{"id":2862,"date":"2021-02-03T04:34:44","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T04:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/winefolio.co.nz\/?p=2862"},"modified":"2021-02-03T04:47:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T04:47:18","slug":"winemaker-series-miles-dineen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winefolio.co.nz\/?p=2862","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker series: Miles Dineen"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I\u2019m down in Wairarapa after my latest stint in Hawke\u2019s Bay \u2013 driving down through the beautiful region on my way to Martinborough further south. First stop is at Matahiwi<\/strong>, which I know from a couple of beautiful Pinots a year or two ago, but not too much else. Today I\u2019m meeting winemaker Miles Dineen<\/strong>, and we catch up, over a few bottles to taste, at the winery just north of Masterton.<\/p>

Miles Dineen<\/strong>: The Wairarapa \u2013 we were doing Pinot before Central Otago, and then I guess we went behind for a bit? But it\u2019s interesting now because Martinborough is just booming. Even with just domestic tourism \u2013 I think it\u2019s becoming the new Waiheke Island. It always was for Wellingtonians, but now for Aucklanders flying down and just going over the hill, get some Pinot.<\/p>

Wine Folio<\/strong>: And now with Craggy Range in the region \u2013 everything just rises?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: And Sauvignon as well \u2013 that\u2019s good for the Wairarapa, to have more Savvy. And Foley as well \u2013 they\u2019re building something. If Craggy did what they\u2019ve done in Hawke\u2019s Bay, that would be amazing \u2026and Palliser are opening up their restaurant. It\u2019s quite exciting really. We\u2019re kind of the north of the Wairarapa wine region \u2013 everyone\u2019s on the same river valley, and we were the first place to be planted, back in 1890s, and one of the first places to plant Pinot in the country. Then you\u2019ve got the Gladstone cluster about halfway down before you get to Martinborough.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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WF<\/strong>: What is it about Wairarapa that makes it special?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: It\u2019s Pinot country. Pinot and Sauvignon. I spent most of my career up in Hawke\u2019s Bay and just moved here about three years ago. The cool climate here is the difference. Across New Zealand you\u2019ll find soils that are good for vineyards \u2013 alluvial soils over boulders and gravels. We have warmish days but cool nights so you keep the freshness and vibrancy, and don\u2019t cook out the aromatics. And don\u2019t get that too rapid a ripening where the wines just sort of blow out. Working with Pinot Gris in Hawke\u2019s Bay you have to watch it because it can get over-ripe just like that \u2013 if you get a warm week. Whereas here even if you get a hot day you\u2019ll have a cool night, so it\u2019s a slower, longer ripening.<\/p>

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With Sauvignon we get more herbal characters here than in the Bay. It\u2019s really recognisable Kiwi Sauvignon with that fresh acidity, nice and ripe with passionfruit and all that stuff, but without that real green bellpepper note. Just a fraction riper. It can go neutral so easily. One of the reasons that New Zealand Sauvignon is so stand-out is that in warmer places you can lose all that character in a couple of hot days. We have a similar temperature profile to Blenheim, not too different.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: I don\u2019t know too much about how wine is made \u2013 I approach it very much from a consumer point of view.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: Well if you get the fruit right, then you can step out of the way to a certain extent. And the fruit is right there, so you can taste, keep an eye on when to pick. Keep an eye on the weather and then it\u2019s your decision when to get it in. We\u2019ve been doing well from the critics and shows \u2013 lots of gold medals and 90-something reviews.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: (looking at the plaques and certificates from shows) Ooooh, China loves you! Is that a big thing for you?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: It\u2019s not huge, but it\u2019s a growing market. There\u2019s not all that many wine shows left in New Zealand now.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: I worked the Easter Show and the New Zealand International Wine Show as well this year. That was close to being able to go ahead \u2013 with COVID-19 restrictions, and became almost the last man standing. Did you have to make many adjustments as a result of Coronavirus?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: It was pretty good for us. Luckily our crew, including two young winemakers arrived from overseas\u2026 one from Italy on the day they stopped people from Italy coming in. They quarantined for a couple of weeks, then could join in. It was bloody good being able to work. We had our crew here and probably one result was we couldn\u2019t do as much hand-picking in the vineyard this year.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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WF<\/strong>: What would you describe as your main varieties you focus on?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are the two main drivers of the business obviously but we\u2019ve got some Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and we make bubbles. The wines we make are very much kiwi wines. If you say \u2018fruit forward\u2019 I think that\u2019s become something of a generalisation for kiwi wines. The fruit is very vibrant and recognisable, so it\u2019s kind of true I guess.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: I think it\u2019s a European perspective on our wines. Have you worked overseas?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: I\u2019ve worked in California. All the fermentation techniques we use are French, all the yeast selections come from France. All the oak \u2013 every product, and there are catalogues full of them \u2013 all comes from Europe. In that sense we\u2019re all doing the same thing. If they wanted to make fruity, aromatic style of Sauvignon Blanc in France, they can do it. It would taste different from a Marlborough one because the fruit\u2019s different, but it\u2019s using similar techniques.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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WF<\/strong>: Do you think things like technology has helped the modern New Zealand wine industry get good quite quickly?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: Yes, all the things like selected yeasts, understanding of refrigeration, science, and microbiology. Spoilage faults \u2013 you just don\u2019t see faulty wines like you used to even 15 years ago. Brett is very rare now \u2013 people are more aware of it now, and they don\u2019t let it happen, and if it does, you can get a machine to take it out basically.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: And do you, with the \u2018winemaker\u2019 title \u2013 do you see yourself as the \u2018creative\u2019 one?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: It\u2019s like cooking, except you only get to cook a few dishes each year. There\u2019s quite a lot of technology available but everything you do is how you wanted it to be. On a site like this, and in most boutique vineyards in New Zealand, what your site gives you is what you\u2019re making. If I came here and said \u201cI want to make an Otago style Pinot with that big, dark purple colour and bold fruit\u201d then you couldn\u2019t do it. You\u2019re not going to be able to harvest that, so what you do is no different from your winemaker in Burgundy where they\u2019ve learnt \u2013 you make a wine of that site.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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You can mess with it all you want, but it\u2019s still going to taste of that site \u2013 that area. If you\u2019re making a blend from multiple sites, you can grab a more consistent style. A big company that wants the wines to taste kind-of the same each year. You pick at medium ripeness every year and take your blending options. But if you\u2019re on a single site like here, you can even tell a Masterton wine from a Martinborough wine.<\/p>

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A lot of young winemakers come here from French, Germany, Italy and they like the freedom when they come over here. Winemaking rules are basically the same, reference keeping is the same, but it\u2019s that sense of creative freedom. A lot of people are protecting their reputations \u2013 whether that\u2019s 200 years or 800 years.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Interesting. I like some of the New Zealand labels that you might think are \u2018established\u2019 but are still exploring. They could just bang out the same old \u2018reserve\u2019 wines that won them medals, but they\u2019re not. I think that attitude sums up New Zealand wine.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: No, not too many people here doing that. New Zealand have still got the highest average bottle price point in the world. A lot of that is Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and when you see how cheap wine is in Europe \u2013 with the subsidies \u2013 you can understand that. So that\u2019s thought of here as \u2018cheap\u2019 wine but it\u2019s actually quite expensive to make compared to most countries. But we\u2019ve never had a big presence above that, so you can see some of that coming through now. When Montana bought Church Road for example, their intention was to take on the world with a great Bordeaux style red; and now those things are happening, with a bit of marketing muscle behind it. Which is good. I mean Napa did it \u2013 was just farm country and now it\u2019s high-end wine. There\u2019s no reason why we can\u2019t be hitting those spots with Bordeaux style reds and Syrah in Hawke\u2019s Bay, and Pinot for the rest of the country.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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WF<\/strong>: Are there any varietals that you personally would like to play around with?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: There\u2019s lots of things. Chenin. We\u2019ve got no Riesling here but I guess it\u2019s a hard sell isn\u2019t it \u2013 Riesling. Maybe the public don\u2019t like the taste of malic acid, don\u2019t like Granny Smith apples enough.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: A lot of people say \u2018Nebbiolo\u2019 when I ask that question \u2013 I hear it over and over.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: There\u2019s so little of it grown anywhere. Winemakers love Riesling because there\u2019s so many ways you can make it. Bone dry to sweet.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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If we were to plant more of something here, we could definitely sell a lot more Chardonnay. I made a tawny port up in Hawke\u2019s Bay \u2013 it used to be huge in Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Sparkling?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: We make a sparkling here – we\u2019ll try some. When I came down here and saw all this Pinot I thought l\u2019d make some pink bubbles. Already make a Blanc de Blancs, so do a pink sparkling too.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Alaistar Scott set this place up and he\u2019s still the owner \u2013 bought the site, planted It back in the late \u201890s and built the winery from scratch in \u201903. Jane Cooper was the winemaker for the first 20 years, and she still makes the \u2018Ohau\u2019 wines here. This was a state of the art winery for that era. Got the mix right as far as Pinot Noir \u2013 and roughly every clone that was available at the time. And then Sauvignon as it was an export-focussed business for a long time. We\u2019ve got a bit of Chardonnay here which does really well, and it makes a change from Hawke\u2019s Bay Chardonnay as it\u2019s a really different fruit profile from this cooler site. And Pinot Gris which I think works way better here than in Hawke\u2019s Bay in my opinion. Keeps a much lower pH and keeps the acidity better \u2013 which is why I like Otago Pinot Gris as well. You get those ripe flavours but you keep that acid and lower pH.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: And anything other than winemaking that you would like to do? Any advice for your younger self \u2013 you know \u2018really stick with the accounting\u2019?<\/p>

MD<\/strong>:\u00a0 Grew up on a sheep and beef farm, then travelled, did allsorts of stuff overseas, then came back here in my late 20s. A History degree was my first degree, but I met someone at a party in Northland who worked in the wine industry and they said they thought wine would be perfect for me \u2013 growing stuff, history, and the culture of wine. Haven\u2019t really looked back. You\u2019ve got to do a vintage before you get into it \u2013 the smell of yeast and fermenting stuff either gets you, or not.<\/p>

Matahiwi has basically got three tiers. The ME range which is around 20 dollars. Matahiwi is Estate level, so that\u2019s the original label and main export label. Then the Holly, which is the Reserve, named after Alastair\u2019s daughter. The child that did the most work in the vineyard I think, so got the wine named after her! And since I\u2019ve been here we\u2019ve brought out this (the South Series) which is stylistically different and at a higher price point. They are all off this vineyard, but the top tier is a barrel selection and has more whole bunch in it. For the whites we do get a bit of Hawke\u2019s Bay fruit in because there\u2019s almost no Chardonnay planted in Wairarapa.<\/p>

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For our blanc de blancs we get fruit from Crownthorpe where it\u2019s a bit cooler, picked on about 1st<\/sup>\u00a0of March. The secondary fermentation is Charmat which suits better a fruit-driven style. For the fruit-driven style I think it makes it better than Methode. We make the base wine here, fermented dry, leave it on lees until it\u2019s ready to go. Then up to WineWorks in Hawke\u2019s Bay who have put in a Charmat plant there, which is a big pressure tank. The difference between Charmat and Methode is that it\u2019s in a tank and then bottled under pressure, rather than in the bottle itself. Cost-wise it\u2019s a lot less than Methode.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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When WineWorks put that plant in a while ago, it really opened up for all the small clients to be able to make the sparkling. They\u2019ve got bigger clients too. This is $25 and it goes really well. People are happy to have choices as you see a whole lot more diversity rather than those mainstream brands who have traditionally been there. Think how popular Prosecco has become and that\u2019s made the same way basically. It\u2019s gone really well for us, we sell a lot.\u00a0<\/p>

Then we do one that is 70% Pinot and 30% Chardonnay \u2013 off this vineyard. So that was a Hawke\u2019s Bay wine and this is a Wairarapa wine. I made sparkling wine bases years ago when I was a Cellar Hand, and I really wanted to make bubbles again. This has got a little bit of Reserve wine from the year before, held in a barrel on full lees, so you got a bit more autolyic complexity, but still quite fruit driven. This is a great place to grow grapes for sparkling.<\/p>

(three more wines are poured \u2013 ros\u00e9, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc)<\/em><\/p>

This rose has been a double gold for us. 10\/5 picked just out there \u2013 we marked off a block specifically for rose and left a little bit more leaf on. Keep the freshness, the acidity as we don\u2019t need super dark skins. And then picking quite a bit earlier than for Pinot Noir. A lot of rose winemaking, all around the world, is all about the colour. This thing about the \u2018right provencal colour\u2019 that you want. This is machine harvested, put in the press, into a tank and fermented. That colour is what we got\u2026I\u2019m not chasing the trendy colour. Lovely fruit and it just jumps out the glass. People love it and we\u2019re sold out \u2013 good problem to have.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: It\u2019s a nice bright wine isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s blown off now, but there was just a little bit of funkiness in it when it was first poured.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: There\u2019s a little bit \u2013 possibly about 5% that was saignee, drained off Pinot tanks. You\u2019re very astute to pick that up \u2013 that portion was fermented warmer, so more like a Chablis-style ferment. That portion had really quite a viscose body. Most of it was tank fermented \u2013 clean, linear.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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This is our Pinot Gris – it\u2019s from our North Block over there. The Gris has that freshness, so you keep the acidity. Nice pear drop, spicy.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Hmm, that\u2019s not really grabbing me I have to say. It\u2019s a bit lean and mean.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: Not the big unctuous style. Used to make it like that in Hawke\u2019s Bay \u2013 that higher pH, richer, lower acid style. Pinot Gris can be polarising \u2013 you\u2019ve got to follow a producer. Jane makes some great Pinot Gris here, from Ohau and they are always way sweeter than I make it, with more full-on aromatics. I prefer to go leaner \u2013 more Pinot Grigio-ish. Lower pH and I like that freshness. That\u2019s how I like it and it sells!<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: This on the other hand is very me! That\u2019s delicious. I just walked out of Lime Rock with a 2005 Sauvignon Blanc! Excellent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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MD<\/strong>: And who says Sauvignon Blanc doesn\u2019t age?<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Not me, I love them with a bit of age on them. I think sauvignon Blanc is an awesome wine \u2013 so much character!<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: It works really well here. Since I\u2019ve been here we\u2019ve had a Gold Medal every year, sell loads. And I think people are really hooking on to the difference between Marlborough and Wairarapa. We\u2019re tiny size-wise but people who like it, \u00a0really like it. A bit less green, riper. It\u2019s also a bit more popular in the States. I wonder if that\u2019s one of the reasons why Craggy are planting more in Te Muna Road. In the States they don\u2019t like methoxypyrazine \u2013 that really green bell pepper flavour. They like it in red wine, but really don\u2019t like it in Sauvignon Blanc. And you can get a slightly higher price point for it as well, in that style, which is good as yields aren\u2019t as high in Wairarapa as in Marlborough. The Sav is the engine of our exports.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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This is our chardonnay. We do make some chardonnay from Hawke\u2019s Bay in the Matahiwi and Holly tiers. This is the Wairarapa one \u2013 it\u2019s just a really small parcel here. Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, straight to barrel and left to do its thing. Here, because of the acidity, you can go full malo and still get that nice freshness on the palate. Coming down here and making Chardonnay \u2013 I mean I still make it from Hawke\u2019s Bay fruit as well, but I just love the stuff. We\u2019ve got very little planted, but it makes a fantastic wine. About 25% new oak and full malo. In Hawke\u2019s bay you can do full malo and the wines just get too broad and soft, whereas here it\u2019s still got a nice line of acidity. It\u2019s that cooler climate and low pH to start with. Also, I think they need at least a year to settle down \u2013 whatever time it spent on lees.. it needs that again to be ready.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: It\u2019s got a savoury, sweetcorn type note to it. And there\u2019s none of that reductivity upfront, but there\u2019s a little bit at the back.<\/p>

MD<\/strong>: Yes, sweetcorn, a bit of that is DMS \u2013 there\u2019s complex sulphides in there. With the high solids fermentation you always get complex sulphides. It\u2019s got concentration but a fine balance compared to some of the bigger Hawke\u2019s Bay wines.<\/p>

(we move on to the Pinot Noir)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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So, these are all \u201919 Pinots, and escalating price points. The ME had a gold medal at New World Wine Awards, and does really well \u2013 a Pinot at that price point is fantastic obviously. We use more of the Clone 5 and Abel in the higher end wines. Abel is pretty much the Wairarapa signature really.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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We do make a no-ads Abel-only Pinot \u2013 Wild Holly, which we don\u2019t have as it\u2019s all sold out \u2013 it\u2019s sells out pretty much as soon as it comes out, but that\u2019s always 95 point kind of wine. Completely no additives all the way through the winemaking and bottled with no sulphur – just 3 barrels. The Holly is around $30 and is our classic Wairarapa Pinot. Amazing value. It\u2019s our main export Pinot.<\/p>

Crop yields are low in Wairarapa anyway, but for our Reserve blocks, we do crop thinning, careful viticulture and the wines get a bit more new oak. A bit more time in the barrel so a bit more richness and some hearty tannins. To me Wairarapa Pinot has a little taste of the dirt, more earthy character than Central Otago.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m down in Wairarapa after my latest stint in Hawke\u2019s Bay \u2013 driving down through the beautiful region on my way to Martinborough further south. 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