Brady's perspective on wine Central

Alan Brady began writing Pinot Central - A Winemaker's Story in 2001. Nine years later, it is finished.

"I didn't have a book bursting out of me. Penguin approached me about nine years ago to write my story. But at that time I was busy establishing Mount Edward my second winery, busy growing grapes so the book fell by the wayside," he said.

Central in the title referred to Central Otago, but also to pinot noir being central to Mr Brady's life.

"Pinot has been central to my life for 30 years now, an absolute preoccupation and obsession of mine. It's a disease which I'm not seeking relief from," he said.

He had wanted to find the ideal writer's cottage to hole himself up in to finish the book.

"I thought there were too many distractions at home, but then I realised that was just procrastination, so in June last year I decided 'this is my job'. I got up every morning at 9 o'clock and wrote all day, took my lunch breaks, it became routine and I managed to finish it in a year," he said.

It would not be the type of book people were expecting from him.

"It's not the history of Central Otago wines. It's a personal story of my journey into the wine industry from 1976 when we bought a piece of land at Gibbston through to 1997," he said.

"It's a story of struggling against the odds and all the sceptics who said you can't grow grapes in Central Otago," he said.

"It details every trial and tribulation along the way, the laughs and the tears, and the people who featured in the early days," he said.

Mr Brady is originally from Northern Ireland, but moved to New Zealand 51 years ago.

He planted some of the first grapevines in the region in the Gibbston Valley in 1981 and 1982. The first commercial vintage of Gibbston Valley Wine was bottled in 1987.

"It began as only a few hectares. Now there are over 2000ha and over 100 producers."

Mr Brady left the day-to-day running of Gibbston Valley in 1997 to concentrate on his own, smaller vineyard and winery, Mount Edward.

"I wanted to get my hands dirty. I was the general manager of 30 people but was not doing what I set out to do - to be a winemaker. So I reinvented myself at the age of 60 and built another winery.

"People say you have to be crazy to build a winery. I must be certifiable because I've built two," he said.