A cork in a screw-top wine world
MARTIN DE RUYTER
OLD-SCHOOL: Dave Glover resolutely sticks to his guns,
thinking outside the square.
Dave Glover is one of those characters who add soul to the wine industry.
As the rest of New Zealand has moved to screwcap closures, Dave is sticking with corks because they affect the way the wine ages, and he likes old wines.
This is one of the reasons his current pinot noir is from the 2004 vintage – he says it has the characters he likes in a pinot and it is ready to drink, so he is prepared to sell it.
This philosophy is also reflected in other aspects of his wine making.
He says there are plenty of good wines on the market, but many are a bit "cookie cutter" and he wants to make something a little different. Running a boutique winery means he gets to play a wee bit.
Take the current release of his Rose Fiamma (flame in Italian, $20). It is from the 2009 vintage – young by Glover standards, but ready to drink.
The wine is made in a method called maceration carbonique, where whole bunches of grapes are dumped into large vats filled with carbon dioxide. The bottom grapes are crushed by the weight of the grapes above them, and fermentation starts naturally.
This develops more carbon dioxide gas, which envelopes the upper layers of uncrushed grapes and blocks air exposure. When fermentation begins in the whole grapes, they begin to ooze more juice.
The result is a wine that is rich, with lovely depth of flavour, but is not sweet.
While I love Dave's attitude of trying to produce something just a little different, there are a couple of downsides.
Firstly, whenever I visit him we spend most of our time sampling trial wines from barrels that are made in small quantities just to see what happens, and all that sampling means I need a sober driver.
The second thing is that I get to taste some great wines (like the 2010 pinot – outstanding!) but can't buy them yet.
The third downside is that with the way we are consuming wine now, we tend to go to the supermarket and purchase by price first, variety second and name third.
Wines like those Dave Glover produces in small quantities don't make it to the supermarket shelf and I think that is a pity.
Dave will say "stuff the supermarkets, if people want my wines they can buy it from me", and there is something in me that likes that attitude.
He can be a stubborn bugger, but he does add colour and soul to a wine industry that many people see as losing some of its soul, particularly in the case of corporate producers.
Ad Feedback By the way, his current release wines are worth the visit to Gardner's Valley.
They are outstanding value, they are not cookie-cutter wines and you are likely to be treated to a couple of samples of yet-to-be-released gems while you are there.
I've been drinking
Monmousseau Cuvee Brut JM Rose – about $25 at Casa del Vino. A sparkling rose from the Touraine region in France, this is not only an elegant dry-style wine, it is packed with flavour. It has a delicate salmon-pink colour, fine mousse, and is bursting with strawberry and raspberry characters. Better than many rose champagnes at a fraction of the price.
Seifried Nelson 2010 Pinot Gris – $18 at the cellar door. Seifried produces some outstanding aromatic wines and with a gold medal tucked in the drawer for this one it is easy to see why they are also very popular. Classic pear and soft spicy aromas with rich stonefruit and spiced quince flavours. A luscious texture and balanced acidity make it a delightful any-time wine. Perfect late on a Sunday afternoon.