The Land

Jo and I purchased the land for TerraVin in 1998 and began planting out the vineyard over the following years. Although selling siome of the vineyard recently we have retained just under 4 Hectares where we have our older Pinot Noir plantings along with some Pinot Gris and of course the Bordeaux varieties for the "J" blend.

We also source fruit from small contract plantings on the gentle slopes of the southern valleys where we pay our growers on a per hectare basis and take complete control of all viticulture. This allows us to reduce crops and pesticide use while removing the risk from a nervous grower.

Where ever fruit is sourced from we work to achieve balance with in the vineyard whether that be the use of cover crops for bio diversity, reducing shoot or leaf numbers within the canopy or removing crop to achieve a balanced vine. In the end it all comes down to using over 25 years of local experience to get the best out of the vines and have that reflected through into our wines.

Soil Type

The site chosen for our venture is a 4-hectare north-facing hillside in the Omaka Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Soil type of 175-225 mm topsoils over clay-bound gravels allow the vines to be well drained and of low vigor.

The increased altitude of the Omaka intensifies the hot days and the cool nights, giving a long, slow ripening period.

Vine Density

The vine density chosen for TerraVin reflects experience in Burgundy and here in Marlborough New Zealand since 1981.

The rows are 1.6m apart while the vines are 1.25m within the row. This gives a vine density of 5000 plants per hectare.

Clonal Selection

Pinot Noir UCD 5, Pinot Noir UCD 6, Pinot Noir B 777, Pinot Noir B 667, Pinot Noir B 115, Pinot Noir B 114, Pinot Noir AM 10/5, Pinot Noir DRC Abel.

Over the past 15 - 20 years, many clones have become available to enhance the quality of New Zealand Pinot Noir.

My previous vineyard had some of the earliest plantings of these clones, allowing me to get the valuable experience in evaluating these clones, and of course, access to propagation material.

The clones to the left are those which we have chosen to plant at TerraVin.

All of these clones have distinctive attributes that make them valuable blending components for our winemaking style.

Rootstock

101-14 Millardet Rupestrus X Riparia, 3309 Couderc Rupestrus X Riparia, Riparia Gloire

The rootstocks are matched to the respective clones to give the best balance in vigor available to us on our soil types.

Again, experience with these rootstocks on similar land has helped with these decisions.

The rootstocks to the left are those which we have chosen to use at TerraVin.

Viticulture

The vineyard trellis is 1.45m in height, with the fruit wire at 600mm. We use the Vertical Shoot Position system of canopy management.

Pruning system is Guyot Double (2 canes of 7-8 buds and 2 spurs). Shoot thinning in October to desired shoot density. Leaf removal where necessary in January.

Fruit reduction in the form of vendage vert or green harvest, and follow-up fine tuning of fruit thinning at veraison. We use selective hand harvest.

Pest Management

Marlborough is blessed with a climate that has very few pests that get out of control, given that efficient and careful vineyard practices are carried out.

With the help of our climate and good canopy and ground management, our pesticide program has to date consisted only of soft organic compounds for the management of the vine foliage.

Our aim is to work the land and the vines together as one, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the land.

Soil Management

The key to our management philosophy is sustainability. The working in of cover crops is carried out annually to help maintain soil structure. We also use a tracked 1m wide crawler to reduce soil compaction.

Sward Management

As part of our efforts to reduce pesticides, we use a sward of various species of flowers and tubers to attract beneficial insects and maintain soil nutrition.