{"id":3177,"date":"2021-03-23T18:49:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T18:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winefolio.co.nz\/?p=3177"},"modified":"2021-03-23T19:21:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T19:21:59","slug":"winemaker-series-larry-mckenna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winefolio.co.nz\/?p=3177","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker series: Larry McKenna"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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During a recent flying visit to Wairarapa, I dropped in to see Larry McKenna \u2013 a man who helped put Martinborough on the world stage; first with his work at Martinborough Vineyard<\/strong>, and more recently with Escarpment<\/strong>. Jovial, passionate and dedicated, he\u2019s often referred to as Larry McPinot, such is his excellent record with the intense, dark and full-bodied wines that most people associate with the region.<\/p>

WineFolio<\/strong>: I\u2019ve enjoyed my couple of days here in Wairarapa after a few days up in Hawke\u2019s Bay. Stopped in at Johner<\/strong> and Urlar<\/strong>. Karl\u2019s overseas obviously but I stopped and talked to Jannine Rickards<\/strong>. She\u2019s making some great wines, and good to chat to.<\/p>

Larry McKenna<\/strong>: Yes, she\u2019s becoming a good asset for the district, getting involved. She\u2019s really enthusiastic and turns up for all the tastings, and getting involved in the marketing of the district.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: I want to go everywhere and meet everyone too. It\u2019s good to drop in on people who don\u2019t have a cellar door but do make outstanding wine. When I was in Hawke\u2019s Bay I went through a bit of \u2018natural\u2019 wine as well. And I do start from a slightly different angle to most writers. Often it\u2019s all about the wine, but for me the first thing is the story. And the place, the people, the land. Once I\u2019ve told that story, then you get to the wine in your glass. And hopefully you\u2019re informed by that. Like a \u2018virtual\u2019 Cellar Door and wine tour.<\/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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LM<\/strong>: You had some of the wine at Winetopia didn\u2019t you?<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: And other times of course. You can\u2019t talk about discovering New Zealand Pinot and not come across your stuff. If I don\u2019t get around and talk to people and put it all out there \u2013 in one place \u2013 and my aim is to have the best source of information, opinion and stories about New Zealand wine tourism there is \u2013 then it\u2019s down to who\u2019s got the biggest marketing budget? And I think people do appreciate me coming round, in person.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: Well, exactly. I\u2019m very critical of writers who write about our business and our wines, who\u2019ve never been here. In fact if they\u2019ve never been here and they ask for samples, I suggest that first up \u2013 you come here and we\u2019ll give you the samples and show you them first. That\u2019s my position. But sometimes it\u2019s people overseas and so on. The Australian ones we can service through Torbreck<\/strong> and most of the ones who are any good have been to New Zealand anyway.<\/p>

But it is up to us when they are here \u2013 like the Pinot Celebration<\/strong>, then we put on an event that\u2019s either side of it, and get them here as much as we can. Get a group together and show them around for a day.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: When I was down in Central last February they said \u201cYou should have come last week for the Pinot event\u201d. But I can\u2019t just speed date people I don\u2019t know \u2013 you know like \u201cHi\u2026Bye\u201d, I want to get to know people first. Also, having grown up in Europe, I\u2019d tried a lot of Burgundy before I was ever aware that New Zealand made Pinot Noir.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: You guys are lucky, because it\u2019s right next door. That\u2019s easy.<\/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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Anyway \u2013 onto what we\u2019ve got here! Take a look at this map, and a look out the window! This river with successive floodings has always flooded in this direction and carved out all that land there and created what we call the Martinborough Terrace. The upper level which we\u2019re on right here. There\u2019s the escarpment \u2013 that edge right there. It starts down here at Craggy Range<\/strong> and goes all the way round to the Ruamahanga. It\u2019s this soil type created by the Huangarua River. We take a few vineyards in here \u2013 there\u2019s Kiwa<\/strong>, Kupe<\/strong>, Pahi<\/strong> and Te Rehua<\/strong>.<\/p>

This was started off in \u201999 as a joint venture partnership with an Australian family \u2013 with vineyards in the Mornington Peninsula, and that got their attention more than this \u2013 we were too far away. After GFC they had to rationalise and we were put on the market at that point, but it never sold until Torbreck picked it up a couple of years ago now. Torbreck are owned by an American, Pete Kight<\/strong>, who made a lot of money out of PayPal type platforms. He\u2019s also got wineries in Sonoma and Napa Valley. It\u2019s been a blessing in this environment \u2013 we\u2019re the cool climate end of their portfolio and we have great distribution and more exports to a lot of countries. It\u2019s all very well having the vision and making the wine, but it\u2019s got to be turned into money. That\u2019s the clever part.<\/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>: My local wine shop is First Glass<\/strong> in Takapuna \u2013 you\u2019ll obviously know Kingsley well. And they sell a lot of Chardonnay there, but they have a decent selection of Pinot too. I\u2019m always trying to get them to stock some new discovery that I\u2019ve made, but one thing they do know there \u2013 is what people like, and what sells. If Kingsley was 30 rather than the age he is, he\u2019d be a modern-day influencer \u2013 on social media because that\u2019s really what he is \u2013 he\u2019s a very influential person in New Zealand wine. I love the Wednesday night tastings, although it\u2019s a bit of a cult \u2013 the folks sit there nodding \u201cyes, Kingsley\u2026 whatever you say\u2026\u201d<\/p>

Speaking of cults \u2013 I\u2019ve just finished an article about Cult wines. Do you have any thoughts about that \u2013 what make a cult wine?<\/p>

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LM<\/strong>: That\u2019s a very good question, and we spend our lives thinking about cult wines because they go for so much money. And they\u2019re not necessarily demonstratively better wines. But they\u2019ve got the aura. Felton Road\u2019s got an aura. Ata Rangi\u2019s got an aura. And it\u2019s also time. You don\u2019t just become a cult wine overnight.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Or do you? Do you suddenly burst onto the scene and you\u2019re a cult because you\u2019re unknown? I\u2019ll give you an example \u2013 Helio<\/strong>, from Hawke\u2019s Bay. So it\u2019s Mat and Sarah Kirby\u2019s side project \u2013 they obviously have credentials, and he\u2019s just made the Champion Wine in Show. It\u2019s a single varietal, made in tiny quantities, and all sold out En primeur. So people are all buying this wine that no-one has tried yet, and it creates this low-level buzz about it. Because no-one can get it, or try it, retail anyway. And once it\u2019s out in a select few people\u2019s hands, it gets good reviews, but money literally can\u2019t buy it. Cult wine.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: I think cult wines are an amazing phenomenon really. But what bothers me the most is that invariably they don\u2019t really deserve the status. There\u2019s a bit of trickery. Fair enough if you can do, you can do it. Some people would describe Cambridge Road<\/strong> as cult wine. Other people wouldn\u2019t touch it with a bargepole, but he\u2019s found himself a little niche and going way down that track into very much leftfield kind of wines. And people who like them are happy, even if 90% of the population don\u2019t want to know. Again, Kusuda is a good example.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: That\u2019s the name that always comes up. If you say to someone \u2019What\u2019s a New Zealand Cult Wine?\u2019 Bell Hill<\/strong> and Kusuda<\/strong> come up, every time.<\/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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LM<\/strong>: Well, Bell Hill is very unique, and that\u2019s another story. But Kusuda is sort of the same I guess. There\u2019s a total attention to detail, but a real scarcity \u2013 and in Kusuda\u2019s case it all goes to Japan. It\u2019s all smoke and mirrors. Dry River<\/strong> were very good at it originally. They kept the stock very carefully distributed. You went to Australia and you saw it everywhere! But here it created this aura. It\u2019s all on allocation. I\u2019ve tried Kusuda enough times to know it\u2019s good. It\u2019s very good.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: So it\u2019s become a cult wine because it\u2019s also very, very good. Or maybe it\u2019s critically acclaimed and got really high scores \u2013 that whole 100 point Parker-isation thing?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: Quality is the first part of it. As with Kusuda and Bell Hill \u2013 the quality is certainly there.<\/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>: And with Bell Hill \u2013 I find that super interesting, because Marcel Giesen<\/strong> is also making wines that aren\u2019t Cult Wines. I heard he was a big part of Giesen getting the Clayvin vineyard. Well I can buy a Giesen Clayvin Pinot Noir<\/strong> any day of the week. And if I really like it, and am happy to pay $50 a bottle for it, then how much better must Bell Hill be? It has to be at least 50% better than Clayvin \u2013 to justify itself?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: It doesn\u2019t work like that (laughs).<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: No, I realise that. And at the very top end, I think the differences are quite small. I\u2019ve been able, not through luck, but because it was \u2018my thing\u2019 to try lots of Bordeaux First Growth wines, Grand Cru Burgundy, top American wines, and even some of what I feel are really good wines from down this way. Not just the best of New Zealand, but I do rate some of the top Australian wines as well. I\u2019ve had Grange<\/strong> and a wine I really like is Yalumba Octavius<\/strong>. Even something like Sons of Eden<\/strong> from Eden Valley. I was talking to John Hancock<\/strong> about that and he said \u201cIf I\u2019d made some money out of wine \u2013 not that anyone ever does \u2013 but if I\u2019d made money, I\u2019d love to settle up in the Eden Valley\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: First step \u2013 he\u2019s a South Australian. If he wasn\u2019t a South Australian, he wouldn\u2019t give a shit. I\u2019m the same, I\u2019m a South Australian and I know how beautiful Eden Valley is, and he\u2019s right. It\u2019s wonderful. You go back to your roots don\u2019t you.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: So what is about Martinborough for you, what has kept you here?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: it\u2019s Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir has kept me here, there\u2019s no doubt about that. When you look at Martinborough, and the very unique soil type, with about the right amount of rock. You go to somewhere like Gimblett Gravels<\/strong> and I think it\u2019s too rocky. Very free draining and very warm. It\u2019s a very successful soil type. Then, we\u2019re the driest place in the North Island, and the East Coast is the key to it. You\u2019ve got to be in the rain shadow. If you\u2019re anywhere else it\u2019s too bloody wet and humid. To be fair Gisborne\u2019s like that but James Millton<\/strong> can grow organically there, but it\u2019s a hell of a challenge. Here and Central Otago it\u2019s easy because we have a dry summer.<\/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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I have to say, I would move to Central Otago<\/strong> in a heartbeat. When we started this it was after Martinborough vineyard in 1998. I looked at it all and I had some opportunities in Central Otago and I was very very tempted. And I think, with hindsight, as John said \u2013 I think I would have made some money if I had gone down there. And we would have had a lot of fun, but we looked at the whole position we\u2019d created, and the brand was McKenna Martinborough Pinot Noir. So don\u2019t change too much. We wanted to continue with that, and I had a JV partner in this who was prepared to invest. So there were some practicalities to the decision. But I do think that this sits in the middle a little bit. It\u2019s not necessarily an attribute, but it\u2019s a little more assured of its climate and therefore the wines that are coming out, than Central Otago. Central Otago is on the edge. When they get it right it\u2019s fantastic, but it\u2019s still on the edge.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Martinborough is easier to focus on the wines. In Central the distractions \u2013 Queenstown, lakes, mountains, the beauty of the place. But, I guess who wouldn\u2019t want to visit a few wineries with that backdrop?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: We touched on it earlier \u2013 it has an aura. You don\u2019t go there and enjoy the wine, you come away refreshed and revitalised, and by the way I had some fantastic wine!<\/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>: So \u2013 advice to your younger self? Is there a different path you could have taken \u2013 made the move to Central Otago?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: In hindsight I perhaps should have taken up an opportunity in Central Otago. Some people might have been able to do both, but I couldn\u2019t, not successfully. I\u2019m involved in Central, and have been for a very long time, on a consulting level so I go there regularly, but every day I drive in and out of here and I know it. I know what the weather\u2019s done, how the season has developed in every aspect.<\/p>

I wanted to make great wine. One of the things I learnt at Delegats, in my first life, was that you were never going to make great wine when it arrived in a 25 tonne truck. You didn\u2019t even know if it had got picked that day. You just got four trucks. And one of them happened to be the most important crop of Gewurztraminer that you were going to take for that vintage. You didn\u2019t even know it was coming! So you\u2019re receiving 100 tonne of fruit a night and just putting it through the machine. And I didn\u2019t want to do that. I wanted to be involved from the ground up.<\/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 Central would have suited me. I spent a lot of time in rivers and mountains when I was younger, and would have been very happy down there. It\u2019s not over yet, I\u2019ve a bit of time. I am looking for the next opportunity. It\u2019s just that McKenna Martinborough Pinot Noir brand \u2013 it\u2019s very compelling.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: I like what Tony Bish<\/strong> is doing \u2013 just concentrating on Chardonnay. It gives him a distinction above all else.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: I think Tony has been very smart. That was up for grabs, what he\u2019s done. Everyone had that opportunity. We\u2019re all doing Chardonnay. We do it and just put it on the shelf. He had a go, stuck it out there and went to the Egg thing and created a genuine bit of interest. He\u2019s a good lad.<\/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>: Does that label stick to you a bit \u2013 are there other things you would like to do, but being the Pinot Noir specialist holds you back?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: I guess it\u2019s inevitable but you just become more and more focussed. I\u2019ve learnt what I enjoy. I\u2019ve learnt what I know better. Concentrated on two things really \u2013 it\u2019s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I don\u2019t really drink that much else any more, if I\u2019m left to my own devices. There\u2019s enough to know about them, and enough to enjoy in them.<\/p>

I\u2019ve got one more project here. We\u2019ll build the 300 tonne winery on top of the Barrel Room and that\u2019ll be a 5 million dollar project. Get consent before vintage and get started straight after vintage next year. COVID has played into my hands a bit because Torbreck can\u2019t come and visit, so I\u2019ll be more involved in it than I might have been. And it does complete my vision. Finally we got a backer and someone who\u2019s prepared to spend the dough. I\u2019d like to see that commissioned for the \u201922 vintage, and in the meantime I hope I\u2019ll come across something else.<\/p>

Going back to the cult labels, and for me, Bell Hill, the way they\u2019ve gone about that and I credit Sherwyn with a lot of that. I think Marcel would be happy with me saying that, although I\u2019m not entirely sure. Sherwyn looks after the vineyard. Go and take a look at the vineyards. They\u2019re perfect. Absolutely perfect. No wonder the wines are incredible, because the vineyards are immaculate. That\u2019s a very good model and I think there\u2019s room in Martinborough for a smaller, iconic wine. I don\u2019t think Martinborough has made the best wine it\u2019s ever going to.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Also at iconic places like Pyramid Valley<\/strong> \u2013 they were just trialling the site, with the best blocks still to be planted. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen anything like the full potential of New Zealand wine yet. To say the best is yet to come, is an understatement!<\/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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LM<\/strong>: And the best thing that New Zealand, or even just this district, could do would be to go 100% organic<\/strong>. And if we were that would be such a strong message to the rest of the market. If everyone in the world knew that when they picked up a bottle of Martinborough wine, that is was organic. You just need one little reason for them to go there rather than elsewhere.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: is there an \u2018A-ha\u2019 moment in the year for you?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: Well, the day you pick it! (laughs) Well you can look at it the week before and think about it, and you know it\u2019s going to be OK if the weather holds\u2026 but anything can happen. In the shed.<\/p>

We\u2019re organic and we don\u2019t put anything in it. All we do is squash Pinot Noir and put it in the tank. Well the other moment in all of this, the magic in it, is that 3 to 5 days later, it\u2019s fermenting. Every year that never ceases to amaze me. I\u2019ve done it so many times, seen it so often. It starts changing, creating this beautiful perfumed aroma. Starts turning sugar into alcohol, from something totally unstable to something relatively stable. And you didn\u2019t do a f***ing thing! You just squashed it. And you can say you don\u2019t even have to squash it. If you\u2019re in Beaujolais<\/strong> you just put it in the tank. And when that process starts all by itself, it never ceases to amaze me. There is a God.<\/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>: During lockdown level 4 I had this Zoom Seminar thing, where the discussion was about could Food and Wine become the next big things for New Zealand tourism-wise. And I argued that we have excellent raw ingredients, but the one key ingredient that we farm, and then turn into something truly world-class is wine.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: And more than that \u2013 we put a label on it that says NEW ZEALAND. The brand, the words New Zealand. It\u2019s on the table. The bit of lamb \u2013 that doesn\u2019t have a flag on it. And it\u2019s easy to share with people.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: how did you cope with the harvest during lockdown?<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: Pretty good. We were in the middle of it. And we were very concerned until that afternoon and they said we had the Essential Service classification. We took a day to reorganise ourselves. The bubbles and everything. The long and short of it was that here we had the second biggest harvest ever. And a couple of people disappeared immediately including one key staff person, so we made adjustments \u2013 got three bubbles together. There was no crossover \u2013 you stayed in your bubble. And it meant that we didn\u2019t have all the drinks after work, and dinners at night. We just got on with the job, and there was no interaction outside work.<\/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>: And made good wine. People will remember it if it\u2019s good as being made during that big Lockdown in 2020.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: well it was a fantastic year and we\u2019ve got some very good wines \u2013 we\u2019ve very pleased with them. The other side of it was that normally we\u2019ve got visitors in who want to be a part of it \u2013 trade, writers, whoever.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: Of course COVID could have a long tail in that you may not have the pickers this year.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: we\u2019ve got the staff we need for vintage. What we won\u2019t have are the backpacker pickers. It\u2019ll be business as usual except we may have to machine harvest some of it. Some of the wines could be machined, and it\u2019s not our preference but it would get us out of trouble.\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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People argue that you get the machine set up correctly on the right grapes, you don\u2019t need a de-stemmer or a crusher. You take it straight from the vineyard to the tank and there\u2019s a lot to be said for that. We\u2019re always trying to minimise the handling.<\/p>

WF<\/strong>: tell me about this bottle you dug up. That\u2019s an interesting story.<\/p>

LM<\/strong>: When we planted this vineyard in \u201999 we had a little ceremony with the local Maori spiritual leader of the district \u2013 Aunty Sally. They did a blessing and under the first vine we put a bottle of bubbles that I\u2019d made at Martinborough Vineyard. And we always knew it was there, but sort of ignored it and didn\u2019t think it would have survived. Torbreck decided that block, which was on its own roots, needed to be pulled out during the winter this year. And so we worked out from photos exactly which vine it probably was. And with a bit of digging we found it, and it still had the cork in. Now we\u2019ve got this quandary of what do we do with it? Because we\u2019re going to be building this new building I wondered if we put it in a time capsule with some other stuff in there.<\/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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During a recent flying visit to Wairarapa, I dropped in to see Larry McKenna \u2013 a man who helped put Martinborough on the world stage; first with his work at … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews-with-nz-winemakers"],"yoast_head":"\nWinemaker series: Larry McKenna - WineFolio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/winefolio.co.nz\/?p=3177\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winemaker series: Larry McKenna - 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