Potatoes to Pinot
Fifty years ago Paddy Borthwick’s grandfather planted potatoes on an old river flat above the Ruamahanga River near Gladstone. He would never have imagined that thirty years later his grandson Paddy would plant that same stony soil to produce the region’s flagship pinot noir grapes. By Susan McLeary. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti
Both potatoes and grapes flourished. The difference for Paddy’s grandfather was that the agricultural authorities stopped him from selling his crop of spuds. Apparently, such high production would create an unacceptable glut. How things have changed.
From left: Lisa Hodson, Paddy Borthwick. Photo: Lucia Zanmonti.
“Conditions here are ideal for grapes. It’s a little micro-climate of warm days, cool nights and low summer rainfall,” says Paddy.
Planting his own land was stage two of Paddy’s wine career. Graduating from Adelaide’s Roseworthy wine school, he travelled the wine world working vintages, building up his skills and experience in a range of climatic conditions, grape varieties and wine styles.
The planned ‘paper road’ was never formed, so we adopted the name.
Then he came home. “I was sure this would be an amazing piece of dirt for vines, and in 1996 I started planting our 27 acres in a whole range of varieties to test which worked best. In those days vine stock was less readily available, and it was more a case of “grab what you can and see if it works,” he grins.
“Those early vines were planted on their own roots and the exploratory phase was a lot of fun because it was about growing things and I like that. We were on our own in Dakins Road at that stage so there was no-one over the fence to check and see how we were doing. Nowadays there are eight other vineyards and we all talk to each other.
“When we started to see signs of phylloxera we re-planted on grafted stock as quickly as possible, finishing about five years ago. It was exciting to see the jump in quality, when you have the right root stock in the right place, especially for the pinots.
Paddy believes in getting good base material in the ground and then looking after it.
“The vines just get better and better, we learn to manage them effectively for their health and get the best fruit we can”
Lisa Hodson has been vineyard manager from almost the start. She has “the eye”, combining instinct and time on the land.
“We’re sustainable, not organic, and for the last 10-12 years we’ve had very clean fruit with minimal intervention in the vineyard. We’re in this for the long haul,” says Paddy.
Maybe it’s a reflection of the Borthwick family’s international business heritage – the Te Whanga farm, Angus stud and Borthwick Meats – that 90 percent of the wine is exported.
Our goal is to produce and sell consistent volumes across a balanced range of markets.
“Our export brand Paper Road goes to Australia, Ireland and the UK, Scandinavia, USA and Canada, and Asian markets Singapore Hong Kong China and Japan. Not every country takes every variety and we like to spread markets and risk.
“The brand name comes from an old family document: a survey describing a road intended to run through the land now our vineyard. The planned ‘paper road’ was never formed, so we adopted the name. We only use it for export markets, and Paddy Borthwick for the local market.”
With the appointment of Briony Carnachan as winemaker/General manager Paddy’s role is less hands-on in the winery and more active in export markets.
“Our goal is to produce and sell consistent volumes across a balanced range of markets. We value long-term relationships and some of our distributors have been with us for 15 years.”
With a BSC and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln University, Briony is enjoying the varied role of day to day winery management.
They both look forward to a Borthwick wine innovation for special vintages: left hand and right hand pinots.
The idea is the left-hander Briony (said to be logical, creative and precise) is up against right-handed Paddy (characteristically intuitive, impulsive and thoughtful), as each selects “the best 5 barrels” from premium parcels of grapes, and with a great deal of lively debate create their own wines to suit their own style and palate.
“It’s a lot of fun, very creative for us as it’s all about “what do I really like in a pinot?”
“People talk of the four P’s of marketing. We also believe in the four P’s of Wine: Place, People, Passion, and Philosophy,” Paddy says.
To purchase some of Paddy’s delicious pinots
visit www.borthwick.co.nz
