Business Rural North Summer 2021

14 | Family-owned wine Photos: Melba Brajkovich inspecting the Chardonnay harvest, 2021. Michael Brajkovich tasting Chardonnay in the barrel cellar. Nigel Tibbits with Michael. Virginia Wright K umeu River Wines is still the family-owned business it has been since it first began in 1944 when Mick and Katé Brajkovich bought property with a small vineyard ready for cultivation with their son Maté. Maté went on to marry Melba and they con- tinued to build the vineyard up at the same time as bringing up their four children Michael, Milan, Marijana, and Paul. Melba is now 84 and still actively engaged in the running of the vineyard with each of the children filling roles in its management. They’re joined by Ni- gel Tibbits and, while he didn’t actually grow up on the vineyard, he started working there when he was 16 and he too was tutored by Maté. In the 1980’s the name was changed from San Moreno Vineyards to Kumeu River Wines and today it produces around 450,000 bottles of wine annually. For Michael Brajkovich this year’s 2021 harvest will be his 40 th vintage since his first Kumeu River vintage in 1982. He was fresh out of the prestigious Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Aus- tralia with a Bachelor of Oenology and a detailed knowledge of the science of wine-making including chemistry, microbiology and viticulture. Michael’s next vintage was in the Saint-Émilion region in France and with it came a new experience of winemaking drawn from centuries of traditional knowledge and practice. “In a way it was an experience of unlearning what I’d gained from the science,” says Michael. “It was fantastic and I came back with a lot of ideas I would never have considered just being a Roseworthy graduate because we were taught a certain way, the way it was done in Australia, and seeing how it was done as I travelled through the Bordeaux region really opened my eyes. Having exposure to both sides of it was just wonderful because then I could apply all of those learnings to our own situation here in Kumeu.” At the time Michael thought they would have to move to grow good grapes as their land made it difficult, but his father insisted that they try out the new ideas in both viticulture and winemaking on the land they had yet to develop. “And he was right,” says Michael, “because what we have achieved here in the last 40 years has been quite incredible.” One of their first departures from the usual winemaking practices of this part of the world was to start making their red wines without adding cultured yeast, but instead relying on wild or indig- enous fermentation. After a couple of successful years they felt confident enough by 1986 to do the RURAL PEOPLE » Kumeu River Wines: Brajkovich Family same with their white wines. “At the time it was very controversial,” says Michael. “We didn’t mention it to anybody, but then it became a thing and now lots of people do it.” While in Australia Michael had noticed that it was often the yeast fingerprint that came through more strongly in the wines than the varietal or vineyard character. “Using wild fermentation puts the yeast into the background because you’re getting a mixed culture of a number of different species, not all of which survive through the fermentation, but they contribute to the flavour and texture of the wine in a very subtle way so we ended up with more varietal character and vineyard character in the wine which is more important. “And while we don’t have the science or chem- istry to back this up necessarily I’m convinced we get more texture with more mouth feel with the wild fermentation.” By the late 80’s Michael was studying to be a Master of Wine together with Bob Campbell. The qualification had only recently opened up to international candidates and Michael travelled to sit the exam in the UK. “I managed to pass first time,” he says still sounding surprised 30 years later, “so I became New Zealand’s first Master of Wine in 1989. Bob Campbell sat it the following year and passed it first time round as well.” Kumeu River’s reputation rests on their chardon- nay which represents around 75% of what they do, the rest being made up of pinot gris, pinot noir and some sparkling wine. They have six different chardonnay labels with varying quality levels and price points and thanks to some impressive reviews from fellow Master of Wine, London based Jancis Robinson, regarding their 2019 and 2020 vintages they have now all but sold out. “Our whole range of chardonnays were lauded by her,” explains Michael. “Her website would be the most important wine consumer website in the world I would say.” After so many years in the business it wouldn’t be surprising if the Brajkovich family were getting a little tired with it all, but they continue to find new projects to keep them engaged such as their deci- sion to try a sparkling wine in 2012. “It’s a very long term project but the bottles are coming along really well,” says Michael. “We thought we could do a really good méthode traditionelle which we’re doing in very traditional style with a bottle fermentation then three years in bottle on the lees before we do the degorgement. These bottles are getting better all the time,” says Michael. “It’s been a very fun project which keeps us focused and interested in doing new things.” “Using wild fermentation puts the yeast into the background because you’re getting a mixed culture of a number of different species, not all of which survive through the fermentation, but they contribute to the flavour and texture of the wine in a very subtle way so we ended up with more varietal character and vineyard character in the wine which is more important.” Hunting Hill Vineyard, Kumeu.