40 DRINKtech MAY 2017 NEW ZEALAND Here, we look at cool climate wine and the couple who travelled from across the world to turn a vineyard at the bottom of the globe into a family legacy. Craig and Christina Thomas of Batch Winery didn’t grow their first grapes on Waiheke; they grew them on another island, in far away, cold Michigan. It’s hard to ripen grapes in that part of the world. “You don’t set out to make worldclass wines,” Craig tells me. But in planting the vineyard, valuable practical challenges replaced theoretical guidelines. It wasn’t just vines they were planting – it was their future. Craig had a keen interest in vines and winemaking from a young age; even after he had completed his studies to become an audiologist, he continued to study viticultural and winemaking textbooks from UC Davis. He and Christina planted their “practice” vineyard on his family property on Michigan’s Sugar Island in 2004. On land that had once been one of five potential sites for the United Nations Offices (now based in New York), the couple planted 2500 hybrid vines in an amphitheatre. On weekends they would drive for hours and take the ferry across the border from Canada to the island in the US to work on the vineyard. They both like to keep busy, but eventually their overloaded schedules filled with work, children and the vineyard propelled them to change their priorities. Business had been brisk: Craig opened his first audiology clinic in 1991, and growth was rapid. His family stepped in to help manage a group of clinics in Ontario – Craig, his parents and his sister Rae travelled between all the offices to provide a family presence in the company. Christina is a hearing aid specialist and they met when Craig’s company acquired the clinic her mother worked in. Together they had concentrated on strengthening their growing business, putting in long hours over many years. Now they resolved to find somewhere in the world to grow grapes and make world-class wine. Somewhere with opposite seasons to Ontario in Canada so that they could avoid the depths of winter. So they travelled. Whenever they had a holiday it was well researched with the intention of discovering the right locale. Through North America, Europe, Argentina and Chile, they tasted beautiful wines and visited stunning locations, but nothing spoke of home. There was one particular quality wine-producing country in the world they hadn’t checked out – and it was one that Christina had been drawn to since high school. Finally Christina decided to visit New Zealand. Again, they did their research and travelled to New Zealand to look at a specific vineyard for sale in the Gibbston Valley in Central Otago. Christina booked them a place to relax for a few days after the long flight, before they drove all the way down south. That place was The Boatshed on Waiheke Island. They arrived early morning in downtown Auckland in the pouring rain. Craig felt relatively refreshed and not particularly enthused about the terrible weather. He was happy to forego Waiheke and start out straight away on the great drive south. But Christina had researched Waiheke and was not going to miss the opportunity. They boarded the ferry, arriving well before check-in time at The Boatshed. David Scott settled them on the couch with tea. Lying on the table was a real estate magazine, so they flicked through it. Two places caught their eye – one was a vineyard in receivership, the other a house. They decided to have a look at the vineyard, previously known as Ridgeview. Despite continuing rain, the site that greeted them was breathtaking. They walked through the restaurant, which opened out onto a large flat lawn. An endless vista stretched far and wide, finding its way back across the Hauraki Gulf to Auckland. They set off to view the house, only to discover that, to their surprise, it was next door to the vineyard, on a differently named road. Returning to the vineyard later that day after the rains had gone, they sat mesmerised, watching the sun drop into the horizon, as the red glow of the sky turned to black, revealing the twinkling lights from the city. They sat entranced with the entire experience. The drive back to the Boatshed was one of quiet contemplation, perhaps even possibility, but neither of them dared to speak of it at that stage. They drove through New Zealand, touring through wine country all the way south to Gibbston Valley. They compared everything they saw to Waiheke. Nothing did compare, so they changed their itinerary to allow for another three days on Waiheke before flying home. They nearly didn’t make it back onto the island. They had no idea that the last car ferry on a Friday back then was at 6pm and that it was usually fully booked. They squeezed on board and once again they wound their way up the ridge to revisit the vineyard that had been haunting their journey. That weekend they drove around the island – each new turn presenting another stunning view. Nothing they had seen elsewhere in the world had compelled them to act. But Waiheke had what COOL CHANGE A new book dedicated to the stories of Waiheke Island wine – punctuated with text by Clare Dunleavy and photographs from legendary photographer Marti Friedlander who died last year – has just been released by Beatnik Publishing. Waiheke Island: A WORLD OF WINE BY CLARE DUNLEAVY Beatnik Publishing, $69.95,available at beatnikshop.com
FT-May17-eMag
To see the actual publication please follow the link above