Wairarapa Lifestyle Magazine

Having people wind him up about being a South African in ‘All Black country’ doesn’t cause Craggy Range vineyard manager Charles Simons any loss of sleep. But frosts in the middle of January do.

 

Tall, tanned and clearly benefiting from the cycling and golf that he loves, this ‘New Zealand Young Viticulturalist of the Year’ finalist is a man on a mission. Not yet 30, Charles has packed in a lifetime of wine-related experiences, and is revelling in the responsibility of caring for the largest single vineyard in Martinborough.

 

Covering 95 hectares, Craggy Range’s Te Muna vineyard is planted a little over half in sauvignon blanc, around a third in pinot noir, and the rest in riesling and chardonnay. While the other varieties dominate the vineyard, Charles has a particular affinity for riesling, prompting a visit to Germany for a vintage not long after moving to New Zealand in 2003. “Travelling gives you a perspective on wine,” Charles explains, adding that an earlier work experience at self-styled “pinot maverick” Jeff Pisoni’s California winery gave him a taste of how to grow that particular red cultivar, too.

 

Born and raised in Caledon in Western Cape, Charles can’t remember aspiring to any occupation other than farming. “My dad was a financier”, he tells me, “and there was no farming in my immediate family, but any time we visited friends in the country it felt like that’s where I wanted to be.” Actually, Charles’ maternal grandparents farmed stonefruit and grapes, but they had died young and Charles never knew them. “I guess it is in the blood somewhere, then.”

 

After studying viticulture and farm management at Stellenbosch, the “wine capital of South Africa” not far from Capetown, Charles began his New Zealand career as a vintage intern in the cellar at Craggy Range’s Hawke’s Bay winery. “I was employed by the then winemaker, the late Doug Wisor, and his influence and philosophy stay with me to this day.” From the cellar, Charles graduated to Operations Foreman at the company’s Gimlett Gravels vineyard, then in June 2006 he moved in to his present position at Te Muna. The move was difficult at first – Martinborough felt very small after Hawke’s Bay – but Charles very quickly got used to it. “I realised that it’s a very similar size to the little town that I grew up in. And also that the co-operation among winegrowers here is much greater than you’ll get in Hawke’s Bay – I really appreciate that. And it makes sense – after all, we all want to see Martinborough on the world wine stage.”

 

Talking to Charles, it’s very evident that Te Muna is his baby. It’s not “the vineyard”, it’s “my vineyard”. Everything is buttoned-down and in its place. The rows of grapes are positioned and separated with GPS-like precision according to soil qualities, variety and location. The irrigation and frost-control lake is stocked with rainbow trout, the water a pristine blue. “I want my vineyard looking like a golf course,” he says. “Mowed and green.” He’s also fiercely proud of his six vineyard workers who toil long and hard to keep the property up to scratch.

 

Still a family-owned company, Craggy Range began with the “single vineyard” winemaking philosophy of its founding consultant, viticulturalist and winemaker Steve Smith MW - and sticks to it. With vineyards in Marlborough, Waipara, Central Otago and North Otago, in addition to Te Muna and Hawke’s Bay, the winemakers are able to produce a very wide variety of styles, often from within the same region. “In Central, for example, we have three vineyards,” explains Charles, “so we produce three Central Otago pinot noirs. No grape from any one vineyard will ever end up in a wine from another vineyard. It might appear an expensive way of making wine, but it can be a lifesaver too because we will always have something to sell if one region has a bad vintage.”

 

Which brings us back to January 2007. A frost in the middle of January? Who would have imagined it! “We have pretty good frost control here,” says Charles, “but no-one was expecting that one. That’s why I live on my vineyard – at the end of the day I’m here to grow the best grapes I can and, whatever happens, the buck stops with me.”

Buck? Springbok? Another good reason to forget 2007 …