Queen Charlotte Classic

Aaron’s just home from another supermarket wine tasting and another good result, but there’s no rest to be had.  Tomorrow morning is the Queen Charlotte Fiasco Classic.  When he’s not trying to sell our wine, Aaron works making the stuff for Indevin (a contract wine making company) and tomorrow they have several teams entered in this multisport event.  In teams of three or four they will run 14 km, cycle 30 km and sea kayak 8 km, all around the beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound.  Now Aaron signed up enthusiastically for this event, declaring with great gusto that he would tackle the hardest leg and do the run.  Training got off to a flying start and folk down Blicks Lane thought they were seeing things as Aaron pounded the pavements.  But alas, it wasn’t to last.  Man flu hit and the routine was broken, then of course came all sorts of excuses, things like work, hangovers, sore muscles, bad weather, good tele…you get the idea  

But the event drew nearer and the rest of the Indevin team were training, what was poor Aaron to do…moan to his wife of course and beg her to sort out this mess!  And so it was that I advertised at my work for a keen runner.  Much to our delight Ian Thomas volunteered.  Ian is a PE teacher and is a running legend, in fact Marlborough’s Harrier of the year and one speedy dude.  Aaron, not wanting to miss all the fun, has conned the kayaker (winemaker Gordon Ritchie) into using a double kayak so they can paddle for the finish together.  Meanwhile their poor cyclist, winemaker Sarah Burton, is no doubt freaking out about the possibility of being first off on the bike leg.  Just when she thought it would be fine to have no idea where one was going and to cruise with the pack!   All in all it should be an entertaining race – three winemakers & a Harrier.  Regardless of the outcome we plan to enjoy a party afterwards

Symbols

Finn gave me this heart he found in the river yesterday – no words needed, he knows how to get into the good books!  He took one look at this rock and knew he was onto a winner

Funny the associations we make.  Aaron went into Georgio’s cafe yesterday and they took an instant liking to Fiasco, I suspect because it triggered the right associations.  Georgios’s is a cafe with an Italian theme and the owners (the Sutherlands) have connections to Italy.  Fiasco is actually an Italian word and aside from meaning a disastrous state of chaos, a fiasco is also the name of a traditional Italian straw covered flask used to hold, you guessed it, wine.  I think Fiasco would fit in nicely at Georgios, and so Aaron is naturally going to follow up their interest

Perspective

I’m very aware today that my children share their St Mary’s school community with friends who are having to come to terms with losing their mother.    On Friday Janet McLean lost an ongoing battle with cystic fibrosis, and as such our hearts go out to her two young daughters and husband.  And only last year, St Mary’s grieved the loss of Jo McFarlane to cancer, another young mother that also had to face leaving behind three beautiful children and a loving husband.    We knew Jo well and every now and again there are moments when the grief hits you, usually times and places that you knew Jo would’ve been at with bells on, if just she could.    It makes you grateful to be able to stand on the sideline in the cold wind and yell encouragement to your kids’ sports teams.  I can make no sense of why such things happen, it seems horribly unfair and unlucky to me, but it hits home that these things do happen and that makes you put things in perspective.  In terms of running a business, it’s a reminder that life is too precious to let work take over.  With that, I’m off the computer and going for a walk with the kids and our mischievious hound, a beagle named Bella.

Uniquely Kiwi

I love saying that I’m a Kiwi and it’s fun to live in a country during its teenage years.  A time when Aotearoa is determined to be unique, but to fit in; trying to be wild, but in control; searching for itself but looking for connections.    In the world of wine, we are comparatively very young and again, we are sorting out what our real identity is, beyond simply the Sauvignon Blanc that propelled us onto the world stage.

This website is trying to establish the Taste of the Nation, using a questionnaire to build a picture of our nation’s wine tastes.  Have a go at taking the test if you like.  I found it a bit disappointing as it didn’t ask enough about taste preferences.  Perhaps I’m just a bit disappointed that I emerged as being likely to enjoy Sav Blanc, which doesn’t sound nearly exciting enough to me.  But then I am a New Zealander and we aren’t really into flashy now are we?! 

Had a laugh reading the Sunday Star Times Magazine yesterday – an essay by Leah McFall examined the trend of people kissing each other hello in New Zealand.  Now I’m guessing this must be a big city trend because the only people we kiss hello to are some good French friends.  Anyway, McFall goes on to comment on Kiwi’s “hardwired reluctance to touch” and our “good old New Zealand fear of intimacy” in a country “where for generations we’ve done nothing more intimate than wave at each other across a paddock.”   She explains that this forced distance has lead to the evolution of our own unique, very subtle body language that can speak volumes and is perhaps the most expressive in the world.  The bit I could relate to was the farmer she described who only had to raise his finger at a passing ute to say “I’m okay, you’re okay, milk solids are up five per cent this month.”  And then there’s the eyebrow lift, the chin jut.. it’s great to be able to laugh at ourselves.  We still don’t know what to do when people pop in for a visit in the afternoon – take the English approach and offer them a cuppa or follow the Aussies and get out the booze?  Best keep both tea bags and a bottle of vino handy over the long weekend!

Community

 

Well Aaron is currently standing down at New World chatting to customers and doing wine tastings.  He was a bit nervous about whether people would be interested.  He even took his cell phone so that if no-one came past he could pretend to text so that he didn’t have to look like a dork standing there alone, staring into space.   The good news is that he’s been gone three hours now and I haven’t had any phone messages ;-) 

He hopes to be able to share a bit of the Fiasco story with people.  Most wine companies put a salesperson in to do store tastings as opposed to the winemaker so hopefully people will enjoy meeting the actual guy who made it.  We certainly enjoy the connections we have locally. 

This week I had the joy of giving a bottle of the Gewurztraminer to the teachers at my work who helped hand pick the grapes back in autumn.   During the recent holiday break, a group of senior college students from Marlborough Girls’ and Marlborough Boys’ embarked on a History and Classics Alive trip of a lifetime to Greece, Italy and Turkey.  They had to fundraise and this is where we played our small part.  The photos below are of the students, parents and teachers hand picking the Gewurztraminer.

Gewurztraminer grapes

 

Social Sciences teacher Nic Ford – always happy to get involved!

 

Our son Finn enjoys the company of teenage girls!

I’d better go, Aaron has arrived back with a big grin on his face.  He sold out of wine at New World and thoroughly enjoyed yarning to shoppers!  We just had a phone call from a customer too, he said the wine tasted fantastic and that has made our day

Hooray!!!!

All good here!! I’m an Uncle again Jacinda is an Aunty,  cheeky Finn has turned 7, the falcons have laid eggs, spring growth is good, the chooks are layin too, I’ve had a belly full of wine (Pinot) and I’m off to bed!!!  Tune in again tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ….

Racist?

National MP Lockwood Smith is in trouble for what he said in Blenheim yesterday when discussing the RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme) a scheme that brings in vineyard workers for a few months from overseas to meet labour shortages in the industry.  Many workers came to Blenheim this winter to assist with pruning.  Pruning involves three main steps:

1.    making the key pruning cuts;

2.    stripping out all the old vines; 

3.    then winding the remaining canes onto the wire and tying them down. 

On the vines we pruned, Aaron was much better at the first two tasks because a lot of strength was required and I was quicker at the third because my hands are smaller and it’s a fiddly job working with bread ties.  Where possible, many groups of workers divided their labour up so that those suited to each task could specialise.  This often meant the men went through the vineyard first doing the pruning cuts and stripping, while the women followed doing the tying down.  However, I suspect there aren’t as many women in the seasonal worker scheme.  I imagine it is often more difficult for women to leave their families and travel here to work.  Some vineyard owners that had Asian workers noted that these guys were also fast at the tying down.

Dr Smith said,

“For example some of the pruning…some of the Asian workers have been more productive…because their hands are smaller.”

He was advocating for allowing more Asian workers to be part of the RSE scheme because of feedback he had received from employers that these workers were better at some vineyard work because of their small hands.  Last year the majority of workers came from Pacific Forum countries.  He also pointed out that some of the workers needed significant education to adapt to New Zealand’s way of life.  He made this point to suggest that the government needs to help by providing some sort of induction course to help overseas workers settle in New Zealand.

“Some of them are having to teach them things like how to use a toilet or shower…I don’t think the employer should have to pay for that work.

“I think if this is partly an aid scheme, the Government has to address how it’s involved in that.”

Now during the day I’ve heard Dr Smith’s comments described as racist, as ridiculous, as foolish and as “not helping race relations.”

He may’ve stereotyped, but is that the same as being racist?  Is it any different to the reputation Kiwis have in the UK for being hard workers?  Is it racist to point out generalised differences between races of people?  Isn’t it less racist to acknowledge the good work of these Asian pruners and allow them equal access to the RSE?  Isn’t it less racist to acknowledge cultural differences and to look at ways of making workers arrival into New Zealand an easier transition?  What do you think?

What women want…

Women tend to outstrip men when it comes to purchasing wine from places such as supermarkets.  I guess this makes sense because most men (jokers) are generally not interested in trapsing around boring shop isles.    How do you ladies cut through it all i.e. the bombardment of brands when there are hundreds of different cereals, half an aisle of soapy cosmetic stuff and more importantly  – zillions of different wines?  Does the colour pink have any effect on the purchase?  Someone invented pink tool belts which I thought was a bit insulting, considering blokes tool belts aren’t coloured baby blue.  But no, I don’t understand women – these pink tool sets have been flying off the shelves.  

And it’s not just women buying the wine, it seems that in plenty of households women now manage the finances.  It is the women who put wine and shoes high on the budget, but how do I make sure they buy my wine?  My wife says its all about communication … isn’t it always!

Cheers, Aaron

I’VE GOT MY (big) NOSE BACK!!

Well, a bloody good thing happened today…….my nose is no longer blocked.  The  Bogeys are all gone!!  I can finally smell,  and taste our wine.  I’ve given our Gee-WHIZZ the once over tonight and have given it the thumbs up.  Gewurztraminer can be one of the trickiest grapes to grow let alone make.  The beast regularily throws a wobbly in the vineyard.   If it’s not cropping poorly, it will ripen unevenly, you wait for an increase in sugar and the acids will fall away.   What you can have is a soapy, fat, bitter, hot, numb nut of a wine.  Kinda like drinking pot-pourri soaked in rancid vegetable oil.  This is everthing our Gee-WHIZZ  isn’t. 

She’s pretty, dainty, racey and light on her feet…….certainly no big Heifer-lump !!!  A perfect match with any asian tucker or spicey food.

I thoroughly recommend her now through til’ 2015.  So we had 1500 Bottles…..now 1499 remain…… any takers!!!   

Cheers,

Aaron

Strange

 

Aaron went out to the mow the lawns with Fiasco on the brain… it looks great from above, but didn’t have the heart to tell him not many people hang out on our roof