NEWS

Tasting Room Open

Brick Bay wines are available for tasting on site at The Glass House, see VISIT US.

	Somm Selections Autumn 2008 NZ's only Master Sommelier focuses on Matakana in the American Sommeliers' magazine. p1 - 2		Australian Vogue Entertaining and travel August 07 The 15 top attractions in Auckland identified for Australian visitors - Brick Bay Wines and Sculpture Trail features in second spot!!
	Wine NZ- Winter 2007 Artistry in Wine - at Brick Bay an intertwining of a passion for both wine and art. p8 - 9		Cuisine March 07 Cuisine celebrates The Glass House experience and the unique sculpture trail. p156 - 157 p158
	Urbis Magazine Issue 37, 2007 Wine, Design and Art - a winning combination, recognised recently with a National award in Architecture from the NZ Institute of Architects.

Vintage notes 2008
One must always be wary of generalizations about vintages; not only do they differ dramatically from region to region, but also between individual vineyards within a region, and indeed between varieties within a single vineyard. Weather naturally, is the major player here, largely determining the early quality of the fruitset, then dictating the progress of the ripening process through to harvest.

So it was in 2008. We moved through some early season rain and high winds in November, then into the hottest summer here since 1998! With no disease pressure in the vineyard and an excellent even fruitset, the vintage was predicted to become legendary. Then the deluge hit, 48 hours before our Pinot Gris pick, with the inevitable fruit losses. In order to protect the quality of our brand, we always ruthlessly reject substandard fruit and must accept a lower volume of wine. However, the hot dry summer soon returned and we were able to harvest the best Merlot grapes in a decade, excellent Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, with some losses in our late season Cabernet Sauvignon.

So although our smaller amount of 2008 Pinot Gris will need to be on allocation, the red vintage allowed us to increase the volume of our Rosé, following a very successful launch of this wine in 2007. Having made only a small amount of Pharos in 2006 and none in 2007, we are confident we will be able to release a Pharos from the 2008 vintage. 

A New Block, A New Variety and A New Wine!
Our young one-hectare block is now in production, giving us a stunning parcel of Pinot Gris fruit for the first time in 2007. Because the flavour profile from young vines is different to older vines (our original Pinot Gris block is now in its tenth year of production), we have produced an amazingly complex 2007 Pinot Gris from a blend of the two blocks. Watch out for this wine which will be released towards the end of the year.
The young block is also the home for our very special Petit Verdot plantings; grown by very few winemakers in this country, it is the elusive fifth red Bordeaux variety which adds heady perfume and interesting fruit nuances into the final blend. Watch out for this variety appearing in our Pharos from 2006 onwards.

Promotion on Wheels

Look out for the Transcon truck (one of the major trucking companies in our area) with its stunning side curtains promoting Matakana Wine Country, using an image of Brick Bay Vineyard!

Sustainable Winegrowing

At Brick Bay we are aware that it is the environment that makes our wines unique. The influences of soil, climate, and air define each vintage. The conservation and improvement of our land is paramount to ensure the quality of our wine today and well into the future.

We are constantly striving to improve practices in the vineyard; this is our responsibility to the people who drink our wine, the people who work at Brick Bay and to the wider environment.
We see our vineyard as part of a greater ecosystem, and  just some of our sustainable initiatives are:

Nurturing our soil and soil micro-organisms by composting and the use of cover crops.

Including in our spray program  the softest sprays possible- including Sentinel and Botryzen (both certified organic sprays) and also Biodynamic and Homeopathic remedies. (We have recently seen a great increase in frog life in the surrounding lakes, a clear  indicator of a balanced environment.)

Encouraging biodiversity  in the vineyard to provide habitat for beneficial insects by planting large swathes of wild flowers and host plants.

 In our wider environment we have a significant ongoing native planting program, and we work with the local council on pest prevention programs targeting rats and possums, which have resulted in increased native bird life in the surrounding area.

We are now an accredited vineyard in the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand scheme, which verifies that our management is truly sustainable. ( http://www.nzwine.com/swnz)

Our management practices, like the environment itself, are constantly evolving and we will continue to improve, grow and learn from our land.

International Kudos

‘On the international scene, we were delighted that Brad Farmerie of New York’s Public Restaurant (collaborating chef, New Zealander Peter Gordon) chose to showcase Brick Bay Pinot Gris 2004 at the New Zealand Wine Lovers Dinner in June this year, for the James Beard Foundation, America’s most prestigious wine and food organization.

Our 2004 Pinot Gris was chosen to match the First Course of smoked sea trout, fennel, and pistachio summer roll with preserved lemon yoghurt and fennel pollen. Brad commented that the Brick Bay Pinot Gris was a ‘wonderful addition to the night and a huge hit with the guests.”

The November 2003 issue of the influential Wine Spectator magazine contained some exciting news for Brick Bay Wines. Our Pinot Gris 2002 scored 89%
(90+ = outstanding); the top mark of the 12 New Zealand Pinot Gris currently imported into the USA!

In addition, the Pharos 2000 scored 88% with the following comment, "Soft, ripe and generous with its black cherry and black pepper aromas and flavours. Finishes supple and smooth. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Drink now."

We feel very proud of this result for our first red release from still young vines, with a mark that placed it above some very salubrious and well-established NZ Bordeaux-style wines.