Award winemaker's Everest
It can take wineries years, even decades, before they start producing award winning wines, but Tasman winery Blackenbrook has received several national accolades in its first five years of full production. Sally Kidson talks to Daniel and Ursula Schwarzenbach about their boutique winery and its latest head-turning success.
As a winemaker for Appleby winemaker Hermann Seifried, Daniel Schwarzenbach used to sit at wine awards and dream about one day collecting an award for his own wine.
"We thought we would never get there. It was a goal we thought was out of reach," Daniel says at his Tasman winery.
"It was something to strive for, but something I thought maybe my son or daughter might achieve."
"It was like climbing Mt Everest," his wife Ursula adds. "I was really hoping Daniel could go up there at least once in our lifetime."
However, they didn't have to wait that long, and after just five years of producing wine at their Blackenbrook Vineyard - a translation of their family name - the vineyard has received three sought-after awards.
Last year their 2007 sauvingnon blanc received two trophies at significant wine awards.
This year it is their Nelson Reserve pinot gris 2008 which has impressed the judges, winning the prestigious trophy for best pinot gris at the New Zealand International Wine Show in Auckland recently. With 2273 entries, the New Zealand International Wine Show 2008 is the biggest wine competition held in New Zealand, Daniel says.
Other Nelson wineries also did extremely well at the show, with Te Mania's Nelson pinot gris 2008 and Waimea Bolitho SV Nelson pinot gris 2007 winning gold medals.
Seifried's Winemakers Collection 2008 sauvignon blanc also won a gold medal.
Daniel says getting the awards for their sauvignon blanc last year was great, particularly as it showed the variety could be produced well on clay soil. However, he's particularly tickled with the trophy for the pinot gris.
It has been a favourite variety of his for years and he also really wants the winery, and the region, to get a reputation for its aromatic wines.
He's pleased with the success, saying many awards usually go to the bigger wineries with their different vineyard sites and advanced winemaking tools. "We are small and winning these trophies has put us on the map."
Right from the start he knew the pinot gris was going to be "a standout".
The grapes that went into the wine were from a new block of pinot gris, specifically planted on one of the winery's best sites. "The growing conditions were perfect, the picking date was on target, the fruit came in clean."
Daniel says all the factors combined to make the wine making process relatively straightforward.
"Last year the sav stood out and this year the pinot gris stood out.
"I kept going home at the end of the day saying we've got a stunning pinot gris this year."
Recognising the quality of the wine the couple decided to release it as a reserve and not blend it. Only about 1000 bottles have been produced, which retail for about $30 a bottle.
Daniel says because the award-winning wine has a slightly higher residual sugar content, the reserve pinot gris is a sweeter pinot gris than the other Blackenbrook's pinot gris.
Because of this it is not really a food wine, but one more suited as an aperitif consumed al fresco with a nice pate or cheese or paired with dessert.
"It's a stylish, finely poised wine with fragrant rich aromas of stone fruit, pears and spice."
The couple say owning a vineyard had been their passion since they met in Switzerland in 1996.
Daniel, who is in charge of the vineyard, nursery and winemaker at the winery, emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1975. And after a career as a senior medical laboratory technologist decided to change direction, becoming a winemaker in 1993.
He's worked with some well known winemakers in Europe, including working at Weingut Hirsch in Austria and at Fromm Winery in Switzerland which is renowned for its pinot noir and gewurtztraminer.
He has also worked as a cellar hand at the famous Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace.
On returning to New Zealand he was chief winemaker at Seifrieds.
Daniel says while they worked at Seifrieds he and Ursula, who is responsible for sales and marketing of the winery and is also from Switzerland, scoured the Nelson countryside looking for land suitable for a winery.
They eventually bought their 14ha Tasman block, and in winter 2000 started a grape nursery business which did well, selling vines to many Nelson vineyards.
In 2001 Daniel resigned to focus on the vineyard.
He says his hand's on focus - which allows him control over the quality of the grapes - is part of their success.
They do pruning, leaf plucking, fruit thinning and grape picking by hand.
He sees himself as a caretaker gently guiding the grapes through the winemaking process.
And what's next for the vineyard?
Daniel says he'd love to make another award-winning pinot gris, but he says you can't plan for that. As a boutique winemaker, you have to wait and see what the season and the fruit turns up. "That's the great thing about winemaking. We've got certain ideas. But we haven't got a recipe, and that's the way it is," he smiles.
COLIN SMITH/Nelson Mail
WINNING WINE: Blackenbrook Vineyard owners Ursula and Daniel Schwarzenbach with their trophy-winning Blackenbrook Reserve Pinot Gris 2008.