Central Otago Wine Company
Building 1, Lake Dunstan Estate,
Wolter Cres, Cromwell
(PO Box 160, Cromwell)
Ph: 03-445 3100, fax: 03-445 3101
Email: wine@cowine.co.nz
General manager/Marketing/Sales:
Jenny Blance
Winemaker: Dean Shaw
Wine sales: Cellar door, mail order
Price range: $18-$36
Winery tastings: Summer
(Labour Weekend-Easter) Mon-Fri
10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm;
winter Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
Commonly referred to as CowCo, the Central Otago Wine Company provides contract-winemaking facilities for local producers too small to have a winery of their own.
“It’s full bore here at harvest time,” reports Dean Shaw, who makes wine for Berridge Vineyard, Kawarau Estate, Dry Gully, Mt Rosa, Mount Maude, Nevis Bluff, Pisa Moorings, Sleeping Dogs, Three Miners, Two Paddocks and Clay Cliffs. Many of the wines can also be tasted and bought at CowCo premises, though some of the producers have their own cellar doors.
Dean, who worked at Giesen Wine Estate and Black Ridge before he joined CowCo, compares the company with a French négociant that buys grapes from several vineyards and makes the wine under its own label – except that, in the case of CowCo, all of the wines it makes are marketed under the individual labels of each producer.
He says Pinot Noir, in particular, lends itself well to this approach, giving small vineyard owners the satisfaction of seeing their wine made under their own label. It also offers a lot of interest for Pinot Noir lovers, who are able to sample wines from a range of small vineyards, each with its own subtle differences. Dean’s approach as winemaker is to interfere with the wine as little as he can, leaving it to reflect the character of the vineyard it comes from as faithfully as possible.
Not surprisingly, Pinot Noir accounts for 80 percent of CowCo’s production, with the balance made up by Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Around 300 tonnes of grapes were processed by the winery in the weather-affected 2004 vintage, but Dean expects to put through about 550 tonnes in 2005.
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
