It is a gorgeous February afternoon on my Field Trip to the Nelson region, and one of my absolute must-do’s was to make time to see Rosie Finn over at Neudorf, in the Moutere sub-region. She’s a busy lady, and it is only ten days since the big Pinot Conference in Christchurch, but she’s found an hour in the middle of the day to sit and have a chat with me. It’s hard to think of anyone with more enthusiasm for New Zealand wine than Rosie, who grew up on this famous property.
WineFolio: Having seen photos of you being quite small, in the vineyard – is this something that you wanted to do, or did you go off wanting to do something completely different?
Rosie Finn: Well, I didn’t get dragged back at all. I certainly went and did my own thing. I studied for four years and lived in London for the better part of three years. Definitely took my own pathway to get into the Wine Industry. Which is great, because if there had been any pressure, I certainly wouldn’t have done it. Guaranteed. I don’t handle that well (laughs). Neither Mum or Dad put any pressure on me. I just fell in love with it, and wanted to be a part of it.
I remember when I rang Jude from the UK and said “I don’t know when, but at some point I’ll come back, if you’ll have me” And then Mum made me apply for the job with a CV, which I totally respect and appreciate.
WF: Is there anything else that you feel you’d have liked to do?
RF: There’s lots of things. I mean I loved my degree – I did design and majored in Photography, at Massey, in Wellington. I got a job in a wine bar though and fell in love with the industry. I love people, and working with people. I loved Photography in that you worked with stylists, make-up artists, designers and editors. And in the wine industry you still get to work with so many people.
WF: I studied design and did a lot of Photography. Had a long chat with Kevin Judd at Greywacke about our love of photography.
WF: What’s the best time of the year in wine? Is it the quiet times, or the really busy times?
RF: There’s a certain magic in the air over Vintage. I used to fly home from Uni in the holidays to be around for harvest. Everyone has worked so hard for a year and it is a real team-building thing. All the late nights and early starts and tough days, and big days, and long days. I love how everyone comes together no matter what. I’ve seen our old General Manager picking – friends, neighbours… everyone chips in. I love that energy around Harvest.
I do love October when I get to release the previous year’s Chardonnays. I love being able to travel in May and October. I have a certain love affair with London from living there, and two of my best, best friends live in London. I do trade visits and meet with agents as well.
WF: Is your focus getting on good restaurant lists?
RF: The time I spend with our Sales reps anywhere in the world, and those relationships, are really important. They are out there talking about Neudorf when I can’t be.
WF: I visited London again last year and although I love living in New Zealand, and have lived here for over twenty years – I do think that I could spend more time somewhere like that.
RF: Between London and New York – they are both international capitals of Gastronomy, so if you’re in the wine industry how could you not fall in love with cities like that.
WF: What is Neudorf focussing on right now? I think of you as being well known for certain things, but are you trying to bring up Albariño in the mix as well?
RF: There’s no being complacent. We’re always looking for new and better ways to do things. That might be more environmentally sound, or just the constant room for improvements. For anybody in this industry. I don’t think anybody would say that they’re perfect.
For wines, we love making Albariño. There’s four Chardonnays in the mix – three of which are single vineyard, and each very much have their place. Pinot Noir of course, which is the wine we’re celebrating this month. There’s a lot happening. We have the Amphora Chardonnay – which is one that you had liked wasn’t it? – Let’s try a taste of that whilst we talk.
WF: What is your role here?
RF: My official title is Director of Sales and Marketing, but I prefer International Cheerleader.
WF: Could you make wine?
RF: No. (laughs)
WF: In the vineyard – any great skills there?
RF: I understand all the elements, but I don’t ever pretend to be a viticulturist, or winemaker. Todd and Stef are absolutely instrumental to the business. They know that I couldn’t be, or don’t want to be. So we each really appreciate each other in the roles. Todd is also our GM and he’s very intrigued by Strategy and Marketing, so I’m lucky that I have a winemaker to work with who really understands the importance of it. We both have vital roles within the business.
WF: What challenges to the world of wine do you worry about?
RF: Oh, the climate, absolutely. They’re making brilliant wines in Britain, which is fantastic but concerning. Anyone who works in agriculture will tell you that Climate Change is the biggest risk to all our businesses.
WF: I was asked that question, and I said the same as you. But I was reminded that there is also a huge threat to wine from people not drinking. Whether that is neo-prohibitionists, or religious beliefs, or just that “Alcohol is bad”.
RF: Yes. I don’t to spend the whole interview telling you how bad everything is (laughs) but of course there are tough elements to all parts of the industry. I think people are drinking less but more considered, which is a good thing. The way people are drinking is changing and we’re seeing that everywhere. New generations are drinking differently. I haven’t seen a blanket on ‘no drinking’ but I see people who are more interested in what they’re drinking. How people are making wine is more important to younger people than it has been to previous generations.
New Zealand does so many varietals so well, and although a lot of it is Sauvignon Blanc. The entire New Zealand industry, whether you make Sauvignon or not – we stopped doing ours – should have gratitude to Marlborough for the work that has been done to brand New Zealand wine globally. On Monday we showed the visiting journalists a run of Nelson Sauvignon and there’s a real interest.
And you’ve got the likes of Section 94 from Dog Point, or Wild Sauvignon from Greywacke. Or Te Whare Ra and Clos Henri – that’s four brands from Marlborough that are doing really interesting things with Sauvignon. At some point trends change, but New Zealand has been working away on other varietals like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Albariño and Syrah. What Sauvignon has done is create interest for all these other varietals that are up and coming.
WF: I really like the diversity of new labels and styles coming through.
RF: It’s happening everywhere. Nigel Greening was talking at Pinot about how we need to be inclusive and celebrate everybody in the industry. My thing about wine is that it is not a health tonic. It is not good for you or will make you sleep better. The only reason people drink wine is for joy. I think everyone should be included and welcomed. Inclusivity is so important. How lucky are we that someone wants to take time out of their day to enjoy something that we love to make.
WF: That’s lovely and very well put.
RF: For me that’s key. In terms of trends outside there is certainly interest in Albariño. We love to make it – a great wine. 2024 is our tenth vintage, and I think we planted the vines 13 years ago. There’s a fruit concentration that we see but I love it when you still get that saline note, which I think is so vital to the varietal. Whether or not that was an Old World trait, but the fact that we’re seeing it through the New Zealand wines – that briny note. I described ours as a “Dirty Martini drinkers” wine. It’s good to see it in local examples, that is so famously noted in Spanish wines.
WF: Are there other things that you would like Neudorf to do?
RF: We took out the Gewürz and I think that was when those styles were very sweet and fruit-forward, and now I think there are some really interesting examples of Gewürz. It only lasted about three years when Tim and Jude first planted it. Maybe Gewürz would be interesting to look back at. The joy of the industry though is that nothing’s the same. It’s a joy to drink other people’s wines.
WF: What sort of things would you benchmark Neudorf against?
RF: I wouldn’t mark it as benchmarking, but there’s a real appreciation for what other people are doing. For example, we’re very good friends with Kumeu River and love drinking each other’s wines, and I think they would say the same about us. You’re constantly looking at what is happening, and we really like looking at quite random things in the New Zealand wine industry. That’s why we love the industry so much because there’s always something interesting happening. I do love tasting Chardonnay and Pinots from across the country. All the sub-regions and the little winemaking differences are unique.
WF: I love it when something unexpected crosses your path – like McLaren Vale Grenache – and your head turns, and you think ‘I’m not sure I knew about that’.
RF: Exactly. Perhaps if there was no ceiling and no budget and you could have grapes available to you within a year. Those kind of things all make a difference. But the problem is that the ‘business side’ of me says ‘well anything you plant is going to be four years before you really understand it’.
WF: I’ve heard people say that it takes ten years to really get to know the vineyard.
RF: One of the joys of seeing the New Zealand wine industry change over the last twenty years, is that confidence in our sites now. People are really trusting in their sites. We know how the Moutere soils work, and we know the nuances of Rosie’s Block. It’s about celebrating that as opposed to trying to fiddle around too much.
WF: And it’s not just vine age. It’s people age as well – experience. And those two things together. People who are in tune with their land and still want to learn.
RF: Absolutely. I mean, 2025 will be our 44th vintage on site, so there’s a lot of knowledge in that. Todd has been our Head Winemaker since 2012. He blended 2012 and made 2013. I think that real depth and understanding of your site and your style is something to celebrate.
WF: Do you see big differences across this region? Is it very sub-regional?
RF: We even see very big differences between here and Rosie’s Block which is only a kilometre away. I think a lot of that is to do with vine age. Rosie’s has a bit more sandy loam to clay than what we have here, which is clay to sandy loam. This is 100% Mendoza down here, and planted in 1978. Dry farmed for 40 years so their roots are really deep. The Home Block and Rosie’s Block have their own individual styles, and there’s not a lot of change in the winemaking or viticulture. However, Nelson has this lovely afternoon sea breeze, maritime, cool climate style to celebrate in Chardonnay, which I think is exciting.
WF: Outside of the business what do you do to relax – if you have a day off?
RF: I have a three-year old (laughs). But I do a lot of fishing and scuba diving, and we go out on our boat as much as we can. I’m a water baby, so that’s my relaxing. We have an amazing group of friends around us who are all at a similar stage and age. And we love to cook. It’s very much our ritual. We both work full-time and we have a little boy, so for us cooking is a really important part of the day. Nelson is a pretty great place to live for culinary reasons.
WF: I’m as interested in food as I am in wine. The flavours of things.
RF: I don’t know if you could do one without being interested in the other. It’s just flavour right – like you said? Whether it is wine, beer, a really good gin or a delicious meal. I don’t think you could say ‘I’m just interested in this singular aspect of flavour but nothing else’. I love finding a good food and wine match.
We’re really lucky in our jobs and we forget that. We know what to expect from a Wairarapa Pinot Noir from a particular vintage. Or a Hungarian Bull’s Blood wine. We’re so lucky that we have that knowledge. But that’s part of the job, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about accounting software, for example.
WF: Most people don’t know what an orange wine is, or they think that rosé must be a grape varietal.
RF: Yes, why wouldn’t they think that? They just enjoy drinking it. It is on us to welcome those who want to know more but also just let people enjoy… I mean I don’t need to know how my accounting software is coded, I just know it works.
WF: What do you think of people like myself who comment, review, tell the stories of the local wines? On some days I do wonder if it matters?
RF: I like that people celebrate what we’re doing. I have the utmost respect for MWs across the globe, and for locals like Stephen Wong, Emma Jenkins and Jane Skilton who write with such ‘joie de vivre’. Every voice is relevant. Especially today with social media – everyone can have a voice, and if someone’s going to listen to that, then that’s fantastic.
WF: I’ve got some new questions that I’m trialling, so stand by – these have nothing to do with wine! (laughing). What’s the last song you found yourself singing non-stop?
RF: Probably ‘My Fun’ by Suki Waterhouse. Or ‘Pink Pony Club’ by Chappell Roan. Those are both pop songs that I love to sing in the car and my child loves to sing them too. And I’ve recently introduced him to rap music, and we’ve both been going quite hard on ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem. Freddy loves the speed.
WF: And, I always finish an interview with this question…who would you like to share a glass of your wine with?
RF: Ummm. Is that a ‘living or dead’ type question? I’ve got too many names swirling round in my head. My best friends – whether they live 10 mins away or the other side of the world. The guy I was just talking to when you got here – he was one of my bridesmaids last year, and he lives in Oslo. He’s home for two weeks. Melanie Brown, obviously. Mum too. Friends who are no longer with us and the ones I am lucky enough to see all the time. I would most like to share a glass of wine with those that make me laugh. This comes back, again – the question is about joy.
