Moon plants stars soil trees microbes fungi mammals bees, we all are, URLAR.
URLAR = of the earth. As we sink deeper into autumn, the vineyard embraces biodiversity in our soil. This is represented in the woodcut above - created by New Zealand artist, Catherine Sleyer. Catherine has drawn inspiration from the words above, an excerpt from the poem which subtly features on all our bottles and embodies the idea that through all seasons, we all are URLAR.
What's New
Tess will be tasting URLAR wines at Moore Wilson’s Masterton on Friday, April 12th from 2 pm - 5 pm.
We are all eagerly awaiting the Cellar Door completion! We’re dreaming of days, spent outside, overlooking the lake and our vines, sipping on the bubbly Blanc de Noir Brut and enjoying delicious platters in the sun. We can’t wait to welcome you all to our little slice of paradise.
The Vineyard
Harvest 2024 officially started for us on the first Thursday of March with our Pinot Noir blocks.
It's been a busy month as we have just completed our fourth week of harvest, with all hands on deck - including some help from our seasonal contract staff. We're very focused on getting fruit picked and in the winery as quickly as we can, before the cold weather starts to set in. Big thank you to all the people who have helped pick our grapes! It is sticky and tiresome physical work, but without you, URLAR wouldn’t be able to produce the quality wines we’re known for.
It has been all go here with Derek managing two lease blocks named Gladstone and Nga Pari down the road. Home to lots of Pinot Noir and a few treasures. While Bevan manages the organic BioGro-certified blocks ‘the Cliffs’ and URLAR home block. This means our team is now farming a total of 55 hectares.
The vineyard team has grown with Steve joining us last spring. He brings a wealth of knowledge and skills from his engineering background.
Brian is an essential part of our team. He is very knowledgeable and we always enjoy his positive hard-working outlook on life.
This year's harvest has produced a smaller amount of fruit with tiny berries but it's clean, packed with flavour intensity, and lots of fine tannin for structure.
No Easter break for us as we brought in the last of this year's crop. Then we move into a period of bringing all the nets back in. This allows the vines to have a breather and take any carbohydrate from the leaves, down to the roots for a winter rest. This time of the year is also used for general maintenance and we get a wee break before the next cycle starts again with pruning in June.
It's always satisfying to see the literal fruits of our labour when harvesting, and we can't wait to share this with you. Watch this space!
The Winery
Harvest 2024 is well underway! The winery team almost have all the fruit in the winery doors. The Pinot Noir ferments are happily ticking away and converting all that sugar from the warm summer season to alcohol. The wines look to be very high in quality – dark colour, firm tannins and bright fruit. What more could you ask for in a glass of Pinot?
The new winery was mostly completed for harvest. It has been an interesting challenge for our winery team who have been working among the tradies during the week as they complete work on the cellar door.
Our new assistant winemaker, Grace, has done an incredible job of helping run the winery and manage our team. She is a capable and skilled wahine to help guide these grapes through to wines for you to enjoy.
This year, we have welcomed three international staff.
Hana comes from Beaujolais in France. Hana is a passionate foodie and wine lover, especially of Gamay.
Giulio comes from Italy but has spent the last few years working in Champagne and Burgundy while finishing his studies. He is a focused and detail-oriented young man pursuing his dreams in the wine industry.
Alyx joins us from the USA. As a quick learner, her open-mindedness and hard-working attitude have made her a great asset to our team.
Looking ahead, once the reds are pressed we will be putting them to barrel. Over the next few months, we continually monitor our Sur Lie and Chardonnay, and will begin the post-harvest clean! We’re always looking to improve so will be taking extra time to debrief about this harvest and what could be done better, especially in this new space. We’re also looking forward to team days where we will plant natives around the vineyard. And all going to plan our winery team will enjoy a well-deserved break.
Our team is excited to share our wines with you all in the future.
