When you see handsome hairy Highland cattle in the corner of a vineyard, they are likely to be part of a biodynamic system, providing manure for the compost, and later, other parts, such as horns, for the various preparations.
At a couple of vineyards I visited recently in Central Otago I was proudly shown the cows and the sheds where the compost preparations are slowly maturing.
Within 12 months the soil was different, the vines seem healthier and keep their leaves longer, and there seems to be a different energy in the vineyard, says Kate Barnett, operations manager of Surveyor Thomson, which is transitioning from conventional to biodynamic viticulture.
Their cows, Mimolette, Artemis and Mathilde, were enjoying the rich grass in a corner of the vineyard.
She and general manager Claudio Heye showed me the steep, 14ha vineyard near Lowburn in the Cromwell basin, with the high Moon Block on a top terrace under the snow-covered Pisas.
They are looking forward to seeing if there is an effect on the wines, but most of us won't see anything for a few years as they like to hold back their wines from sale until they are drinking well.
The charming 2011 has just been released, but the 2010 is drinking superbly, with hints of red fruits and a lovely fresh intensity. Both have a savoury undertone, which Heye says is a characteristic of the vineyard.
Dean Shaw at Central Otago Wine Company has made Surveyor Thomson wines from the first vintage in 2003 and produces the premium Surveyor Thomson and the earlier-drinking Explorer.
The vineyard was planted in pinot noir about 14 years ago by international lawyer David Hall-Jones and his wife PM Chan, who live in Hong Kong, and is named after Hall-Jones' great-great-grandfather, the engineer and surveyor John Turnbull Thomson (1821-1884).surveyorthomson.co.nz
Just round the corner from the Surveyor Thomson vineyard is Burn Cottage Vineyard, in Burn Cottage Rd, where a small herd of shaggy cattle grazes near the gate.
The vineyard occupies a sunny amphitheatre and has been cultivated biodynamically since Americans Marquis and Dianne Sauvage bought it in 2002, and Californian winemaker Ted Lemon of Littorai came on board. Shane Livingstone, vineyard manager, and Claire Mulholland, general manager and associate winemaker, manage the operation.
There's a strong movement to organic and biodynamic viticulture in Central because you are dealing with a premium product, says Livingstone, who previously worked at Northburn, which was organic, and at Millton in Gisborne with James Millton, one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture in New Zealand.
Biodynamics is more about structure and form, which is reflected in the wines, he says. Living in the vineyard is important for a biodynamic viticulturist, as it keeps him aware of its moods and the life in it at all times of day.
There's a little riesling and gruner veltliner, but most of the vineyard is pinot noir. However, this doesn't mean there's a lack of diversity, as there are many different clones on a variety of rootstocks planted in different blocks with varying soils, aspects and altitudes, all of which add to the complexity of the wine.
Burn Cottage's commitment to quality is evident in the winery, at present in a shed in the industrial area of Cromwell, where there are not one, but two sorting tables.
The first is for sorting and removing any substandard bunches that have not been discarded by the pickers, and the second, after the grapes have been destemmed, for removing any imperfect berries.
The Burn Cottage pinots are harmonious, well-structured and balanced with lovely fine-grained tannins.
Website: burncottage.com
