About Paulownia Estate
In
1995 Vaughan and Christine Paul bought a run down dairy block a couple
of kilometres east of Masterton with the aim of planting a small vineyard
and contract growing for local wineries.
"We were living and working full time in Wellington. I was a pilot
in the RNZAF and working at Defence HQ and Christine was managing a
rest home", says Vaughan, "So we had to spend every moment
of our spare time preparing the property for planting."
In 1998 the first blocks of Riesling and Merlot were planted. Over the
following 4 years blocks of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc
were added to complete the 9-hectare vineyard. The grapes did well and
the Paul family became contract growers for local wineries - Solstone
Estate initially and Murdoch James Estate in Martinborough for the 2007
and 2008 vintages. During this time they also produced small amounts
of wine for their own Paulownia Estate label. But recently the credit
crisis of 2008 altered the course of Paulownia Estate.
"We could have gone on with our vineyard like this for years,"
Vaughan explains, "But the change in the economic climate hit us
and we were forced to re-think our original goals."
"Essentially, our future as contract growers was uncertain and
our survival was dependent on making and marketing our own Paulownia
Estate wines. And, we had to ensure that the quality of our wines would
stand up well against other Wairarapa vintages."
Vaughan and Christine took the opportunity to think carefully about
their products and decided to offer something a little different.
"With the wine shelves swamped with good value Sauvignon Blanc,
we decided that it would be difficult to market just another 'Savvy',
so we left our 2009 Sauvignon crop on the vines for as long as we dared
to produce fruit with very high sugar levels and intensely concentrated
flavours. Then, with the help of Karl Johner of Johner Estate, we turned
these extremely sweet berries into a rather more-ish Noble Sav Blanc
dessert wine, which can only be described as utterly decadent."
Vaughan
and Christine are convinced that their dessert wine is a winner and
they are confident that their other wines - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and
Rose are of the high quality the market demands.
"We know we've got the wines right, we now just need to get them
out there, price them right, and get them noticed," says Vaughan.
“The development of our vineyard over the past eleven years has
been a labour of love and it is now our pleasure to share with you the
fruits of that labour.”
Terroir Notes:
Situated in the upper reaches of the Wairarapa Valley we are situated
on fertile alluvial loam soils overlying ancient river gravels. We tend
to be a little cooler than our southern neighbours, so bud-burst in
spring is often a few days later and harvest can be two – three
weeks later than in Martinborough. This additional time on the vine
helps to ensure that our fruit develops strong varietal characteristics
that are carried through to very distinctive wines.
