This revolution is for YOU

By Courteney Peters. 2012-4-18 9:41:41

Meet Byron Henry, the man behind Revolution Wine Co.

A revolution should never be entered lightly, so it’s lucky that Byron Henry of Revolution Wine Company has been developing his one for years. What’s it all about? Wine, of course. But more than that; it’s about culture and attitude and approachability.

Having spent years working as a wine distributor, Byron felt that the oft-celebrated New Zealand wine industry was stagnating a little. He wanted to explore different ways to make wine more accessible and less pretentious for regular people like me (and you?).

Byron toyed with the idea of reviving the cask, but the connotations of poor quality ‘goon bags’ seemed too heavy to shrug off. Byron wasn’t interested in encouraging drinking in excess, he just wanted wine to play more of an enjoyable role in our lives. He wanted his wine to be something that was appreciated, but also affordable. Something to share with friends and food, not guzzled on a Saturday night at BYO restaurants all over town.

This is about more than simply changing our attitude to drinking though, it’s about our attitude to dining too – which is a change that has already begun. In the past year casual dining has taken off in Auckland; with wonderful restaurants like Depot, Coco’s Cantina, Everybody’s and Ima really showing their worth. They offer food of incredible quality within a bustling, friendly environment. It’s dining out that need not result in a heartbroken bank account.

Now we just need the wine to match that experience.

This might not sound all that revolutionary, but it does require a serious paradigm shift if you look at our drinking culture. New world wine-drinkers (despite being proud of the international success of our wine industry) still can’t really justify cracking into a bottle of award-winning Central Otago Pinot Noir on a casual Wednesday night in. We tend to get either cheap and nasty, or delightfully expensive wine. There's no middle ground. Well, until now.

In Europe, affordable, drinkable wine that’s paired with casual evening meals is common, almost essential. In fact, most French people classify wine as a food. They call it Vin de Table. It often comes from the Languedoc region in the South of France, but there’s no real equivalent to it on this side of the world.

A couple of years ago in Berlin, Byron found himself at a casual pizza place with a few friends. They ordered delicious pizzas and wanted wine to match. The waitress handed Byron an empty carafe and gestured toward a glass keg, suggesting he fill it up himself. This was his first encounter with wine on tap.

Byron loved the idea; so upon returning to New Zealand he began testing it with high-grade stainless steel kegs. He developed two wine blends using low yield grapes from Waipara – a Pinot Noir and a Sauvignon Blanc – and he’s pretty stoked with what he’s ended up with. It’s New Zealand’s answer to Vin de Table.

So where can you find it? Currently Revolution Wines are on tap at bustling new restaurant Mexico in Britomart, and soon to be found at Barrio up on Ponsonby Road. But this is just the beginning. Byron has a pretty serious future planned for his new approachable class of wine, including the revival of wine cocktails; a few of which we were lucky enough to try last Sunday at the official launch of Revolution Wine Co.

Imagine this: MONIN blackberry and sweet and sour syrups (all the way from France) combined with Revolution Pinot Noir, Lime Juice and Vodka.

It’s sweet and refreshing and it’ll sell for around $10 – much cheaper than your average cocktail.

Of course there will be wine purists who aren’t automatic fans of wine on tap. Or wine cocktails. You might be one of them, and that’s fine. Change is hard. But the New Zealand wine industry is no stranger to innovation, after all, we were early adopters of the hugely successful screw cap. People didn’t like them for a while, either.

Do you know what else is good about this particular wine revolution? It offers a sustainable approach to drinking wine (and that’s Gen Y’s favourite word…). Rather than recycling heavy glass wine bottles; Byron's stainless steel kegs can be cleaned and re-used. Whatever your opinion on global warming, you can’t deny that we live in a densely populated, consumer-crazy world, so any business that’s interested in minimising waste is not only doing the right thing, it’s doing the essential thing.

If you haven’t been to Mexico yet, I’d suggest heading down there soon (and ordering one of their lovely soft shell tacos). While you’re there, try some of Byron’s wine for yourself. Join the revolution.

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