Marlborough wine festival a triumph of organisation

Press, 31 January 1989, Page 10

Marlborough wine festival a triumph of organisation

Maurice Hunter’s

GRAPEVINE

The fifth Marlborough Wine and Food Festival must be regarded as a triumph of organisation. Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 21, somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 members of the public poured through the gates of the Montana’s Brancott Estate to participate in the plethora of food, wine and entertainment. Every quarter of an hour, loaded buses left Seymour Square for the festival venue and, for those who used their own transport, a shuttle bus service was provided from the car park. Booths on the grounds dispensed Festival Francs for 50 cents each, the only acceptable currency for the purchase of wine offered by the eight local wineries and every form of the gourmet food of which the province is rightly proud. The Marlborough vintners, many of whom were dressed for the occasion, did themselves proud as they catered for the seething crowds. At Cellier le Brun, in conjunction with Regal Salmon, Chardonnay and the popular methode champenoise sparkling wine was dispensed by staff whose slogan, “We’re in the pink,” was demonstrated literally with cancan costumes of frilly pink, complete with Daniel le Brun wearing a pink wig. The Cloudy Bay exhibit was a little more subdued but there was no less enthusiasm as glasses were filled with a delightful ’B7 Chardonnay and ’BB sauvignon blanc. The Corbans staff was also kept busy with pal-ate-teasing samples of ’B7 Chardonnay, fume blanc and gewurztraminer, the Stoneleigh range of ’B7 Chardonnay, ’BB sauvignon blanc, ’BB riesjing and a beautifully smooth ’B6 cabernet sauvignon. A surprise new winery, Grove Mill, which makes its wine in the old malthouse of a brewery built in 1853, also has a small •adjacent cafe and was represented by a very palatable ’BB riesling. The Hunter’s contingent, headed by Jane Hunter, who was recently described by the London “Saturday Express” as “a star of New Zealand wine,” were smartly attired in boaters. There were no idle hands as the Festival Francs were exchanged for samples of the ’BB wines, the popular Breidecker and muller thurgau, the fresh and crisp sauvignon blanc, a Rhine riesling with great potential and a smoothly finished Spring Creek Estate red. In the Merlen Wines tent, Almuth Lorenz was her usual effervescent sell', in spite of a game leg., as she and her helpers filled glasses of the ’BB vintage wines, the star of the show being the Chardonnay, a big buttery wine with great potential, with gewurztraminer and Rhine riesling not far behind. Then followed an array of wines from Montana and Penfolds, 25 in all and too many, to enumerate in this column. Of particular enjoyment, however, was the Montana Marlborough range, the rich and smooth ’B6 cabernet sauvignon, the fully fruited, nicely balanced Chardonnay with its lasting finish; the ’BB Rhine riesling showing all the earmarks of honeyed development with time and, of course, the ’BB sauvignon blanc, fresh, herbaceous and palate cleansing.

Two fume blancs also had great attraction, Brancott Estate and Penfolds Ne Plus Ultra, beautifully balanced oak and fruit with a crisp and lingering finish. The Penfolds Ne Plus .Ultra gewurztraminer, an attractively floral wine had very definite appeal and the Ne Plus Ultra late picked Rhine riesling, with its intense raisiny fruit, ranks as one of the best dessert wines now available. Not to be overlooked in the more economical wines are the Beaver Station classic dry white and classic dry red. These are sound, well made wines which should be enjoyed for what they are, reasonably priced quaffers. Alan and Joyce Hogan of Te Whare Ra were kept busy sampling their ’BB range. A little concerned that, with the reputation he has gained for his botrytised riesling, he may be typed as the producer of only sweet wines, Alan was keen to gain acceptance as a quality varietal winemaker. He did this admirably' with his ’B6 and ’B7 chardonnays. High in aicohol at over 13 per cent, they displayed very ripe fruit and good balance of oak, both very palatable wines, with the ’B7 still to undergo some rounding out with maturity, but with excellent potential. His riesling and gewurztraminer are also of a very high level. But it was a food and wirje festival and drinking was not the only attraction. Festival Francs also bought a wide variety of foods. I boggled at garlic flavoured ice cream, but it was there if anyone ' wanted it. There was homestyle bread, Marlborough milk and cheese, smoked salmon, mussels, Bush’s honey, pizzas and some of the wine stalls also promoted associated foods — Hunter’s wines with Riverlands meat, Merlen wines with German foods, and so on. In the food marquee, four of the country’s top chefs were brought together to demonstrate . simple, but effective, recipes developed by the well known food writer, Jan Bilton. Charles Novelle, executive chef of the Park Royal, Christchurch, took only a few minutes to demonstrate a taste teasing recipe using fresh salmon and vegetables. Hennie Silleman, . of Manuels, Taupo, food consultant to the Fortex Group and manager of the gold award New Zealand Master Chefs team to Frankfurt, demonstrated a poached beef recipe using Riverlands beef which, told, is supplied to 150 restaurants around the country. Greg Heffernan, of Huka Lodge, Taupo, produced a fascinating collation of marinated summer berry fruits, and Jan Bilton’s creation of aioli (garlic sauce) with marinated salmon and raw venison revealed the mystery of how to make a thick, firm dip from the basics of egg yolks, lemon juice and oil. A bonus was to be able

to taste these delicacies on the way out and detailed recipe sheets. But, here I am, getting ahead of myself. The mood was set for those with a primary interest in wine with one of Kingsley Wood’s now notable wine options evenings at the Sun Country Lodge on the Thursday evening. A full complement of teams and participating onlookers, comprising both buffs and beginners, sipped their way through a formidable range of wines and did their best to answer some very curly questions. ' It was a fun function, with the level of chat and back chat indicating that many of the participants were doing more drinking than sipping, testing Kingsley’s powers of crowd control more than once, but his experience came to the fore. At 9 a.m. the following day, it was. a privilege to be included in a V.I.P. party which toured the wineries. This included a visit to Marlborough Cellars, the new joint venture of Corbans and the prestigious Wolf Blass winery of Australia. It was difficult to believe that the winery, in little more than the framework stage, would be ready to process 1600 tonnes of fruit by the end of February, but we were assured that all was under control. Corbans will process the Wolf Blass portion of the crop of Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc to the finished wine stage and, whether bottled here or in Australia, much of it will find its way to Blass’ export targer, North America. At Hunters, under umbrellas in the sun, we lunched al fresco on barbecued Riverland steak and chicken while savouring the delights of a brilliant ’BB gewurztraminer, the new Classic Dry White, an inspired blend of Rhine riesling, semilion and gewurztraminer and a preview of the ’B7 Chardonnay, yet to be released. Undoubtedly the jewel of the day was dinner at the historic Ugbrooke homestead, graciously hosted by Hugh and Belinda Vavasour, whose forbears accompanied William the Conqueror in his conquest of England in 1066. The name of Vavasour will shortly be included in the Marlborough wine trail through the efforts of a cousin, Peter Vavasour, a modern day pioneer in planting the first vineyard in the Awatere Valley. He will specialise in jred wines, although some white will also be produced and the winery, built last year at a cost of $750,000, will become one of the area’s showplaces. So now it is back to the humdrum of everyday routine and I am left with a feeling of admiration for the way in which the whole business community pitched in to make the 1989 Wine, and Food Fes? tival the undoubted, success that it was. . ’ If it sounds like fun, it was, but although it was a strain on the constitution, I cannot wait j for next January.