By Clive Weston, Chairman, The Family of Twelve

The Family of Twelve presented its wines at Prowein in March 2013. Showing two wines from each Family member made for a fascinating snapshot of New Zealand’s myraid of varieties and terriors. Buyers came not only from Continental Europe but from as far afield as Canada, Puerto Rico and Russia. Visitors to the Family stand, which sat within the New Zealand Winegrowers “Pavilion”, comprised of  importers, winewriters, hoteliers, restaurateurs and fine wine retailers. Representing the Family were Paul Brajkovich of Kumeu River, Kate Adamson of Craggy Range, Penny Fear of Villa Maria and Clive Weston of Nautilus Estate. Three full days and many hundreds of Family tastings later, we reflected on a valid and worthwhile Family flag waving exercise. 

Paul Brajkovich of Kumeu River shares the Family story at Prowein Wine Fair, Dusseldorf, Germany.

The New Zealand Herald

Kiwi wine ‘family’ zeroes in on Europe

By Ben Chapman-Smith

12:00 PM Friday Feb 22, 2013

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10867006

 A group of New Zealand’s best winemakers will join forces in Germany next month to showcase kiwi wine brands at a major international wine fair.

The self-labelled ‘Family of Twelve’ – which includes the likes of Villa Maria, Pegasus Bay and Craggy Range – will make its first visit to the Prowein trade exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany at the end of March.

“Prowein will allow the family to leverage our existing distribution and explore the growing opportunities for New Zealand wine in Europe,” said Family of Twelve chairman Clive Weston in a statement.

Last year’s Prowein fair drew together 3,930 exhibitors from about 50 countries and more than 40,000 trade visitors over three days.

 Weston said the New Zealand wine category was currently registering growth in all of the key European markets.

While the UK is already a well-established market for New Zealand wine – worth $284 million in the year to June 2012 – northern Europe is still considered as an emerging market.

Wine exports to Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Norway were worth a combined $56 million in the year to June 2012, according to New Zealand Wine’s 2012 annual report.

Weston said the emphasis of this trip on education and “multi-winery promotion” was well suited to in-market events such as ProWein.

“Showcasing our wines as a family highlights not just the character of each winery but also the contrasting and unique diversity of New Zealand’s wine regions.”

The Family of Twelve was founded in 2005 with the aim of building long-term relationships in key export markets.

Its first tour together covered San Francisco, New York and London, with subsequent trips to Dublin, Chicago, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.

The group comprises Kumeu River, Villa Maria, The Millton Vineyard, Craggy Range, Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, Neudorf Vineyards, Nautilus Estate, Fromm Winery, Lawson’s Dry Hills, Pegasus Bay, and Felton Road.

Six of the members are based in the North Island and six in the South.

By Ben Chapman-Smith

The Family of Twelve congratulates Professor Ivan Donaldson

The Family of Twelve extends our warmest congratulations to Professor Ivan Donaldson on being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours for his services to neurology.  While better known in the wine world as the founder of the Pegasus Bay winery in Waipara, Canterbury, Professor Donaldson became the first dedicated clinical neurologist at Christchurch Hospital in 1975. Here he helped establish leading departments for clinical neurology and neurophysiology.  Contributing greatly to his field he was head of neurology at Christchurch Hospital for nearly twenty years and is a past president of the New Zealand Neurological Association. 

Long before the founding of Pegasus Bay Ivan helped pioneer cool climate winemaking in New Zealand. In 1967 virtually as soon as he had completed his medical degrees, he commenced small-scale winemaking before wine was fashionable in New Zealand, let alone in cool climate areas. This led to the planting with partners in 1976 of the first vineyard in cool climate Canterbury in a suburb of Christchurch, before putting his first vines into the ground in Waipara Valley in 1985.  Today Ivan and his wife Christine oversee the winery and vineyards along with three of their four sons making Pegasus Bay a true, world class, family owned and operated winery.  Evoking the striking blue colour scheme that features on their wine labels Ivan said his inclusion in the New Year’s honours came like “a bolt out of the blue”.

Enjoy a ‘best of’ evening including all the favourite dishes and wines from the dine uncorked Family of Twelve winemakers 2012 dinner series.

Download the full details with menus here (PDF format), or check under the picture for timing and bookings.

Tuesday 19 February – Best of the North Island

Wednesday 20 February – Best of the South Island

6.30pm each night

Presented by Winemakers of the Family of Twelve

$150 per person per night

dine by Peter Gordon,
90 Federal Street, Auckland

Bookings essential as numbers are limited
Phone 09 363 6000 or email dine@skycity.co.nz

Download the full details with menus here (PDF format)

Vini-Viti-Veritas by Paul Donaldson

The best thing about family is that there aren’t any secrets, well most of the time anyway. To the same extent, when looking at our vineyards, we all have nothing to hide. That’s why once a year all our viticulturalists get together to discuss what they are doing, what effects it has, and what we could all look at doing better. Late last year, the family descended on the Wairarapa to impose ourselves on the vineyards, winery, and general hospitality of Palliser Estate. It was early December, and the flowering was just kicking in, so the southerly front lashing its way up the country left Ivan and I with an uneasy feeling as we jumped on a flight from Christchurch to Wellington. As was to be expected, the landing was….. a little lumpy, and the driving rain on the Rimutakas left us assuming the outdoor part of the program might have to be ditched and we would all be forced to sit around inside drinking Pinot which would, of course, be a total tragedy!

However, as we headed into Martinborough, the clouds formed a perfect halo around a oasis of blue sky, and the temperature increased to a point that I was wishing I hadn’t been so formal, and should perhaps have opted for shorts. On arrival everyone appeared to have eyes bright and tails bushy, something of surprise to me when I heard that most had been enjoying Martinboroughs hospitality until the small hours the previous night. I am sure they were still amped for the Sauvignon Blanc tasting before lunch!

We started in the vineyard, and I should clarify here that I am not a viticulturalist. I came along to pick up a few handy pointers in this area, it’s really my dad that was there to contribute. The vineyard portion of the day was amazing though, everyone had something to add, which really is the beauty of the knowledge-share that has been set up. A large amount was covered, starting with vine-replanting and health, soil profiles, an in-depth look at inter-row plantings to increase bio-diversity, which lead on to a great talk on mealybug control. A key part of the vineyard session for us was the discussion around the use of sheep for leaf-plucking. Palliser Estate has a few years experience in this and it was invaluable to learn from them, rather than to have to re-invent the wheel.

Having fully satiated our viticultural desires, we heading inside to explore how these things translated into the magic that ends up in your glass. There was a quick look at frost monitoring (the advances here are stunningly fast, and speaking from personal experience don’t allow me to lie in bed while keeping an eye on things rather than driving around the vineyard at 2am!) before we moved on to the wine. The Wairarapa has a unique expression of Sauvignon Blanc as compared to Marlborough, and of course, the 2012 vintage was quite a different beast to the 2011, so it was great to be able to try the wines from 3 of the region’s best producers from both these vintages, to see the contrasts in both winemaking and vintage. The 2012s were not slouches either, with Craggy Range, Ata Rangi, and Palliser all producing stunning wines. It was no-holds-barred on the winemaking questions too, another great example of the “nothing to hide” philosophy.

After a sumptuous lunch complemented with the family’s wines plucked from the ever genial Richard Riddiford’s personal cellar, we moved (rolled more like…!) back to the tasting room. After a look at a few Pinot Noir trials, we were then given a treat. Everyone had been asked to bring along a pinot noir sample from the 2012 vintage. These were truly exciting. The extended hang time achieved in the 2012 vintage has given a fantastic depth of flavour and richness without the high alcohol that sometimes comes with this. Across the board the wines tried were very promising, and many confessed to what they tasted as being something of a relief! None were finished wines of course (ours had only just completed Malo!) but the potential was there to be seen.

The day finished up with a caffeine hit to perk me up for the drive back to Wellington, where the  wind had dropped and the flight back was delightfully uneventful. It’s always great to see a non-dysfunctional family pull it together and share their secrets. Long may it last!

Paul Donaldson of Pegasus Bay Winery, Waipara.

‘Family Holidays’ by Nigel Greening

 The Family of Twelve Asian Trip November 2012

 It’s not often that we get the gang together to do a bit of globe-trotting, so we were definitely looking forward to this one. It started in Melbourne over a beer after we spotted Richard Riddiford in the Hyatt bar as we checked in. I was somewhat taken aback to realise he had ordered sandwiches for us so we could get lunch before the tastings: here we were sitting not 50 metres from what might be the best lunch venue in the Southern Hemisphere (Coda) and Richard had ordered hotel sandwiches. This did not look like a good start.

 The tasting at the Botanical was fun and full. I am always amazed how a flight of wines changes from day to day, but today they looked great and the mood was chatty and enthusiastic. On to Dinner at PM24, again fun, but really just the preliminary for 2 weeks of gastronomic overkill.

 Singapore

 How many events can you squeeze into 4 days? We certainly went for the record, with Curtis Marsh filling every available second, starting with a chilli crab dinner with our trade and Lisa Perotti Brown MW within a couple of hours of our landing. Is the perfect food match for Singapore Chilli Crab, beer or Riesling? Hard to tell as we’d need some seriously good beers to conduct a proper taste off. My money is on Riesling, though.

 And then the whirlwind began: Just a blur of duck, seafood, a Persian lambshank curry that came around twice, as did an amazing Iranian Muhalabolah, late night Russians, and the incredible sight of looking down on a storm sweeping over the city below us as we stood behind the 66^th floor glass cliffs that are Salt Restaurant. Singapore is surreal to those of us who live in a town with not even a singe traffic signal; a crazed testament to mankind’s refusal to swap lifestyle for quality of life. Sometimes we are berated in New Zealand for our lowly position in the OECD productivity stakes. It takes trips like this to remind us why we like it that way.

 Somehow we ended the thing with almost as many boxes and bags of stuff as we’d started with and leaped into the jumbo sized taxi. (long ago I realised that one of life’s fundamental skills is to learn “Taxi, airport” in every major language, something we didn’t need in Singapore’s English speaking culture). Hong Kong beckoned.

 By comparison Hong Kong was relaxed. One masterclass event, a dinner or so and three days at the Hong Kong Wine Show.

I was keen to recruit a family team to conduct a search for the Cantonese Roast Pigeon champion 2012. There would be a lot of contenders, despite the tragic closure of Han Lok Yuen: the famous Pigeon restaurant on Lamma Island, with its ancient, but proud neon sign reading “igeon” on the hilltop.

 We started with a quick orientation exercise, a flick over to Jumbo in Aberdeen harbour for some tourism, then back to Yung Kee for goose and pigeon.

 I diverted to Macau for a night of madness in the second largest building on earth (The Venetian) and a brilliant wine dinner, before returning to continue the chase for great food. A really good masterclass at the Renaissance was followed with a dinner there at Scala. It was rather strange to swap the pigeon quest for Italian, but all good fun and possibly an easier wine match.

 The next day produced a memorable lunch. A small faction (is that what you call a subset of a family) headed off to lunch at Zen, a long time favourite of mine, it started in London some 30 years ago and was a regular haunt of mine back then. No sooner had we picked up menus to order a modest dim sum plan than a text came in telling us the good news that Obama was back. Mary Jeanne reached for the champagne section of the wine list and I started lengthening the list of treats we should order (I always write out yum cha orders, easier to keep track). It went for some hours, buoyed by the fact that the world may be rather safer for us all without another teetotal president.

 And so it went… most of the memories are of dinners: my leading Phyll and Judy to what must have been one of their scarier evenings at a small private pop up Szechuan restaurant in Wan Chai, (it has no name I’m aware of, in English anyway). Despite the almost unbelievable numbers of chillies in the dishes and the stark warning on the wall of a $500 “vomit charge”, I think they had a great night. That night we went to another Szechuan: Crystal Jade in Wan Chai, great food and great value as well. Then there was Under Bridge Spicy Crab, a challenge to the Singapore supremacy in this department.

 We ended as we had begun, with a meal: yum cha at Maxims City Hall. A Hong Kong tradition worth the hour wait.

 But what about the wine? Well, yes, but for us family holidays are about the company: hours to sit and talk, and eat, and yes drink a glass or two, and talk some more. We often talk about wine pairing with food. What about wine and food pairing with talk? We gather and eat and drink together for the human contact, the pleasure of being with those whose company we enjoy, whose intellects delight us, amuse us, maybe sometimes frustrate us.

 We met a lot of great people along the way, set the world to right in as many ways as we could, downed some great bottles, certainly nailed some good pigeons, but more than anything we did what all families do: we talked. It was great.

Tanya Orchard (Lawson’s Dry Hills), Annie Millton (Millton Vineyard), Paul Donaldson (Pegasus Bay), Mary-jeanne Hutchinson (Craggy Range), Will Hoare (Fromm Winery), Clive Weston (Nautilus Estate), Charlotte Read (Villa Maria), Judy Finn (Neudorf Vineyards), Nigel Greening (Felton Road) & Phyll Pattie (Ata Rangi).

As part of their 2012 Asia Tour, The Family of Twelve are proud to present a Gala Dinner and two Master Classes.

GALA DINNER

DATE: TUESDAY 6TH OF NOVEMBER, 2012
TIME: 7PM
VENUE: SCALA RESTAURANT,
RENAISSANCE HARBOUR VIEW HOTEL,
1 HARBOUR ROAD, WANCHAI, HONG KONG

The Family of Twelve, New Zealand’s wine family, cordially invites you to attend our inaugural Hong Kong Gala Dinner.

Showcasing 12 of the Family’s most heralded wines, superbly matched to a menu carefully prepared by the esteemed Scala Restaurant, we will take you on a journey to explore and celebrate the diversity of New Zealand wine.

Members of The Family of Twelve will be in attendance and look forward to meeting you.

Tickets are HK $850.

Spaces are limited, so please RSVP to
Nichole Mao – nicholem@villamaria.co.nz

Download the Gala Dinner Invitation for full details

MASTER CLASS 1

DATE: TUESDAY 6TH OF NOVEMBER, 2012
TIME: 3PM – 5PM
VENUE: BOARD ROOM 6,
RENAISSANCE HARBOUR VIEW HOTEL,
1 HARBOUR ROAD, WANCHAI, HONG KONG

Spaces are limited, so please RSVP to
marketing@cru-magazine.com

Download the Master Class Invitation for full details

MASTER CLASS 2

FRIDAY, 9TH OF NOVEMBER 2012
TIME: 5PM – 6PM
VENUE: WINE TASTING ROOM, HALL 3F,
HONG KONG CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

Spaces are limited, so please RSVP to
Nichole Mao – nicholem@villamaria.co.nz

Download the Master Class Invitation for full details

(From The New Zealand Herald article by Ben Chapman-Smith, Tuesday Oct 30, 2012)

Kiwi wine ‘family’ embarks on Asia drive
by Ben Chapman-Smith

A dozen of New Zealand’s best winemakers have teamed up on a tour to boost the kiwi wine brand and build key contacts in Asia.

The self-labelled ‘Family of Twelve‘, which includes the likes of Villa Maria, Pegasus Bay, Craggy Range and Kumeu River, has left today for Singapore and Hong Kong, taking in Melbourne on the way.

As well as running a series of master-classes to showcase their individual wines, the group will also take part in the 2012 Hong Kong International Wines and Spirits Fair.

Craggy Range Winery in Hawke's Bay is one of the 'Family of Twelve' taking part in a tour to promote kiwi wine in Asia. Photo by Warren Buckland

Paul Brajkovich, from Kumeu River Wines, said the aim is to present New Zealand wines “in the very best light” and generate plenty of interest.

Asia, particularly China, is considered an emerging market and the region is a key focus for wine producers right now, he said.

“Everybody in the wine industry is looking at China because when you have a population of that size starting to get an interest in wine, it’s a big opportunity.”

At present, the wines dominating the Asia market tend to be very expensive French labels, he said.

It is natural that people will start looking for cheaper premium wines, like those made in New Zealand, said Brajkovich.

“A wine culture may start to filter down and they may start looking for well-balanced, very good wine.”

Not all of the 12 wineries has a representative on the tour but that was not an issue, he said.

“Each winemaker in the Family of Twelve knows the others’ products well so when we do a trip like this we don’t all have to travel.”

A strong emphasis of the trip will be on educating consumers and the media about kiwi wines but it is hard to know exactly what results to expect, he said.

“With wine fairs, it’s always difficult to know how much interest you’ll generate.”

This is the group’s first overseas tour in three years since a trip to Dublin, Chicago, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.

Its first tour together was in 2005, which covered San Francisco, New York and London.

The Family of Twelve will be in Singapore from November 1-3, and Hong Kong from November 5-10.

The group comprises Kumeu River, Villa Maria, The Millton Vineyard, Craggy Range, Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, Neudorf Vineyards, Nautilus Estate, Fromm Winery, Lawson’s Dry Hills, Pegasus Bay, and Felton Road.

(Original article is here)

The Family of Twelve greets Asia

The Family of Twelve is to make its first overseas tour in three years, starting in Melbourne before visiting Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Family of Twelve is a fraternity of 12 of New Zealand’s most successful and enduring artisanal private winemakers. These producers share common values and dreams and recognise that while individual marketing costs overseas are often prohibitive; participating in large generic campaigns can sometimes mean getting lost in the crowd.

The Family’s first foray overseas came in 2005 and focused on some of the world’s greatest food and wine capitals: San Francisco, New York and London. Dublin, Chicago, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide followed. For the past three years, the Family has stayed closer to home, bringing enthusiastic and influential connoisseurs from different parts of the world to New Zealand and welcoming them into the homes and wineries that make up the Family of Twelve. With six Family members based in the North Island and six in the South, we’ve been able to showcase the best of New Zealand’s wine regions and grape varieties as well as some of the country’s most highly regarded wines and most exuberant personalities.

However the time has come for the Family to embark on its next overseas trip and this time the focus is on some important emerging markets in Asia.

The group departs on Tuesday, October 30 and will touch down briefly in Melbourne, Australia, a significant market for premium New Zealand wines, for a Master Class inviting key media and trade.  Held at The Archer Room, The Botanical, 169 Domain Road, South Yarra VIC 3141 tastings run from 2pm to 5pm.  Email familyofXII@xtra.co.nz to confirm a seat.

We arrive in Singapore on October 31, for a series of events over the four days to Sunday, November 4th.  Contact Curtis Marsh curtisjohn@singnet.com.sg for details of events.

Next stop is Hong Kong, a bustling global hub that has reportedly overtaken London and New York as the world’s most important trade centre for fine wine.  

A series of “must-attend” educational tastings and events is being planned, culminating with the Family of Twelve’s debut at  one of Asia’s biggest wine event, the 2012 Hong Kong International Wines and Spirits Fair.    Thu 8^th, Fri 9^th and Sat 10^th November at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. on stand 3G – F22  www.hktdc.com/hkwinefair . 

Family chairman Clive Weston of Nautilus Estate says the lure of the Asian markets is strong. “While we love hosting visitors at home, excitement is building over the possibilities of these emerging markets. We are looking forward to making some new friends and building some new relationships and hope this visit will pave the way for many future tours to Asia and beyond.”

 Family of Twelve  Masterclass  ‘Embracing the Diversity of New Zealand Wine’,  followed by a Walk Around Tasting of the ‘Family Heirlooms’ Tues 6^th Nov;  3pm – 5pm.  Boardroom 6, Renaissance Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.   Email marketing@cru-magazine.com by 26^th Oct to confirm seats.

This Masterclass will be repeated at the Hong Kong International Wines and Spirits Fair, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in (Wine Tasting Room) Hall 3F, 5pm – 6pm. 

Family of Twelve Gala Dinner – Tue 6^th  Nov; 7pm, Scala Restaurant, Renaissance Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.  Price: HK$850 per head. Email nicholem@villamaria.co.nz by 26^th Oct to reserve seats.  END

The Family of Twelve comprises:

■ For further information please contact Clive Weston, Family of Twelve chairman, +64 21-905-565, cweston@nautilusestate.com

 July 12,, 2012

The Family of Twelve greets Asia

The Family of Twelve is to make its first overseas tour in three years, starting in Melbourne before visiting Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Family of Twelve is a fraternity of 12 of New Zealand’s most successful and enduring artisanal private winemakers. These producers share common values and dreams and recognise that while individual marketing costs overseas are often prohibitive, participating in large generic campaigns can sometimes mean getting lost in the crowd.

The Family’s first foray overseas came in 2005 and focused on some of the world’s greatest food and wine capitals: San Francisco, New York and London. Dublin, Chicago, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide followed. For the past three years, the Family has stayed closer to home, bringing enthusiastic and influential connoisseurs from different parts of the world to New Zealand and welcoming them into the homes and wineries that make up the Family of Twelve. With six Family members based in the North Island and six in the South, we’ve been able to showcase the best of New Zealand’s wine regions and grape varieties as well as some of the country’s most highly regarded wines and most exuberant personalities.

However the time has come for the Family to embark on its next overseas trip and this time the focus is on some important emerging markets in Asia.

The group departs on Tuesday, October 30 and will touch down briefly in Melbourne, Australia, a significant market for premium New Zealand wines, for a Press tasting and dinner.

We arrive in Singapore on October 31, for a series of events over the four days to Sunday, November 4th.

Next stop is Hong Kong, a bustling global hub that has reportedly overtaken London and New York as the world’s most important trade centre for fine wine.  

A series of “must-attend” educational tastings and events is being planned, culminating with the Family of Twelve’s debut at Asia’s biggest wine event, the 2012 Hong Kong International Wines and Spirits Fair.    

Family chairman Clive Weston of Nautilus Estate says the lure of the Asian markets is strong. “While we love hosting visitors at home, excitement is building over the possibilities of these emerging markets. We are looking forward to making some new friends and building some new relationships and hope this visit will pave the way for many future tours to Asia and beyond.”

END

 ■ For further information please contact Clive Weston, Family of Twelve chairman, +64 21-905-565, cweston@nautilusestate.com

Please visit us in New Zealand or at www.familyoftwelve.co.nz