Seaside vineyard launches Copperlake Wines
Sue Lindsay and Peter Jones at Copperlake Wines in Rototai.
Sue Lindsay and Peter Jones launched Copperlake Wines at their vineyard in Rototai this week.
Copperlake's introduction is heralded by a memorable Pinot Gris with fruity muscaty flavours and delicious wild honey overtones. A batch of Pinot Noir is still maturing in the barrels and a small batch of bottled and very aromatic Vioignier is reserved for the family.
"We kept the wine-making process very simple to let the fruit express itself. What you get in this wine is grapes, pressed juice and the barest amount of preservatives to keep it from turning into vinegar," said Sue. "The wine you like is a very personal choice; it is a bit like choosing a perfume."
On their seaside property, which has been in the family for over 20 years, Sue and Peter became winemakers almost by accident, through a blip of fate Sue described as a "gift of the future".
"It is quite lovely; I was given 1300 Pinot plants by a wine grower in the Moutere and planted them and then slowly expanded. The plants had a hard start with a very dry summer that year and we were still living over the Hill at that stage. Also, we were not sure if we could grow good grapes over here and it is still an ongoing process of looking after the vines and seeing what they do."
Being "the closest vineyard to the sea" has proved to be advantageous to sustainable vineyard management after all. The property sits in a basin, so the vines collect all the sun's available heat. They are also situated in a "rain shadow", meaning the property catches less rain than the rest of the Bay. And when establishing the vineyard, Sue and Peter aligned the rows with the wind direction, as good aeration reduces the risk of fungal diseases and necessitates less spraying.
"Our long-term aim is to be organically and sustainably sound growers," said Sue. "We are trying to build up the soil and use lots of fish fertiliser and worm juice and grass clippings as mulch. We use a mechanical weeder so we don't have to use herbicides and we don't like sprays much."
Already, they have taken a proactive stance to reduce toxic leachates into the soil and groundwater from treated timber posts by replacing these with untreated macrocarpa posts and stainless steel stakes. After months of researching alternatives-such as recycled plastics posts from Canada or concrete posts from Italy-Sue opted for natural timber logs from the West Coast. These have a lifespan of up to15 years.
"In Marlborough they have a huge problem with toxins from treated timber posts leaching into the groundwater. Because we are on light soils, near a lake, have a high water table and wanted a green-as-possible a product, we decided we didn't want to use treated timber."
Sue and Peter are proud to have produced a "totally local product" with the help of Clifton winemaker David Heraud and wine expert Sue Shotton, who assisted with testing the grapes. Artists Dean Raybould designed labels and posters and Hennie Pemberton's hand-painted number tiles grace the rows of vines.
Copperlake's fine Pinot Gris is available for sale from various outlets and a website is planned in due course.
Ina Holst
