Canterbury's wineries are slowly bouncing back from September's earthquake.
It was en route to England to collect an award for their riesling that Sandihurst's Hennie and Celia Bosman got news of the Canterbury earthquake. Piecing together the facts from afar, they decided to continue on their travels, but returned to pick up the pieces of their West Melton winery which, at 10km from Darfield, was one of the closest to the epicentre of the 7.1 quake.
"Stock was thrown around all over the place," says Celia. "We have tanks which have buckled legs and our 10,000 litre ones full of wine walked forward 20cm, but amazingly didn't fall over. Everything from the lab and the office was on the floor."
Celia was glad to discover that the bottles of their award-winning 2007 vintage was safe at least. Losing wine in these hard times may not be such bad news for many wineries, but for Sandihurst it may impact on their ability to supply the US market, which it was just starting to establish.
Thankfully, while the winery building sustained some damage, it appears that it's nothing that can't be fixed, and the cellar door was reopened within a month of the quake.
West Melton was the Canterbury wine region that bore the brunt of the earthquake, but the destruction appears to be limited to a loss of stock and handful of buckled tanks. In Waipara, the tremor was less fierce.
"Most wineries would have lost a few bottles," says the chairman of Waipara Valley Winegrowers, Dayne Sherwood. "But nothing like pallets. One of the worst victims was the Glenmark Church, where we hold our annual food and wine festival, where damage means we might not be able to use it for our next event."
One of the most significant impacts on the local industry was not to property, but the downturn in trade caused by the quake. Instead of venturing into the CBD to wine and dine away their tremor-wracked nerves, many of the post-quake Christchurch public opted to stay home.
"Like all local wineries, we have suffered from loss of sales as the restaurants we supply were either closed or extremely quiet," says Ben Coles of The Crater Rim. "Wine sales through fine wine and grocery were obviously very slow after the quake."
Cellar doors also experienced a quiet spell. However, across the whole Canterbury region, the message being sent out by wineries is that it's very much business as usual.
This is something reinforced by Christchurch's decision to go ahead with Wine Discovery NZ earlier this month, the first Great Wine Capitals conference it hosted since joining this international network of wine cities late last year.
Christchurch has also temporarily lost one of its most oenologically exciting restaurants. The building housing Saggio di Vino sadly sustained major structural damage and will likely not reopen until next year.
It's not the first time that seismic activity has affected the country's wine industry - just three years ago an earthquake in Gisborne caused damage at Pernod Ricard's Gisborne winery.
Back in Canterbury, businesses are putting on a brave face. Craft brewer Three Boys recently released its 7.1 per cent Aftershock pale ale, which was brewing at the time of the quake. Perhaps next vintage it'll be joined by a 7.1 per cent riesling, lower alcohol styles being something Canterbury does well.
SOUND WINES IN SHAKY TIMES
CHARITABLE CUVEE
The Day the Ground Moved Like Jelly Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $13.99
Proceeds from this sappy sauvignon with its vibrant notes of passionfruit, guava, green herbs and zesty lime, made by Mud House, are going to the Christchurch Mayoral Earthquake Appeal. (From Countdown, Foodtown, Woolworths.)
UNKNOWN PLEASURES
Incognito Waipara Riesling 2008 $13.99
This delicious and crisp off-dry riesling from a respected producer in disguise fuses intense notes of orange zest, lemon blossom, honey and ginger in this amazing value Waipara wine. (From Fine Wine Delivery Company.)
A RICH SHADE OF GRIS
The Crater Rim Waipara Pinot Gris 2009 $25.90
A richly textured gris, in which concentrated layers of baked quince and nectarine, aniseed spice and honey are balanced by a fresh minerally undercurrent. (From Fine Wine Delivery Company, Liquorlands Newmarket & Pukekohe, Bacchus, Point Wines, Wine Vault.)
