WineNZ Summer 2019-20
The authoritative guide to NZ's wine industry
The authoritative guide to NZ's wine industry
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Waiiheke | Feature<br />
of Kim and Jeanette Goldwater’s<br />
Putiki Bay vineyard of the 80s:<br />
the first planted on Waiheke and<br />
one of the first in the country to<br />
convince the wine world that we<br />
could produce truly fine wine.<br />
Now the vineyard is not only<br />
still providing fruit for world<br />
class wines marketed under the<br />
‘Goldie Estate’ brand, but has<br />
also been protected from future<br />
development or resale.<br />
But it was not some<br />
bureaucratic monolith that saved<br />
the land. It was Kim and Jeanette<br />
themselves who ensured the<br />
survival of their historic vineyard.<br />
In <strong>20</strong>09, following the sale<br />
of their extended interests in<br />
Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay to<br />
a US investor, Kim and Jeanette<br />
generously gifted the Waiheke<br />
property, valued at $4million,<br />
to the Auckland University as a<br />
lynchpin to their Wine Science<br />
course.<br />
“We wanted to preserve<br />
the vineyard’s history and do<br />
something that would work for<br />
the local community” said Kim at<br />
the time.<br />
It was an act of extreme<br />
generosity!<br />
Today the students of the<br />
Auckland University Wine<br />
Science Course are able to<br />
study all aspects of the industry<br />
from this ‘outlier’ of the main<br />
University campus. They have<br />
access to the vineyards for<br />
viticultural experience and<br />
Goldie Estate, a completely<br />
independent, commercial winery,<br />
provides hands on winemaking<br />
experience.<br />
Few oenological students,<br />
worldwide, would have such a<br />
‘hands on’ opportunity.<br />
Winemaker Heinrich Storm<br />
explains that while the students<br />
can make their own wines<br />
from some of the estate fruit,<br />
the Goldie wines he makes are<br />
completely independently made.<br />
He is responsible for the winery<br />
continuing to make quintessential<br />
Waiheke wines in the manner<br />
that the Goldwaters pioneered all<br />
those years ago.<br />
Heinrich explains that the<br />
13ha site is really made up of two<br />
vineyards. The home block that<br />
surrounds the winery and looks<br />
down to Putiki Bay caters for the<br />
reds, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon,<br />
Merlot, Cabernet Franc and<br />
Syrah.<br />
The second vineyard, across the<br />
road from the entrance, is mainly<br />
for white wines and is the original<br />
source of fruit for the Zell vineyard<br />
that had a cult following for<br />
Chardonnay in the earlier days.<br />
The estate wines of Merlot/<br />
Cabernet, Chardonnay and Syrah<br />
are matched, in good years, with<br />
reserve wines of Cabernet/Merlot<br />
/ Franc, Chardonnay, Merlot,<br />
Syrah and Viognier.<br />
Overall Heinrich has seen a<br />
change in emphasis at Goldie.<br />
“Our emphasis is now more<br />
towards Chardonnay and Syrah.<br />
We’ve even taken out 30% of the<br />
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