40 | Folding Hill Wines REGIONAL Savour the flavours of Central Otago We offer an immersive wine tasting experience where guests can savor the essence of Central Otago's finest wines. 180 State Highway 8B, Cromwell, Central Otago | 03 445 0412 | www.thecorkandcap.co.nz Organic viticulture bearing fruit The vineyard goes one step further with its regenerative viticulture, and the family’s ethos is to leave the land better than how they found it. T T Aimee Wilson A family of academics have found a labour of love in Bendigo with their ‘old world’ winemaking practices. Folding Hill Wine Company was founded by the Kerruish family in 2003. Heritage winemaker Robin Dicey confirmed that the Bendigo Hills were perfect for pinot noir, and so husband and wife doctors Nikki and Tim made an investment that has paid off. Tim works in emergency medicine at Southland Hospital two days a week, whilst former paediatrician Nikki tends to the land and holds the fort. There are still four adult children who are coming and going, and eldest son Matthew is a huge part of the business since he graduated with a biomedical science degree. In just 18 months Matthew has learned all the tools for winemaking, and this year he won the Central Otago Young Viticulturist of the Year. The 23-year-old is fully immersed in the industry and currently in his second season in Burgundy, the first being under an exchange through the Central Otago Winegrowers Association. Nikki said when he was just three, he asked his parents why the mountains were folding on dusk — referring to the schist ridges of the Pisa Range. And so, the business name was created. The first vintage arrived in 2007, but this year is the first they have made their own wine using their own grapes all onsite. “The barrel cellar was constructed with the house so it’s been a 25 year project; I guess good things take time!” Matthew intended to go into medicine but got more and more involved in viticulture and winemaking — and the skills have been quite transferable. Now also employed by local company Vinewise, it was never a surprise that Matthew would choose winegrowing, given he had grown up on a vineyard. “He has acquired an amazing amount of skills in a short period of time. He’s really bright and if there’s a problem, he just says, ‘how am I going to solve it?’” Matthew has also worked with local winemaker Matt Connell during the last two harvests, learning more invaluable skills. And this season Folding Hill is also producing its first method traditionelle at Quartz Reef’s winery with Rudi Bauer, as well as their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyard is 100% certified organic, along with 30% of the Central Otago wine industry — higher than any other region in New Zealand. “And that is something Matthew is really passionate about,” she says. The vineyard goes one step further with its regenerative viticulture, and the family’s ethos is to leave the land better than how they found it. Cover crops between the rows of vines are great for the soil, and for attracting the right species of insects, and native plantings and olives add to the biodiversity. They graze sheep in the vineyard instead of using sprays to control the weeds and then they leave behind organic matter. There’s also three Charolais dairy-cross steer — named after Burgundy villages (Chambolle, Nuit, and Chambertin) — and chickens as well. The reduction in the use of sprays was a gradual process, as the family became increasingly committed to organic viticulture and its benefits for human and vineyard health and wine quality. Over time, this led to the decision to convert the entire vineyard to organic production. “We are gradually incorporating more and more regenerative viticulture practices with the aim of caring for our land and making the best wine we really can.” Central Otago Rural Plumbing Gas & Drainage Experts Built for Central Otago, Built to Last 021 0253 1092 plumber@waterworx.co.nz
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