are just right. Simon, Tim and Jeremy spend all vintage walking up and down vine row after vine row, tasting grape after grape (Jeremy was just in here sporting a glowing tan). They want the taste to be perfect. Sometimes this means picking late at night or very early in the morning when it is cool. So it is an exciting time for me here, and I have been enjoying my fair share of grapes too. I was under the impression that wine grapes were not pleasant to eat … this is not the case. I have only found them delicious!

Hand-picking and happy

In other news, it is nice to have the whole team back in Marlborough. The wine industry involves a lot of travel to domestic and international markets, but at the moment we have everyone here in one place. We don’t see much of the winemaking team of course as this is their busiest time of year, but this week the office has been abuzz with Jane, Jason, Ross and myself – with Simon, Tim and Jeremy popping in every now and again. 5-Minute Quiz scores have soared and coffee beans have been consumed more rapidly. Jane and I have also taken this time to re-vamp our social media skills, and scheduled more frequent blogging and posts for those who are interested, to keep up with where we’re at, what we have been up to, and what we have been (or would like to be) eating, drinking and enjoying.

Something to watch out for: Durvillea is currently sponsoring the wine for an exhibition opening at Toi Poneke gallery in Wellington on the 19th of April. The exhibition is called Lucrece: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece – it is a performance installation, meaning that there is an exhibit in the gallery based on the poem, as well as live performances of the poem (that incorporate the art work) on the Thursday and Friday evenings. Sounds like it is going to be a great event, so head on down if you are interested. More details can be found on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/313806188680099/

Well, that is all from me for now. Next week you will see a new blog from Jane, and the week after that I will be back with my new cooking/entertaining segment – Come Dine with Genevieve.

I hope you all have a superb weekend.

Take care,

Genevieve

PS – For those of you that know Jeremy Hyland, he was just in the office checking out some grapes I have here to send up to S.P.Q.R. in Auckland. I told him that this box here was of Sauvignon Blanc … there was a pause……….. and then a knowing look. I think Marlborough & Gisborne’s viticulturist extraordinaire might have known what he was looking at, and didn’t need me to tell him. At least he found it funny!

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THROWING A WEDDING (at Astrolabe Farm):

Meg & Henry's wedding March 2011 (Photo by Kate McCaskill)

On March 5th, 2011, we held Meg & Henry’s Civil Union at Astrolabe Farm followed by dinner and dancing. This year, on March 24th, we held Libby & Pete’s marriage ceremony at Astrolabe Farm… followed by dinner and dancing. Wedding organisation has been foremost on my mind for the past 18 months. And it’s been fun.

Here are my reflections …

WEDDINGS ARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE who love you the best, coming together to celebrate with you. Remember, there are few times in our lives that we get to celebrate something so special. Everything else is secondary and an added extra.

HAVE A PLAN AND BE ORGANISED. Write everything down. If it’s just inside your head, you will get annoyed when other people don’t know what needs to be done. Also, they may have better ideas than you. Being organised means that it is more relaxed and more fun. A word of caution: write the list in pencil. Things change, and be prepared to be flexible (refer back to my first point).

Libby & Peter's wedding March 2012 (Photo by Jessica Jones)

BEING CREATIVE DOESN’T MEAN BEING ORIGINAL. Steal ideas from blogs, books, friends and family. In the past year, I have had wonderful days sewing bunting with friends, trawling second-hand shops, and spying on other peoples’ weddings on blogs. However, a word of caution, when it comes to pulling it all together, it is really useful to have a few engineers alongside the creative brains. In my experience they are okay with climbing up high ladders.

START EARLY. I regularly did a round of the second-hand shops to source vases, glassware and table linen over the months leading up to the weddings. I set a price point, and friends and family got in on the act too. Unfortunately, I am now addicted. If you are making things yourself, get it done early. Don’t leave things to the week of the wedding as it gets pretty busy.

DELEGATE. Share out the work and the responsibilities and don’t interfere. Take responsibility for the things that are important to you. Be kind to others (refer back to my first point, again).

P.S. – Having lovely wine helps.

Here are a few of our efforts and creations, and a list of vendors that we would have no hesitation in recommending to you.

B.V. GOURMET – catering

PINK POPPIE – florist

JESSICA JONES PHOTOGRAPHY (Libby’s wedding)

KATE MCCASKILL (Christchurch)- photography (Meg’s wedding)

LOCKS & LASHES – hair and make-up

HIREPOOL – marquee hire

EVENT RENT – catering equipment hire

THE CHINA CABINET, CHRISTCHURCH - vintage china hire

MARLBOROUGH LIGHT & SOUND – sound system

OCEAN BEAUTY – beautician 

ACCOMMODATION: MONTGOMERY’S COTTAGE, MILL STREAM COTTAGE

JOHN CRAIGHEAD – Celebrant 

Creating bunting for Meg's wedding. Bunting is very popular at weddings at the moment and it helps to have a group of sewers.

Arabella & Jane screen printing Meg & Henry's invitations. Arabella designed and printed their invitations. It was time consuming but worth it!

One of the invitations newly printed.

Libby's wedding day. The sign was created by Meg & Arabella for Meg's wedding. It has been great to reuse some of our creations for Libby's wedding as well as other weddings of our friends and family. (Photo by Jessica Jones)

Arabella created this photo wall for Meg & Henry's wedding. She hand painted & printed the wallpaper and copied and framed family wedding pictures.

Table plan for Meg & Henry's wedding. Created by Jane, Meg & Arabella.

Meg & Henry in their colourful wedding marquee! The lanterns were from trademe and the pom poms from Etsy. The polka dot tablecloths were made by Arabella and Jane. (Photo by Kate McCaskill).

Libby made these panda cake toppers for Meg & Henry. (Photo by Kate McCaskill).

Jane's sister Nicki did a wonderful job of the larger arrangements for both weddings. We sourced flowers online & locally (often from friends' gardens). Meg was also lucky that her father-in-law was able to make her bouquet and buttonholes.

These love hearts were scattered throughout Libby & Peter's wedding. Some were individually hung in the olive trees. (Photo by Jessica Jones)

Some of the details of Libby & Pete's wedding. Libby is excellent at hand lettering. (Photo by Jessica Jones)

Libby & the lovely Peter. Featuring Pink Poppie's beautiful bouquet. (Photo by Jessica Jones).

Mother of the Bride(s) cutting loose on the dancefloor!

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of our lovely weddings. Over the next few weeks we will catch-up with the other Durvillea Girls and Genevieve will be donning her apron in Come Dine with Genevieve… move over Martha.

Keep watching this space – we have a new line-up with many a great blog to come…

- Jane (Mother of the Brides … no pressure, Arabella).

Creamed them the old school way...

Mmm vanilla - borrowed from friendly neighbour J.T.

I even said “Hi-diddly-ho, Neighbour!” 

After adding the vanilla, I mixed in a lightly beaten Astrolabe Farm fresh egg.

Free-range, organic, of course!

Adding the lightly beaten egg

All whipped, light and fluffy!

Classic kiwiana Edmonds

Important not to over-mix

Working their magic

Now, they may not be the neatest looking little cookies – more on the rustic side – but holy moly they are tasty.  

Riesling vines ready for the experiment

Seed ready to go

Blossom trees are in full bloom. There is now a green haze over the vineyard as the vines leaf out. This year Nick and I have decided to plant alyssum under the first 20 rows of the vineyard. This will mean that we don’t have to spray for weeds and will provide a habitat for insects. Nick mixed the seed with compost and sprinkled it along the rows. In preparation Nick has sprayed every second row for weeds. We are experimenting to see how this will influence germination. Jane

Nick mixing the seed and compost

Everyone knows Chardonnay is making a come-back.

Durvillea is eager to annouce that in addition to our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir, our 2011 vintage will also include our new Durvillea Marlborough Chardonnay!

We are thrilled that the 2011 Chardonnay will complete our list of classic varietals in the Durvillea range.

Not on shelves yet, but due for release in early 2012. Get excited!

…Oh, and … “it’s pronounced Chardonnay, Kim.”

-Genevieve

Jason being interviewed for 3 News

 You may have recently heard (or seen on 3 News NZ) about our parent label – Astrolabe – having 3 shipping containers of our wine aboard the “Rena” stranded on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand.

As a winery, we live off nature and the land. At Durvillea, we are interested in working towards a more sustainable wine industry. The cartons are made from 100% recycled fibre, the bottle is lighter in weight, and the grapes are sourced from sustainable vineyards. With luck, the environmental impact of losing wine at sea should be negligible; the glass should return back to sand, the wine will dilute. The impact of some of the other cargo on board and the oil leaking from the ship, however, is of real concern. The Durvillea/Astrolabe team is saddened by the damage being caused to our ocean, sealife and shoreline by this ship, and we can only hope the situation does not get worse.

-The Durvillea/Astrolabe Team.

Lois Waghorn

This morning Simon and I woke ridiculously early as we struggle to adjust to Northern Hemisphere time. We went walking along the Thames. It was breathtakingly beautiful looking down the river as we crossed the Vauxhall Bridge. We marvelled at everything from the lamplights to Westminster. Walking back through St James Park Simon won the spot the squirrel competition.
As we wondered down the river pathway we thought about Simon’s Great-Great Grandfather Arthur Waghorn who worked as a lighterman on the Thames. He left England with his wife Louisa and young family to settle on Banks Peninsula. I always think it is interesting to consider the influence of these ancestors on who we are. These people we assume left in the hope of making a better life and taking an opportunity. They were brave and bold and I hope we reflect a little of that strength of character.
One of the traits that undoubtedly runs through the Waghorn family is creativity. As I listen to Simon discuss his wines I think it is clear how important his skill as a winemaker is balanced with his creativity in crafting the wines. Art or craft – maybe both?
Creativity is openly expressed by the women of the extended Waghorn family. Simon’s mother was a potter and a painter. His sister Sarah carries on this and is indeed a wonderful potter. “Sarah’s pots are hand built sculptural pieces. Using the coil method she uses a few simple tools and concentrates on form and natural shapes. The majority of her work is in sculptural and earthenware clay.”
www.sarahford.co.nz
Our niece Julia Waghorn is a talented graphic designer.

Julia Waghorn

She is stylish, creative and also very funny. Stealing from her website she describes the influence of a creative family. “Julia’s grandmother was the person who began her interest in Graphic Design. As a child they would spend hours in Lois’s games room drawing and painting. “
www.juliapenelope.com
Arabella, our youngest daughter is also bitten by this creative bug.

Arabella screen printing Meg's wedding invitation

She is in her 3rd year at art school at Auckland University. She is currently involved in an interactive installation in Myer’s Park as part of the Fan Trail project which is part of the Rugby World Cup activities.
“Inspired by Myers Park’s history as a colonial shanty town, Elam students combine what little is remembered from the past with the contemporary. Abstracted dwellings of geometric forms, clustering and lacing through the grassy hills, suggest community and a collective culture.“

“The living sculpture explores the displacement of those who once lived on this site as well as travellers who’ve come from near and far to attend the Rugby World Cup 2011 games. “

http://www.creative.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/events/amped-in-the-park

Check out their blog.

http://elamfantrailproject.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy a glimpse at the artistic work of our crafty lot.

-Jane.

Really my main focus is getting the garden ready for the wedding.

“The wedding” you say… “wasn’t that in March?” Indeed Meg and Henry’s was, but now Libby and Peter are getting married next March. I am so desperate to start planting. I have lists of seeds I plan to buy from Kings Seeds.
www.kingsseeds.co.nz.

Pink Peony Poppy

I also plan to do a mass planting of hydragenas. This all works out quite well for the company as we hold all tastings here at the farm. It is a nice side effect to have things under control. I have quite a sense of urgency because in September we are off to the UK on a sales trip (no skype date this time). We will be serving Durvillea at a wine dinner at Providores in London.
So if you are in London come along we would love to see on Tuesday 13th September. Here is the link:
http://www.theprovidores.co.uk/news/news_2011.php

[Up date]: I have come home today to finish this blog quietly in front of the fire. There is a polar blast sweeping up the country and this afternoon it has been snowing. This is extraordinary in Marlborough. It has been cold but beautiful. I have spent most of the afternoon gazing out the window. We just don’t see snowflakes in Marlborough. My sister Nicola lives in Christchurch. Here is a photograph she took of Reilly the Jack Russell stretching his legs.
So it’s quiet winter focused on family, garden, books (the Man Booker Longlist out) and trying to keep warm while dreaming of flowers. However there is also Friday office drinks……watch out for Miss Ferrier’s social report in our next Durvillea dispatch.

Oh, and to finish: http://vimeo.com/27709878 Check out this lovely video of snow on Cuba St in Wellington by Ro Tierney