Rowan Schindler
10 October 2020, 3:30 PM
In our continuing Central Sundays series, Rowan reviews a wine fresh out of the vineyard’s cellar.
Immigrant's Vineyard sits on Airport Road between Clyde and Alexandra, snuggly beside the Otago Central Rail Trail.
The property was acquired by Lucienne and Roland van der Wal in 2013 and has undergone a significant transformation.
Their Ruru Pinot Gris 2020 represents, to me, their efforts are totally overhauling their beloved property.
It could arguably also represent their own personal journey, which has seen them arrive as backpackers in 1986 and progress from living in a caravan, to a one-bedroom apartment, to now having a gorgeous new, hand-built home on their own vineyard.
Their home will itself be featured in tomorrow’s episode of Grand Designs. This wine, to me, represents that astonishing journey and growth.
Immigrants Vineyard comprises of 19ha of land, with 16ha planted in mainly Pinot Noir grapes and 4ha of Pinot Gris, plus a small amount of Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay.
The vineyard has two terraces, with the top being extremely bony, sandy, near "hydroponic" soils.
The bottom terrace has far more organic matter, mixed in with the sandy/loamy soil.
Through fertigation, they irrigate and feed the vines to prevent them from stressing out - especially the top terrace, as it has very little cation exchange capacity.
Lucienne said, when her and her husband Roland bought the vineyard in 2013, a lot of work was put into growing the canopy of the vines to 1-1.5m above the fruit.
In addition to this, and through the application of fish fertilisers, seaweed and humates and the re-sowing of the swards, an effort was made to increase the organic matter.
Every second row was turned and sown with Phacelia, Blue Lupin, Plantain, Tic Beans, Buckwheat and white oats.
The policy yielded abundance with the crop doubling, then tripling, and then quadrupling up to a bumper 2018 harvest.
The Immigrant’s Vineyard Ruru Pinot Gris 2020 is expertly balanced and is a drop to savour.
Expertly crafted by Antony Worch, of Alexandra Vintners, the policy for all their wines is a very soft press (between 55-65%) and to have minimal interference in the fermentation and maturation processes.
All their wines are produced according to sustainable winegrowing practices.
The name Ruru is in honour of the native New Zealand owl, which is occasionally glimpsed in the area.
The Ruru Pinot Gris 2020 is hand-picked, soft-pressed and partly fermented in French oak.
Like almost all of the 2020 vintages, it is a COVID lockdown harvest, so the wine marks a time and place in history.
It is a brand-new release, with the vineyard entering it into various wine awards this year. Rumour has it that it has performed well.
The palate is full-bodied and long, balanced with a refreshing citrus-like acidity which gives way to the clean aromas of pear and stone fruit.
It isn’t dry, nor is it sweet - that balance perfectly fits it in with anyone who may not consider themselves overt lovers of white, or dry wines.
This refreshing wine makes it something to savour and would sit alongside a blue cheese platter, or salad or fish meal.
I bought myself a bottle after the tasting because I wanted my time with this wine and I would absolutely recommend it.
Be in to win:
To win, send an email to [email protected] and tell us somebody who you think deserves a bottle of this delicious wine and why.
Entries close at midnight Sunday October 18, 2020.
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This weekly column is all about encouraging us all to support each other in Central, by featuring the wonderful products we create here or which can be purchased here in our local stores.
If you have a comment or suggestion for future Central Sundays columns, email Mary or Rowan at [email protected]
Photos Rowan Schindler
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