The compressive release of the B-trains airbrakes always coincides with the first fork-full of vintage dinner. Two seasoned campaigners bolt from the table, le mans style, onto the nearest forklifts to swoop on the cache of handpicked Te Muna Pinot. The daily truck-loads of multiple blocks of Pinot have merged in my mind…….which blocks did Steve say he was sending today? That’s right; middle of the road stuff – good solid blocks but nothing to get too excited about – back to my Terroir supplied pork belly.
You would think that a dozen people, with a common interest, dining together would generate a cacophony of discussion. But as I gaze around the table the silence is only matched by expressionless faces. It's not the awkward silence of a first date, no; it's the silence of shared exhaustion. Our seasoned campaigners know the deal. They are tired but it's no surprise. Our vintage interns though ……. I guess what is going through their minds; "Craggy Range" that will look good on the CV. Be good to have that notch on the belt. I smile behind my own drawn expression. It's just not like other wineries – small batch artisanal winemaking on this scale. There is only so many of these notches your belt could take.
The interns dwell on a second glass of unknown clean-skin QC stock. The le mans team have plucked the B-train bare - the winery yard now is a sea of Pinot pallets. The seasoned campaigners take their leave knowing what tomorrow holds.
I wander around the pallets checking the ID tags, picking up the odd bunch and tasting the odd berry. Ripe. Clean. Good. It’s going to be a very good vintage. Block after block confirms this. While I chew on skin, pulp and seed, a wave of flavour interrupts my vintage summation. What block is that? I check the tag. Block 16. It wasn’t even on my Aroha radar. I circle the pallet. Try another. And another. The innate feeling that this is something special builds. I pick up a bunch. I scan the yard – no-one is watching. I tentatively bite down on the stems. I had never given any credence to stem chewing like some winemakers. I based this on the assumption that wine should be made from grapes – not stems. As I slowly chew, expectations of fibrous acridity give way to spice infused savoury tannin……….wow!
"Tom" I call to the nearest forklift. "Mate, don't put Block 16 with the pink tags in the chiller." There is no surprise in Tom's face. As a seasoned campaigner he knows that winemakers are genetically predisposed to whimsical mind changing. "Just tip these straight into an open top fermenter." One of Tom's eyebrows raise…..ah that got him.
The next morning, stripped thigh down, foot-stomping a 100% whole bunch fermenter of Block 16 Te Muna Pinot Noir, the previous night’s drawn face is replaced by the broadest of smiles.
Rod Easthope - Chief Winemaker