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Winery Winter

July and August have been reasonably cold and wet in the Hawke's Bay with 100mm of rain in one day and minus 5.5 deg frosty morning�s burrrrr � feel cold just typing that out.

Around our vineyards we have been pruning, mulching, composting and a spot of repairs and maintenance - trellis and posts etc. Budding time will be here in only 3-4 weeks and so will the frosts therefore we are getting prepared and checking all our frost fighting equipment.

I flew to the US for market work for the last two weeks of July, covering Illinois, Missouri, and California! First time for me in Chicago and absolutely loved the place. Chicago had a real heart and friendliness that you would not expect from the third largest US city of almost 3 million peps. Wild Rock Wine was very well received and we will now be in the Stefani and Gibsons restaurant groups, which is fantastic. Plus some of the top off-premise accounts like Printers Row Bottle Shop, Whole Foods and Copperfields. It was awesome going for a morning run along the white sanded beach with the clear fresh water of Lake Michigan and the back drop of high risers. If you are in Chicago get up to the Trump Towers and have a glass of Wild Rock Cupids Arrow Pinot Noir and soak up the killer view.

Kansas City Missouri was a lovely spot, a humid tree filled city with plenty of art galleries and cultural focus and filled with friendly helpful people. Got to say though the food was too good and it was fortunate for the body that I was only there for a few fun days. Check out Wild Rock wine in the American restaurant, Blue Stem restaurant, Reverse, Extra Virgin bar & restaurant and Gomers bottle stores.

Sunny California was a blast, teaming up with Chris Alton our representative from our US importer Kobrand, we had huge success in the most competitive market in the US - California has 12% of the total US population. First up was San Diego � you can now get Wild Rock in Holiday Wine Cellar, Major Market, Season Market, Ostra restaurant �the list goes on. Up to Orange County � my favourite restaurant, Habana, rocks out Wild Rock Cupids Arrow Pinot Noir! You can also get our range in Wine Exchange, Wine Gallery, Southern Hemisphere Wines, Hyatt Newport and the Vendome group. LA was everything promised and then some, beautiful people everywhere and some serious flash cars � what recession eh! Enjoyed a fun surf at Trestles with dolphins and followed up with tacos and beer in the sun � niiiice. If you are in LA � check us out in one of the hottest spots the Delphine Restaurant in W Hotel or K&L Wines for some takeaways!

Off to San Francisco where I worked Marin County 20 min north of the city and fell in love with the area � especially after a four hour mountain bike ride in the birth place of mountain biking, Mt Tamalpais covered in redwoods and cedar and natural looking architecture no commercial chain stores. You can get Wild Rock at United Markets, Andy�s and Jolly king Liquor. Up to Napa for the night and our craziest fun night out in the US. Napa was pumping with out door bands and fun people everywhere, particularly loved the modern sushi at Morimotos. Lastly down into San Fran and sold into one of the most popular wine bars Bin38 and some cool organic stores like Thom�s and Real Food Co on Polk st.

Fun times with great wines.

Cheers

Ash Ireland
The Wild Rock Guy

#wine, #NZwine

June tasting and Wild Food Festival Hunting

All of the grapes were in and pressed by early June in what was regarded as a gentleman�s harvest with a very fortunate outcome. We were looking down the barrel of a challenging vintage when a combination of great viticulture and an Indian summer prevailed and an exceptional quality vintage was the outcome.

After tasting the 8 different components for our 2010 chardonnay (that is, separate blocks from our various Hawkes Bay Vineyards) it hit me�our winemakers love making Chardonnay. Both Rod and Matt had big grins on, not unlike myself, and were really enjoying complexities and variables involved with making chardonnay. Interesting to note that now we do not try to record the percentage of malolactic fermentation and manage that separately, instead we allow it to occur naturally and taste to determine the level of malo to consider before blending.

Malolatic fermentation (MLF) is the secondary fermentation or bacterial fermentation (rather than yeast fermentation) brought about naturally through temperature control of the wine in barrel. MLF is the conversion where malic acid (sharp fruit acidity) is converted to softer lactic acid (creamy buttery rich tasting).

Tasting the 2009 Merlot and Malbec from barrels (for our Gravel Pit Red) and the 2009 Cupids Arrow Central Otago Pinot Noir confirmed that this is indeed a great vintage and the vibrant fruit have integrated well with the oak. The Cupids Arrow Pinot is one of our most popular wines and the 2009 is tasting outstandingly huge with massive black fruit, spice and herb and soft tannins already so watch out.

I am part of a couple of wine groups and one of which gets together for an annual Winter Wild Food Festival which is a delicious mix of easily accessible local game matched with divine wine. This event is coming up this weekend so for the past couple of weekends I have been out shooting with friends & family doing the hunter gatherer thing for the fest. Wild Rock Strugglers Flat Martinborough Pinot Noir with savoury, earthy, mushroom, truffle notes will be a great match for some of the rich game. See photos below.

Cheers
Ash
The Wild Rock Guy
#wine, #NZwine

Bordeaux & Hawke's Bay Reds Tasting

Last night I enjoyed a Hawke's Bay Winegrowers international market tasting comparing Bordeaux to Hawke's Bay. There were three flights of wines tasted, Boardeaux Superior, Cru Bourgeois, and Cru Classe. Each flight had 4-6 French wines and 2 Hawke's Bay wines.

In the Cru Classe we compared Chateau Lascombes 2000 2eme Cru Margaux, Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 2000 5eme Cru Pauillac, Chateau Belair 2006 1er Grand Cru Classe B St Emilion, Chateau Mondot 2000 Grand Cru St Emilion, Te Mata Coleraine 2000, and Vidals Reserve Merlot Cabernet 2000.

A noteable point agreed by all participating was that the quality was equal between Bordeaux and Hawke's Bay, and that vibrant fruit shown by the NZ wine was worth celebrating. The French wines obviously showed more earthy savoury notes but the Hawke's Bay wines presented more intense fruit sweetness. Rather than continuing to make reference to Bordeaux when comparing our wines in the market place the agreed opinion and challenge was that the Hawke's Bay wines need to be described more on their own merits, highlighting the complexities and rich vibrant fruits unique to the region.

Cheers
Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

Wild Rock UK Market Trip

My Euro market visit turned into a UK/Ireland market visit due to my nemesis Volcanicis Ashis which delayed my trip a week and removed the Swedish and Swiss legs of the trip.

After a long long flight with not a lot of sleeping, but as always great service on AIRNZ, I arrived in London Heathrow.
I felt pretty jaded on arrival but had a run around a park and a lovely antipasta and champagne lunch in the sun with my brother and family.

On the first day I had a fantastic modern Indian lunch at Mint Leaf in the city (finance district). There appears to be a theme of modern quality Indian dining with an emphasis on healthy small well presented portions. Mint Leaf is a really stylie experience, in fact photo shoots and fashion shows are often held with swags of the London celebs. Mint Leaf sells large volumes of our Infamous Goose Sauvignon Blanc by the glass.

Off to the coast south of London, taking the fast train to Winchester and joined up with our rep Chas to drive down to Bishops Waltham, Poole and Bourmouth and back to Winchester then train back to London � a long but rewarding day. An account we tasted at which is right on the beach at Bourmouth is a super cool edgy bar and restaurant called Urban Reef, which focuses on sustainable great food and wine. There is an artificial reef built right in front of the premises so you can sit back with a Wild Rock Wine and watch surfing all afternoon. These guys rock out our Infamous Goose Sauvignon Blanc.

I finished the day with a fun couple of hours mountain biking around the hills surrounding Winchester which was a good blast and provided great scenery. What a stunning city! Cute waterways are throughout the middle of the city which is rich in history with buildings and statues from the 10th century and onwards.

A fun tasting for Dion Wine Bars led into a great Wild Rock Wine Cooking evening for 16 of The Geronimo Pub Group managers at the Leith�s School of Wine and Food in London. What a great night with a fun crew who really get the edgy coolness of Wild Rock Wine.

Shot off to Manchester by Virgin fast train and travelled by car to Styal Cheshire for a lunch for 20 customers at 39 Steps Restaurant � amazing service the fast train & pretty crazy when you pass another fast train going the other direction. A successful lunch where all the guests were keen to take on the Wild Rock Wine collection, all commenting on the lovely NZ fruit and long clean finish of all the wines - � a real quality collection of NZ wines�. Drove an hour or so to Rodney Densem Wines Nantwich Cheshire and had a consumer tasting for 40 or so customers � great wit and a fun bunch who enjoyed taking the micky. Once again all loved our wine � big favourites were the Wild Rock Sur Lie Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris for its layered creaminess from b�tonnage of the lees and wild thyme notes in the Wild Rock Cupids Arrow Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Over to Dublin Ireland - enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness of our lovely importers and distributors Febvre. Got to say they think I change my name for each market (Ash Ireland). Had a tasting for 15 or so key account staff and customers which went down well and the biggest excitement was for our Wild Rock Pania Hawkes Bay Chardonnay for the lovely balance of fruit, butteriness, and oakiness.

Off to Belfast then home to NZ � providing the infamous Volcanic Ash holds back on us.

Cheers

Ash
a.k.a. The Wild Rock Guy
#wine #pinot

Harvest 2010

April has provided a reasonably smooth harvest with grapes arriving sporadically and in great condition. I enjoyed hand harvesting some of our Pania Chardonnay with Hayden Lay (Vineyard Manager Giants Site) on one of our Havelock North Hawkes Bay sites and got out to our Kidnappers Hawkes Bay site to see a larger crew of about 60 hand harvest there too. The fruit is harvested at just over 23 brix and tastes sweet and delicious with notable differences from the individual sites. This highlights one of the unique points of Wild Rock Wine � it is regional specific wine taken from our individual sites in each of our premium New Zealand regions representing the very best of the area.

Our Pania Chardonnay has gone through the first wild fermentation, and has been barrelled up, and then come spring it will warm up and go through the secondary fermentation (Malolatic Fermentation). The Merlot for our Gravel Pit Red has also come in and almost all has completed the fermentation process as well. The quality is right up there so we are looking at another awesome vintage � so far.

The Angels Dust Syrah grapes have just started to roll in from our Gimblett Gravels vineyard. I was sorting through these grapes yesterday and they taste divine and look great too. It was difficult to find many bunches to discard as they were all looking so good. These were de-stemmed and placed into large cuves for fermentation. The Malbec will begin to be harvested later in the week.

Information on Gimblett Gravels
Our Gimblett Gravels Vineyard is widely regarded amongst the very best vineyards for Bordeaux Reds and Syrah in New Zealand. Its unique location creates the warmest vineyard area in the country, where other climatic factors such as sunshine hours, humidity and rainfall are also ideal. The stony soils further warm the entire environment of the vine and create excellent soil conditions for making ultra premium red wines from these varieties. The stylistic characters of red wines from the vineyard are richness, ripeness and elegance with a distinctive fine dusty tannin finish we call Gimblett Dust � a.k.a. Angels Dust.

Xterra Rotorua
I had a great time riding the Xterra 29km Mountain Bike race held in Rototua 10th April. Xterra is New Zealand�s largest multi discipline race with various choices of races available for most levels. It is a well organised event which has a real friendly feel about it and is set in Whakarewarewa, NZ�s best mountain biking area, and around the Blue Lake which is absolutely stunning. I placed 16th out of 140 overall and 10th for my age group in a time of 1hr 38min.

Cheers

The Wild Rock Guy
#Wine #Chardonnay #Syrah

Label Survey Prize Winner Announced

Congratulations Simon Matthews of Auckland!
Simon won the mixed case of award winning Wild Rock Wine after being randomly selected from all of the participants who entered the on-line Label Survey.
Thanks again to all the wonderful people who participated in the survey.
Cheers
The Wild Rock Guy

March Madness

Hi there

March has been madness. More hard work, fun, antics and craziness than you could poke a stick at.

The last leg of my US trip was spent in Florida -Orlando, Tampa and Miami, with a great bunch of people who really get Wild Rock Wines - quality with a edgy, fun, modern side.
On the crazy side (for me) a early morning tasting in a Ft Lauderdale Cigar Bar meant having a Cuban with the owner while tasting the full Wild Rock Wine collection Sopranos style- pretty HD for a non smoker!

After the US trip I was only just home for a couple of nights and straight into a Wild Rock extreme adventure trip for our American VIPs. The trip of all trips this was a blast from start to finish. I felt like I had been reunited with my Uni buddies as we all got along so well and gave most life threatening activities a go just like back in my Uni days.
There were approximately 20 of us and we covered some of the best Queenstown offered like Kawarau jet boating, bungying, river surfing and mountain biking. We had a wonderful stay at the Rees Hotel which offered panoramic views of lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountain range.
The highlights for me were the river surfing grade 4 rapids on the Kawarau and some fast mountain biking with hard core riders at the 7 mile MTB park on the shores of Wakatipu.
Check out Justin's pic show from the trip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7erhMTYzRyM

Straight back on deck I was up to my neck in the longest meanest mountain bike race I've entered - the Triple Peaks Challenge. I was pleased with my result getting in the top 25% & doing 4 hrs 13 min for the 48 km and approx 1560m of assents.
Photographer Richard Brimmer snapped a couple of great pics of me on my MTB commute to work during the week - see below.

No rest for the wicked - off to Oz. A week's market trips around Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane was productive and fast paced.
Wild Rock is hugely supported in Australia with a talented sales team managing to get placement in a large amount of quality on and off premise accounts.
I had an enjoyable tasting with the team at Toorak Cellars, a funky Melbourne wine bar and bottle store, who even had a window display full of Wild Rock. To finish the trip I had a full on consumer tasting in the Chalk & Cheese West End Brisbane selling out of most wines on the night.

Harvest was delayed a few weeks due to the weather but has been running smoothly with some Chardonnay coming this week, the quality is excellent.
I'll be there with harvest bells on over the next week. #wine

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

Pinot 2010, Harvest Hawke�s Bay & the US and A

What a full on month, not to over use that stupid clich� �hitting the ground running� but that�s how the Christmas holidays finished and the New Year really began.

Pinot 2010 was one of the most well regarded wine conferences in the world with most of the top wine press attending plus about 107 NZ Pinot producers.
Held in Wellington, the capital decided to turn on a stunning week of unprecedented weather the place turned it on like a harbour capital should.
The conference was extremely informative with great speakers like Kevin Roberts (Saatchi�s) who tried to focus the audience on creating a love bite (aka Hiki) through building performance, trust and reputation with love from NZ (a global approach selling the credibility, knowledge, skills, attitude and reputation of what is means to be a NZ�er � pure). Also more importantly, thinking from the shelf back seducing though the packaging, taste, pricing, and stories.

Matthew Jukes (UK) was entertaining and informing clearly spelling out the NZ Pinot producers have a one off opportunity to dominate, with us being the best value and quality in the world and landing NZ in a great position to pick up where burgundy have had 3 successive poor vintages.
Nick Stock (Aust) comparing Pinot in NZ with analogies of surfing (which worked well for Wild Rock) that people drive a long way to get to waves, choose the right board for skills & waves, attack in different ways for different waves � yeah Nick. He went on to say we should focus on being unique, work on our complexity, balance, rise above industry standard, and avoid any phony made up wines (maybe an Aussie thing).
Jamie Goode and Steve Smith gave great speeches on sustainability and Tim Atkin and Jeremy Moon were very entertaining and engaging. There were plenty of other great speeches and inspiring moments as well.

There were some fantastic tastings (although I found the 20 min allocation tough to taste so many delicious Pinots � up to 13 in a tasting) being regional tastings , vintage tastings , & world tastings � absolute heaven!!!!!

Matthew Jukes rated Wild Rock up there (we made his cut) he gave our 07 Cupids Arrow 17.5 out of 20!

We had a great time at Harvest Hawkes Bay at Roy�s Hill in Hastings � first time in ages the event was held in one location. It was fun and great to enjoy with a friendly crowd of appreciative folks (no where near as smashed as at the Toast Martinborough event).

Well no rest for the wicked � moved into our first house in the Hawkes Bay (after 2 &1/2 yrs looking) and then flew off to NY NY! What a great city full of hospitable friendly folks who love Kiwis � thanks Bret, Jermaine and Murray!
The snow was falling and the city had a romance about it that rivalled Paris.
Sold lashings of Wild Rock wine and even fitted in some consumer tastings in downtown Manhattan and Soho and a concert with one of my favourite bands the Editors � too much.

Now down in Orlando Florida where it feels bigger than Texas � in fact apparently there are more hotel rooms than all US cities other than Vegas. Day 2 here and all is going swimmingly with me hosting an enjoyable seminar and meeting some knowledgeable eager wine people that make the whole thing a pleasure. #wine #pinot

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

Blending 2009 wines

Summer Holiday
Lovely to be back in NZ holidaying in the Bay of Islands, spent a week or so at Bland Bay swimming with dolphins and avoiding the odd shark. Great wines, great weather, great seafood, great friends and family! Yep � great stuff.

Blending 2009 wines
Tasting blends for some of the 2009 Wild Rock is bloody exciting, although for many in the industry this is business as usual � for me it�s better than Christmas!
Experiencing the tastes of the various components and understanding what the winemakers objectives are to bring them together in a marriage of harmony encouraging the individuality but not allowing any one part to dominate � it�s truly cool.

The 09 Pania suggests subtle canned peaches, complex oak, malolactic creaminess, toastiness, clean balanced finish � a seriously Moorish wine.
The 2009 looks to be positioned between the big bold up front 2007 and the more refined subtle classy 2008. Yesterday I tasted the individual oak puncheons (500 ltr barrels) and got seriously different oak flavours� Mercury puncheon was really complex and dynamic with toast, popcorn, and sandalwood vs others with coconut and charred earthly influences. Today with the blends all combined you get to appreciate the individual make up which joins together to provide a balanced dynamic complex array of flavours comfortably merged together.

Shot big time by Cupids Arrow 2009! The bouquet was mind blowing with strong cherry fruit sweetness and heavy herb, slate and oak notes. Massive!

Angels dust 2009 will satisfy anyone in search of the reserve. This wine showed huge plum flavours and distinctive blue flowers (lavender/violets) with firm tannin (which will be shaved off down the track). It�s remarkable that the different vineyards Gimlett Gravels and High Country Estates (only 3 barrels from High Country Estate vineyard) which we bring together from the Hawke's Bay Region provide such different influences. Gimlett is more black fruit, black pepper and blue flowers and High country is white pepper and red fruit.

Gravel Pit Red Merlot Malbec without trying to sound repetitive another blinder! With a warm year and with the rain stopping on queue we have a smooth layered sexy red on our hands. Tasting the Merlot separate it was silky and smooth, rounded and full and then trying the Malbec separately I got toasted coppery mocca, charred effect with nutty biscuity flavours and hints of anise � together �ahhhh perfection. #wine

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

Hawaiian Wild Rock Billabong Promotion for SurfAid

Wild Rock Account Visits
Turtle Bay is a well catered resort set out on a point with an amazing surf break, golf course, and some excellent restaurants like Ola�s and 21 Degrees. I did a Wine Representatives Dinner at 21 Degrees and a wine information night with Ola�s. The staff at Ola�s were really great fun to party with too!
Ola�s loved our Pinot Noir for it�s up front fruit, wild thyme mid palate & dry finish. Our Savy was appreciated for its stand out difference to all other NZ Marlborough Savy�s � a hint of Riesling and Viognier. Ola sold out of our wine while I was there � I arranged an emergency Wild Rock drop off no worries.

Swapped my Jeep Cherokee rental over for a cheaper Mustang convertible!! Check out the deal on Hotwire � only $26 a day!

Had some excellent market visits to existing and potentially new accounts in Honolulu (an hour or so drive over the island from the North Shore). Had a great lunch at Duc�s Vietnamese/French restaurant in Chinatown � yum roast duck breast with ginger � followed by their fab gin cocktail. Duc�s give you a complimentary cocktail with every meal! The meals are really inexpensive and delicious. Checked out all the top hotels in Waikiki too.

Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational Surfing Contest
This competition requires big waves of minimum 30ft wave face for �Eddie to be on� and has only been held nine times (including this event) since it started in 1985. The waves were so big they went over the only road in/out of the North Shore and there were high surf warning signs up like the ones for road traffic in NZ.
An experience of a lifetime � I got to catch some of this craziness in the largest waves I have ever seen. It was excellent to see Billabong�s Greg Long winning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GQF-6RRWz4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE8y4kIgOp4

Billabong Pipeline Masters
If you had to choose between the three events of the Vans Triple Crown my pick would be the Pipeline without a doubt.
An absolutely brilliant event which was well laid out with two main areas;
� the promotional tents (including the dead cool Wild Rock one) and leader/information board elevated up on the grass looking down on the Bozai Pipeline which was about 100m long
� The beach tents had pro surfer tents, photographer tents and thousands of people sitting on the sand, and when it got too hot swimming in the shallow waters.

The surf was consistent and crowd pleasing keeping you on the edge of your seat. Some fantastic rides through the Pipeline and back door barrels too.

My favourites were Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow � I was gutted to see Joel fall of the of the top of the wave in one of the final heats.
It was great that Taj won and Joel took the WTA (winner takes all) prize.

The Wild Rock Party was awesome � just amazing! We had about 150 people at the Billabong House on the Pipeline with Donavan Frankenreiter playing and Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, Andy Irons and many other top pro surfers there. The party went to 3-4ish when we went swimming in the sea (after I inadvertently took the 10 ft wall down!). We had a blast and the vibe was really happy � Wild Rock Wine was enjoyed by all. The auction including an action trip to NZ (including - AJ Hackett Auckland Harbour Bungy, Auckland Wakeboarding, Queenstown Kawarau Jet boating and Rafting) as a prize went really well and the money raised for SurfAid doubled what we expected.

We then had another huge party the night after for Billabong � a Lifeguard Charity party with about 1000 people � Wild Rock was the only wine enjoyed by all!

After all of that I headed home to Christmas in NZ. Phew!

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

DECEMBER IS HAPPENING

We had some great news with the results from The Sydney International Wine Show � a truly international show with a formidable line up of winery entries.
Our results;
� 2009 Wild Rock Elevation Sauvignon Blanc � Blue-Gold Award
� 2008 Wild Rock Strugglers Flat Pinot Noir � Blue-Gold Award, Top 100 (on top of the Blue Gold!)
� 2007 Wild Rock Angels Dust Reserve Syrah � Blue-Gold Award, Top 100 (on top of the Blue Gold as well!)

Had a tasting in Havelock North comparing the newly bottled (& soon to be released) 2009 Wild Rock Sur Lie Otago Pinot Gris vs the 2008 Wild Rock Sur Lie Hawkes Bay Pinot Gris � very interesting, both were divine but the Otago stood out to me, I loved the crisp green apple taste up front and the light floral notes and a subtle hint of Turkish delight - another clean balanced wine to be proud of.

A couple of days before my flight I was tearing down Te Mata Peak on my mountain bike (down the Craggy Range side) on my way to work and I flipped the bike a couple of times � the first was sweet, just hit a rock and went over the bars � the second was a killer. The sheep hadn�t been doing their job in chewing down the grass so a nasty hole was hiding just for me � this time it crunched my ribs and buggered me from doing anything full on during my trip to Hawaii � luck of the Irish!

Hawaii Week One

My internal flight was delayed so I got to experience AIRNZ�s fantastic service � they had a lovely chaperone pick me up from the Auckland domestic airport, whisk me over to the international, and take me through all the secret back door routes onto the plane on time � thanks AIRNZ!

Rented a Jeep Cherokee soft top and headed over the Island of Oahu from Honolulu to the North Shore, a beautiful and somewhat remote and rugged part of the island with absolutely huge waves.

I had a early morning surf with our importer and I struggled, managing a couple of basic rides and packed it in after an hour� gave myself a week more to recover from the MTB spill (If my HR manager is reading this � I know I promised not to surf or MTB over here � I had a good reason & I tell you later)�

The O�Neill World Cup is the second Jewel in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition and we had our stand there in a tent on the Sunset Beach � totally cool. Supporting SurfAid International along with Billabong we received plenty of awareness and publicity � with verbiage over the loud speakers and hundreds of people visiting our stand. It�s really good fun and the surfing does not get better.

A very strange landlady booted me out after one night in the beach condo � she was worried about The Wild Rock Guy & the Billabong guys being too wild (she claimed to have some bad experience with them in the past competitions) - so I moved into Turtle Bay Resort � very nice. In reality it was more of a relief than a problem!

Tasted our wine at a couple of Foodland supermarkets and it was really well received selling heaps in both places � one almost sold out! The American�s who tasted Wild Rock loved the fruit up front and the interesting mid palate notes (like the wild thyme in the Cupids Arrow Pinot Noir) and the balance.

The O�Neill World Cup final was really exciting with some great surfing through barrels and some air and lots of wicked turns � great to see the Billabong pro Joel Parkinson win on the day.

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

Wine, Food, Fashion, & Surfing

A great couple of weeks bringing great things together�.

Toast Martinborough Wine & Food Festival, Martinborough, Wairarapa
Renamed Toasted in Martinborough � a full on crazy day with some pretty crazy sights. Went down and supported the Craggy Team and had a ball.
Our Marketing chick Nat Corkery (changed her name by deed poll to get work with wine) had a well organised operation going down and everything went perfectly apart from the windy weather with Palliser Winery loosing their marquee and a few other close shaves. Rombus played at the Craggy site and pumped our some huge sounds drawing vast quantities of people The Dominion Post voted Craggy as the best music venue on the day. Craggy�s award winning Terroir restaurant produced divine food and the vineyard, winery and sales staff worked like demons serving thousands and thousands of people over the day � HUGE effort!!!

Curry in the Craggy/Wild Rock Winery, Hawke�s Bay
Whipped up a goat curry (shot it up in Wairoa a few months earlier) and enjoyed with the winery team for smoko and checked out some chardonnay barrel topping with Bridget (to bring up the level of wine in the barrel which is lost through evaporation) and some tank cleaning with Tom. Always good to catch up with the winery crew, check out what they�re up to and soak it all up.

Workshop Ponsonby Store Opening Party and Fashion Show in Auckland
Workshop, one of the top high fashion houses of New Zealand, really know how to put on a great party and Wild Rock was there as a brand partner enjoyed by the movers and shakers of the industry.
The party was topped off by a stylish fashion show and happening sounds. Ground breaking territory for Ponsonby retail with industrial stark raw one off fixtures and fittings, artwork from Martin Popplewell and John Reynolds, and a huge ceiling height using natural light and clean walls to draw you in � hard to refuse! Further info on Workshop available at www.workshop.co.nz

The Veils Gig at the Cabana, Napier
What a great night! The Veils are a half kiwi half English band with lead singer Finn Andrews has a sound that is both alluring and stand out � reminds me of Ian McColloch from Echo & The Bunnymen.
The Veils were very cool and sang with passion and style. Cabana venue in Napier is perfect - taking you back to when your local live music venue was the first choice to hear what was new and cool.
Check them out on www.theveils.com

SurfAid Promotions at the Van�s Triple Crown in Hawaii
Wild Rock Wines are promoting SurfAid International in Hawaii at the Van�s Triple Crown of Surfing competition which has begun this week.
I am heading over next week for a couple of weeks � wicked job but someone�s gotta do it!!!!
Our trusted American Importer Manager Phyllis Nishimoto has been down on the beach with the Wild Rock/SurfAid tent and getting the word out.
The waves were not cutting it to begin with but have now picked up and the action is happening to view � www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

Cheers

Ash � The Wild Rock Guy

SUMMER - BRING IT ON

Another great week in paradise as summer in the Hawkes Bay, NZ kicks off. The beautiful weather beaming down on the lush vines looks very promising and you can�t help but smile.

Everyone is busy busy even though it is no where near harvest.

I have been involved with the strategy and planning over the last week and it has been a great process bringing everything together and looking at the big picture.

Steve Smith, Rod Easthope, Mike Bancs and Kate Broadhurst have been busy judging and assisting at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, Adrian Baker has been working his magic on down in Martinborough, and the other Winemakers busy moving 2008 Wild Rock red wines out of barrel to be blended then back to barrel the blending tastings last week (plus a squeezing in a spot of cricket!).

All the work on a Hawaii promo for SurfAid charity has come together so I�m booking a flight for December 3rd to 14th to get over and make it happen.

It is really exciting to help set up such a cool event. Wild Rock has a tent on the beach at all the Hawaiian Van�s Triple Crown Surfing events and we are teaming up Billabong to have a 'get Wild and Rock the World' partaaay at the awesome Billabong house on the North Shore. HUGE!

It will be great for SurfAid, great for Wild Rock, and I�m sure Billabong will love all the great quality NZ wines provided by Wild Rock!

Had some pretty cool rides over Te Mata Peak to and from work (pic below)- got to say it is paradise here - an adventure just getting to work - and what fantastic work!!!!!

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

MORE WINE & MUSIC...

Another cool week mixing up great wine and great sounds from down under to over in the big apple.

Wild Rock Wine proudly sponsored the CMJ NZ Music Showcase in New York on the 20th helping kiwi musicians launch themselves on the US stage.

This year featuring Die! Die! Die!, Surf City, Motocade, Kingston, Bang Bang Eche and Kidz In Space, also David Dallas and Smashproof.

Great bands - I especially rate Motorcade, Kids in Space and Smashproof.

The CMJ is a more underground cool event than the massive South by South West held in Austin Texas.

Unfortunately I wasn't in NY to catch this gig but the NZ on Air guys said it was fantastic with over a thousand people enjoying the night - check out their pic.

Back in NZ I enjoyed a great night at the Lloyd Cole concert held at the Cabana in Napier!

Lloyd Cole was an 80's icon and still sounds just as good - playing about 40 tracks to what seemed like a concert in your own lounge.

Meanwhile, the winemakers have been blending up the wines for the 2009 vintage and it is looking really - I mean REALLY GOOD!!!

Rod Easthope (senior Winemaker for Craggy Range/Wild Rock) said it is the best vintage ever!

Blending is the process where each batch of that vintage held in the winery (which are kept in separate parcels) are blind tasted.

Then the portions required to achieve each specific style wines are decided.

The batches are blind tasted by the winemaking team and an external taster is employed to avoid any potential cellar pallet.

Rod Easthope also commented that the GPR, which has achieved gold each year since 2002, should be no different for the 2009 year!

Cheers
Ash - The Wild Rock Guy

Meetings Schmeetings

A week of uncharacteristically copious quantities of meetings and more meetings � all good causes and lots of great stuff to take in.

I had a MTB ride up and over Te Mata Peak to work and then after work back up the steep Craggy Range side and over to Havelock North � pretty hard out.

During the week I got to take home a few left over bottles of wine from a tasting � some outstanding numbers like 2009 Dry River Gew�rztraminer, 2008 Vinoptima Gew�rztraminer, 2009 Pegasus Bay Riesling, 2008 Shubert Waiarapa Pinot Noir � great fun doing you own random tasting at home.

Some very exciting projects on the go, one in Hawaii for December that will be bigger than Ben Hur � will tell more soon.

What a cool weekend!!! My son Lewis (11yrs) sung & played solo ukurere (an 8 string ukulele he bought in Rarotonga from busking money) at the Hasting Opera House in front of the famous Wellington Ukulele Orchestra, including original member Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame, and had his first radio slot and Opera audition � which he nailed. Proud Dad!!!!!!

It was great to see so many kids and families trying to break a world record for the largest number of ukulele�s played together. I even had a crack.

Had a fantastic night at the Acoustic Church Tour in Napier�s St Johns Cathedral featuring Boh Runga, Greg Johnson, Nathan King, and Lydia Cole. All were outstanding, a great way to have a good dose of quality artists in an acoustically and visually beautiful venue rarely open to such gigs. Had a lovely quiet drink with Boh afterwards and heard about the cool stuff she has been up to in LA and her stylie jewellery collection.

Cheers, Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

NZ SWEET NZ

How great is NZ! I love being home - you can't beat the beautiful outdoors and fun at your fingertips.

Although there was an unseasonal cold spell which froze all of your tips - even snow on the hills around Hawkes Bay.

Shot up Te Mata Peak on my specialized Mountain bike for a wicked ride right over the top to Craggy Range on the other side.

No trail to follow, a few tumbles and slides down the hill, but an adrenaline pumped start to my day.

Only home for a day or two catching up with the talented Craggy/Wild Rock team and what's been happening (Trophy Award for the 2008 Gravel Pit Red at the NZ International Wine Awards) then off to Auckland with Matt Stafford (one of our 6 skilled winemakers) to the Liquorland Top 100 Awards dinner.

We had a blast, meeting up with Sam Bennett (another winemaker from the formidable team of 6), Kate Broadhurst, Ric Little from Vitners and some of our great sales team Lisa Raymond and Brent Hindman.

Not only did we take 3 Golds (2007 Gravel Pit Red, 2007 Angels Dust Reserve Syrah, 2008 Strugglers Flat Pinot Noir) we nailed the Merlot category winning Trophy Merlot with the 2007 Gravel Pit Red and best value too... yehaa!!!

Four Hawkes Bay Wines wining Trophys speaks volumes too - congrats to all the winners!

Back to the Bay for a few days housekeeping and then up to Auckland again for the NZ Music Awards and working in the Auckland market with the sales team, Andy and Lisa.

The Music Awards were great fun and a big thanks to Mike & Belinda Henley and NZ Music on Air - Mike McClung & crew.

Caught up with the gorgeous Boh Runga, Anika Moa, and Tiki Tane and had a fantastic time listening to Midnight Youth and LadyHawke.

If you are lucky enough to get one of these events you quickly get to realise how lucky we are in NZ with the level of talent and passion in our music industry - inspiring stuff!

Checked out some great wine retailers in Auckland including Glengarry's, First Glass, and The Wine Vault with Lisa and Andy - thanks all.

Also squeezed in a fun packed tasting with some of my old wine group in Auckland - the infamous Richard Street Wine Group (which like the plague has spread rapidly from Westmere to Herne Bay and Point Chev).

My son & daughter and friend Suzie Marsden with Pipi the boxer (Westpac's Head of Sustainability) busked for Breast Cancer Foundation - great effort, great cause.

HAWAII

Continued to work in the Honolulu market tasting our Wild Rock Wine to fine wine stores including a boutique store run by two strippers who had a passion for fine wine and a strong head for business � were keen on running a feature on all 3 of our collection.

Then met with a buyer for one of Hawaii�s largest supermarkets that loved our wines and is now looking at partnership promotions with Wild Rock Wine � to take Wild Rock to another level in Hawaii and the world!.

Off to Maui � everything everyone raved about Maui is TRUE � Awesome place! Maui is a stunning island with a massive volcano in the middle of the island and a relaxed feel. It has a real environmental focus with wind turbines to reduce reliance on diesel burners for power. The Island is dependant on tourism - top hotels, resorts and retail shops.

Tasted our wines to the top Hotel managers and sold into all!!! Fantastic stuff!!

We had a wine reception for many buyers at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua which was great fun and presented our wines at their best and led to great sales.

I met a couple of cool guys who hooked me up with WakeMaui. They took me out Wakeboarding, WakeSurfing, and snorkeling with turtles at 7am the next morning before my flight back to Oahu. It was truly awesome! Beautiful setting to try a new sport � WakeSurfing (riding the wake of the inboard boat on a small surf board). Duck diving 20-30 feet with groups of huge turtles was great fun amongst tropical fish and coral too.

Finished the trip with a presentation to 70 or so of Hawaii�s finest sales teams � our distributors. It was great fun and the team were real fun and fully engaged with Wild Rock Wines � Cheers guys!!

On the red eye home to my lovely family � lunch booked at Terr�ir Restaurant Craggy Range, Havelock North NZ (top winery restaurant) � perfecto!

Cheers, Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

MIAMI - HAWAII

I�m with our importer rep Tom and our distributor rep Madelyn (an absolute star). Tasting with Paul from Joes Stone Crab - a great guy and easy to get along with and loved our wines and enjoyed the up front nature of the fruit and the long interesting finish with balanced acidity.
So much so he is running a feature on Sav & Pinot (which is huge, huge,huge )!!!

Then onto a huge upmarket steak house with a Brazilian flare with a chain of 20 restaurants and 2 new ones opening soon. We nailed it and now have our Savy on the banquet list which is the cherry on the top. Also potential to get the Pinot ordered too � especially since they are pumping out steaks.

Onto a fun night starting with a presentation to the fun cool distributor team who love Wild Rock Wine and then at the Russian Standard Vodka Party � complete with snow (& Russian snow bunnies) in Miami!!

Flying most of the day or at airports, I arrive in paradise � Honolulu, Oahu Hawaii. Day off surfing and shopping � fantastic fun on 12� board surfing Waikiki � a few near misses due to the numbers but totally awesome fun � pearler of a day with what seems all of Hawaii�s talented people out on the beach.

Fly to Hawaii � The Big Island - Large Island only populated with approximately 150, two main towns Hilo and Kona. Panoramic views over Pacific Ocean with huge ravines with waterfalls and palm trees, half of the island is covered in molten magma and looks barren but stunning. With the help of our passionate importer Phyliss and dedicated distributor Renee we ran an evening presentation to buyers. Tasted and entertained buyers also put on nice meal � Rene made up an excellent Wild Rock menu. All enjoyed the night with great company, wines and food. Large orders followed too which was awesome.

Back to Oahu, Honolulu, where I teamed up with Nina and tasted, and in most cases, sold into great restaurants and resorts. One resort (The Kahala) even had their own dolphins and had most celebs staying when in Hawaii - including the late Michael Jackson.

Ash - the Wild Rock Guy

DAY TWO IN TAMPA

I presented Wild rock with Eric (distributor) at a number of on premise locations including the Wine Exchange - a very happening cool and cutting edge bar bistro with a fun attitude run by a cool guy Craig R Dean (initials CR � so has a real affinity with Craggy Range and Wild Rock) and BT�s Vietnamese /French Restaurant and wine bar � a simple but stylish fit-out with a bar on one side and a sit down dining area on the other separated by a metal chainmail curtain � very cool.

We also visited Sideburns Fine Wine Store - a slick fine wine store with a great reputation and strong customer base with the world famous Burns restaurant attached (boasting the largest private wine collection in the world � 1m bottles!!!).

Later Troy (our importer rep) & Eric took me out to Burns restaurant for an experience of a lifetime. Eric�s industry friend joined us � Tyler (a young but semi retired sommelier) and we enjoyed 3 Grand Cru wines White burgundy 1992, Hermitage 1987, Botrytis Chablis 1994. What an experience!

Onto Miami � yehaa!!!!
Early start after a late and heavy night � first day I missed the gym � forgivable.

Vice � its all true! My god what a town! You cannot help but be swept up by the pace and fun party town attitude. A large city of about 3m much of it is on islands with causeways running between. Heaps of great looking people oozing money and smiles. The seafood was just amazing � even had Naked Sushi for a Miami twist. The beach atmosphere and all year round warmth keeps everyone drinking lots of wine and our wine was going off the charts here.

My importer rep who I worked with was Tom and the distributor rep a fun Cuban Laz. Tom is a cool dude who has a good team under him and an amazing team of distributors who just blew me away with their ability to connect me with huge buyers who loved WR wine.

We tasted at Happy Wines, based in West Miami bursting at the seams with wines boxed and stacked high, with graffiti on the inside walls and ceiling.
By chance I met the distributor boss for Miami who was very welcoming and full of life. Phillip, a frenchie and owner of Happy Wines, was really interested in NZ, our wild sports, and the sustainability nature of our winery.

Rock on!!!

Cheers
Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

TAMPA � FLORIDA

Day one of two days in Tampa - I left my travel buddy Rod Easthope who went onto San Diego to a huge Surf Party.

My initial impressions of Tampa were mixed. I was in need of a catch up sleep but shopped hard in the international Plaza for the first 5 hours. The shopping was amazing with top brands and many of the European fashion houses represented under the one roof. So successful I needed to purchase another bag!

Then after hitting the hay for 15 hrs I rented a Dodge charger and headed for the beach and to check out some wine stores.

Small town head kicked in and I ended up thinking that the whole area was the city of Tampa (actually made up of numerous cities sprawled across a huge area) so I typed into the GPS an address which took me a few hours in the wrong direction over many bridges that dwarfed anything I had seen in NZ. The beach was as built up as humanly possible and not with the most thought out town planning or style in mind � so after a huge tropical down poor I headed back only to just miss the NFL American Football Game I planned to go to just near the hotel.

Things were only looking up � and they did. The trick is to hang with locals � My top rep Troy and distributor Brian showed me a great time and successful sales trip including visits to Flamestone, a high quality American Grill restaurant and bar with new out door patio going great guns and typically seating 350 people on weekends (with wicked guacamole and Bella Vino, a serious wine bar/store with a trendy casual feel owned and run by Brian Franzese an ex long-term staff member of our importer who rated our wines well commenting on the great balance of fruit and acidity.

Cheers,

Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

ONTO HOUSTON

Houston is a massive city with twice the population of New Zealand.
So far, we've presented at Mo�s a red hot new bar and kitchen that was the current place to go on Post Oak Boulevard with very funky d�cor and cool cliental, Flemming�s a chain Steak House with a local upmarket fit out � very sharp as well as the Reef Bar.

Out on the Town Houston - went out with Sheila and Ned, our talented reps, to a cool cowboy bar Armadillo Palace with Harley Davidson seats and six shooter door handles and wild game heads on all the walls � great fun.
Then we bowled out to Mo�s bar where it was seriously happening and we enjoyed a light dinner and hung till the early hours.

Plus we met a few local mover/shakers � like an ex VP for Exon and an Oil Rig owner who has promised to set me up with the Royal Oak Country Club on my next visit and go shooting at his 7500ft sports retreat lodge. Nice!

Great stuff!!

Ash - the Wild Rock Guy

AUSTIN - TEXAS

A very cool young people city (because of Texas University) full with hip bars and top restaurants � definitely worth a crack.

Rod & I had a great time in Austin especially an impromptu night out with the investors in a very cool restaurant/bar (Paggi).
We drank some great wines including Wild Rock Cupids Arrow Pinot & ate divine cuisine before heading out downtown to a bar playing live 80�s music (an addiction of mine). Then onto a pub crawl by golf cart! Totally bizarre that a golf cart was just there for us to cruise between pubs � wicked!

During the day we presented our wines with some fun bars like Grove - a very hot new wine bar and kitchen under a shade of a huge old tree (with a big as fan attached to a limb) with decking and outdoor drinking area - casual and very cool to hang out in while in the Bee Cave Rd area who absolutely loved the range.

I also had my first Texan steak at The Houston Steakhouse � a huge fillet that just dissolved in my mouth � fantastic.

The Austin Wine Merchant was a fine wine store next to a restaurant owned by Sandra Bullock with massive product range just off Congress Ave.
Owner John Roenigk ordered after enjoying of the wines in the tasting and took our Wild Rock Cupids Arrow Pinot and Elevation Savy straight away � he even got in all the staff to taste because he enjoyed the collection so much!

Paggi as mentioned earlier is a fine dining and very cool bar and outdoor decked area with sunken couches under shade of large old tree built around the second oldest building in Austin which was once used by General Lee. This is one of THE new hot spots in Austin on Lee Barton Drive � very funky.

Cheers
Ash
The Wild Rock Guy

BIGGER THAN...

I found Dallas surprisingly glam and full of beautiful people enjoying getting out and about, a few parallels to LA. A real sophisticated bunch who love getting out and about enjoying the good things in life and they aren�t afraid to show it.

Rod Easthope (Senior Winemaker) & I touched down from San Fran and had a Wild Rock wine tasting over a delicious lunch of clam spaghetti with wine writer Daryl Beeson and our importer representative Beat Kotoun at Adelmo's.

Trucking on we tasted our wines at the Central Markets - head office of their 4 huge stores. Central Market is an amazing foodie and wine mecca with brilliant fresh food well displayed with friendly informed staff and a large wine area with country focus � large stand of NZ wine � even pushing onto the Aussies! They loved our wines and we passed the first test to having them on the floor.

On to a very cool funky wine bar with stylie beech timber strip fit-out, gas preserved wines with computer screen selection and swipe cards for charge back and options to select from a taste, glass or bottle. A great place to chill, enjoy the atmosphere, music and vino.
N.b. in the photo the TV screen caption in the background says it all � Beat Kotoun mesmerizes with his collection of NZ schist and greywacky rocks personally collected from a trip to Craggy Range.

We also visited and tasted our wines successfully at some other great wine bars/stores/hotels/restaurants that day like Crush, Bolla, and Park.

Cheers

Ash � The Wild Rock Guy!

SAN FRAN HERE WE ARE - READY OR NOT!

Ash Ireland (The Wild Rock Guy) embarks on his 3 week US sales trip joined by Rod Easthope (Snr Wine Maker) for the first week...

Torpedo speed sensor fault caused delay in departure and missing connection to Dallas so ended up with an afternoon free in San Francisco.
Our plane taxied out & wound up the revs but then turned back to the terminal where we stayed onboard for the 2 hrs required to replace the part, turned out a good thing (in more ways than one) as I was able to send off a couple of emails including one to make an offer on our first house in Havelock North (NZ) then assisted with drinking the plane dry of gin!

Air New Zealand were fantastic and assisted with rearranging a new flight the next morning to Dallas and we only missed one or two appointments the next morning.

Great to make the best of the situation � so an arvo to check out San Fran turned out a great bonus.

Enjoyed a great Sonoma Chardonnay and great SF cuisine � bring it on!

NEW ZEALAND WINE � 100% SUSTAINABLE BY 2012

THE AIM: For all New Zealand Wineries and Vineyards to be operating in accordance with an independently audited sustainability programme by vintage 2012.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS MARKETING AND EVENTS PROGRAMMES?
Wines have to be recognised as coming from wineries and vineyards operating in accordance with an independently audited sustainability programme, the criteria for which are:

All grapes (vineyards) that go into the wine are accredited /certified.
The wine processing plant/s (and bottling plant) where the wine is produced is accredited /certified.
The brand owner of the wine is accredited /certified; either as owner of accredited plant/s, or through separate membership where no plant is owned (i.e. virtual wineries).

WHEN DOES THIS TAKE EFFECT?
VINTAGE 2009 - NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS SEMINARS
Wines from the 2009 vintage onwards will be required to be accredited /certified by an independently audited sustainability programme to be eligible for participation in the New Zealand Winegrowers Seminar programme held at international events worldwide. Each wine has to meet at least two of the above three criteria.

VINTAGE 2010 - NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS MARKETING PROGRAMME & INDUSTRY EVENTS
Wines from the 2010 vintage onwards will be required to be accredited /certified by an independently audited sustainability programme to be eligible for participation in the New Zealand Winegrowers Generic Marketing Programme and industry events. Each wine has to meet all of the above three criteria.

PLEASE NOTE:
Recognised sustainability programmes are: Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), organic, biodynamic and environmental programs as certified under Biogro- NZ, CertNZ or Demeter, and ISO 14001. This list of recognised programmes will be regularly reviewed and will evolve accordingly.

"Operating in accordance with" refers to accredited or certified vineyards/wineries only. Membership status only is not adequate, however "in Transition" participants of organic programmes meet criteria so long as they have passed the transitional audits.
"Industry events" includes; The Air New Zealand Wine Awards, Romeo Bragato Conference, Exporters' Forums, Pinot Noir Festivals and other ad hoc events organised or endorsed by New Zealand Winegrowers.

For more info: http://www.nzwine.com/swnz/index.html