The tragedy of disappearing vineyards

Wine with Deborah Walton and Peter Morice

Towards the end of August Marlborough was inundated by rain for the second time in as many weeks.

The double deluge resulted in some of local grape growers being confronted by the devastating sight of disappearing vineyards. The Omaka River was particularly voracious, changing its course and changing people's lives.

For many people who have moved into the province within the last decade, such a big rainfall would have come as a surprise; Marlborough's climate is largely benign and we suspect that many relative newcomers would look at the Fairhall diversion and wonder why it was so capacious.

The big floods of 1983 are a distant memory that's fading fast. The last "big rain" of 1998 is a decade ago and we're all accustomed to the sight of a dry, dusty Omaka riverbed.

We don't think you can blame people who know no different from buying land and developing it to its fullest potential.

Yes, people planted on flood plain much of the best grape land is flood plain, and yes, maybe they planted too close to old river channels.

When the floods arrived, these landowners, many of whom probably have big mortgages and have invested not just money, but time and a huge amount of effort, saw some of their dream disappear.

While they were counting the emotional and financial cost, the great beat-up was getting under way through the Letters to the Editor in The Marlborough Express.

For some reason grape growers are seen as different by some sectors of our community; unworthy of understanding or support when things go wrong.

Reports in The Marlborough Express tell us these people are prepared to pay for increased flood protection, so there isn't any reneging on responsibilities.

Grape growers are just farmers, they have families, they have aspirations they are also courageous, taking a calculated risk by buying marginal land and turning it into something viable.

Vicious attacks on their misfortune seem highly inappropriate and do little to foster any sense of community spirit.

What these writers seem to forget is that the grape-growing industry has helped buffer Marlborough against the recession New Zealand is currently experiencing and has helped create a far more vibrant province than existed some 30 odd years ago.

Yet the naysayers persist.

Yes, there are lessons to be learned natural channels and old waterways need to be respected and shouldn't be tampered with, but all people learn by their mistakes, even those who, by the tone of their letters, have never made mistakes.

They say the pen in mightier that the sword.

We suggest the pen is mightier than the boot and these letter writers are simply kicking hard-working people while they're down.

That's very poor sportsmanship.

There's one thing that will never grow successfully in Marlborough tall poppies.

This week's wine picks:

Trapiche Argentinean Malbec 2005

This wine will appeal from the moment it's poured due to its deep dark cherry-red hue highlighted by flashes of purple.

Aroma: Tobacco, shoe polish, smoke and old plums are the predominant aromas. Given a vigorous swirl the wine becomes richer and fruitier but only briefly. Plums and sweet perfumed notes become more pronounced after time in the glass.

Taste: This wine coats the mouth with sweet cherry and chocolate flavours. The gentle acids that tingle at the back of the palate are teamed with soft, fine tannins. This is a rich, delectable "drink now" wine that oozes charm. Medium to heavy bodied, fruity and delivering a tobacco-leaf taste at the back of the palate, our only negative comment was that the aftertaste was not long enough.

This said, the wine is still more-ish because the finish is sweet and fruity while the modest aftertaste leaves a slight dustiness in its wake.

Price: We love this wine; it's widely available and great value at around $13.40.

Trapiche Argentinean Oak Cask Malbec 05

Unlike the previous wine, this one is under cork and presented in a lovely bottle quite weighty and a lovely shape. Once again, we poured an inky wine of deep, dark, intense red that coats the glass on the swirl.

Aroma: Toasty oak, plums and dark berry fruit teamed with a shortcake and vanilla whiff. Given a good swirl the wine becomes jammy, the smell of sweet strawberries teamed with the smell of coir matting.

Taste: Yummy! A leafy taste complements the "old plum" fruitiness and there're some firm tannins providing real grunt in this one. Richer, weightier, heavier than the previous example, this wine has greater length of palate and isn't so lipsmackingly sweet. Those lovely leafy, mushroom and earth flavours come through to provide greater complexity. This is altogether a more interesting beast delivering excellent fruit intensity; a really rewarding and interesting wine.

Price: $15.30 and, once again, widely available.