Bay Vintner Peter Hubscher a key player in NZ wine industry’s success

Peter Hubscher has written a book titled A Vintner's Tale about his career in the wine industry.

It was an ‘accident” that Peter Hubscher started in the wine business.

The year was 1964 and Hubscher was at Massey University studying food technology.

“There were only a few food students back then. Then one day winemaker Tom McDonald showed up looking for a trainee and as I was the only senior student who hadn’t committed to a job, he offered to host me in Hawke’s Bay during the vintage.

“Back then New Zealand’s wine industry was in its formative years. It was a cottage industry really.

“There’s was a good bit of romance in the industry built on sherry, sugar and water aged in oak barrels. There was a charm about it but not in New Zealand. I discussed the opportunity at length with my university tutor. Was it worth it to go? We came to the conclusion that there was no better time to enter than when it was down.

“So I took Tom up on his offer and he charmed me into staying.

“It was a nice social industry back then but the product was terrible so joining was a gamble.”

Hubscher “worked his butt off” over the next 40 years as the industry boomed.

In 1973 he joined Montana Wines and went on to run New Zealand’s largest wine industry.

“It was stressful and hard work. However, it’s satisfying to look back and see how the industry came into its own.”

This month sees the release of his book A Vintner’s Tale — a first-person account of his amazing career.

It’s well-written, engaging and really interesting.

Peter Hubscher enjoying the joys of vintage 1966. Photo / Marti Friedlander

“It’s different to most wine books. It’s a tale of what happened, based on my life in the industry,” Hubscher said.

“I’ve had some really good reaction from it. People appreciate it’s a real story, not a textbook.

“Hopefully there’s some wisdom in it,” he said with a grin.”

He decided to write a book after a comment from his wife Pam.

“We would have friends round from the industry and we would tell stories. Pam said I had to write them down or they would be lost. I’m not a natural writer so it’s taken me a while. I had to think a lot,” he laughed.

The book also tells the story of his love of the arts. His wife founded Tironui Music Trust in 2005 to support disadvantaged youths to learn music.

Tironui started off small.

“There was no role model for us. We have gone from 25 enrolled kids to 550.”

The trust has supported thousands of children.

“Over the years we have developed it and funded 90 per cent of it. We are far from filthy rich. Early on we came to the conclusion to support charities. Then we decided to do one thing and do it properly.

“The difficulty for us was that we didn’t want to start funding an 8-year-old’s music lessons for a year. We had to make sure we could carry it on into the future.

“It’s certainly kept us busy.”

The book includes a heartfelt letter from the trust’s first recipient for the Tironui Trust scholarship.

There are photos, more letters, and many words of wisdom in A Vintner’s Tale.

My favourite is this: “When our creator stands back and reflects on the relative worth of the many treasures he gave mankind to enhance their lives, I wonder how he ranks the simple yeast cell. Certainly, it must be near the top of his list. Human civilisation, without leavened bread, beer and wine would be boring, to say the least.”

I couldn’t agree more.

A Vintner’s Tale will be launched on September 14 at Wardini Books in Napier, at 6.30pm.