Wine: Vidal's vindication

2007 Vidal Reserve Chardonnay $35. Photo / Babiche Martens

Forget internet dating, the way to meet the love of your life in the 1980s in Hawke's Bay was to head to Vidal's wine bar in Hastings on a Saturday afternoon. And it wasn't just the punters. Three of the winery's four winemakers over the past three decades met and married their partners while working there, which always provides winery owner Sir George Fistonich with a laugh.

He bought the winery in 1976 and immediately began the process of establishing New Zealand's first winery restaurant. It took two years, $100,000 and several battles with local authorities. This year he celebrates 30 years of Vidal's Winery Restaurant. Although much of the early history of the restaurant is "unsayable" - according to Sir George, that's only partly due to the romantic liaisons which started there. It's also because of battles with local authorities to open a restaurant selling wine in the first place.

It started with the insistence that Sir George lay carpet on the floor and ceilings throughout the winery, if food was to be served. It ended with a mandatory 150 carparks in an area that clearly wouldn't take even 50. Large amounts of carefully sourced photos showing European winery restaurants sans carpet - and about $100,000 worth of battles - and Sir George got away with red plastic lining on floors and ceilings. The final negotiation was with the neighbours. They initially objected, saying they didn't want a wine bar-restaurant in their'hood, though after they sampled the wares at the winery they soon saw things in a different light.

Then, when he was finally granted a licence to serve food - in the form of nibbles on platters - regulars asked for steaks and real meals. Sir George responded by employing Paul White from Tony's restaurant in Auckland to cook steaks at Vidal's. As soon as White began serving sit-down meals, the local authorities threatened to withdraw Vidal's licence, unless they reverted to the original platters of nibbles. They accused Sir George of "over-delivering" on the food front. Once that battle had been fought and won, he began wine bar afternoons every Saturday. Thanks, partly, to the pioneering success of Vidal's, New Zealanders and tourists now have about 80 winery restaurants around the country. Is it just me, or is it a touch ironic that in a country whose residents need to learn how to drink less, add food when they do drink and employ moderation, the local powers have done everything in their power to stop a positive cultural shift?

Wines of the week

2007 Vidal Reserve Chardonnay $35
How wines have changed at Vidal's Winery over the past three decades. This grapefruity, citrusy, full-bodied white is part of the new wave at Vidal's today.

2009 Vidal Riesling $21
If you're still a newcomer to riesling, chill this off-dry Hawke's Bay white and check out a refreshing glass of it before moving on to a big robust red.

2009 Millton Riverpoint Vineyard Viognier $27.50
This Gisborne viognier (vee-oh-knee-ay) is the perfect white wine for red wine drinkers, with its big body, fleshy appeal and peachy flavours. It's made from biodynamic and organic grapes grown on James and Annie Millton's Riverpoint Vineyard in Gisborne's viticulturally famous Matawhero region and is just off dry with 4.8g of residual sugar. millton.co.nz