OUR STORY

Wine in the New World is about people, the land, and the essential ideal of wine itself. Wine craft is here at its most pure, for it needs people with the dream to make wine grow where none existed, and then to fashion wines in accord with what the land offers. It is a task that demands great commitment, toil and determination, all necessary components of a successful New World winery, but the reward is the dream realised.

New Zealand is the fine wine frontier, a place without a wine culture thirty years ago, but now offering wines that demand attention from the world's leading palates. In many ways, the story of New Zealand wine is the story of Matua Valley, for Matua was born with the New Zealand wines revolution, and has contributed greatly to its success.

As with all fine wine sagas, that of Matua Valley is about people, about two brothers, Bill and Ross Spence, their families, and their dream of making wine finer than any of their contemporaries could imagine when they began in 1974.

While they were the sons of a winemaking father, theirs was a winemaking tradition in the old style, one that neither was inclined to follow. Ross had been at the University in Fresno, California, and had experienced the excitement of the California wine innovation, while Bill's time at New Zealand's world famous agricultural University, Massey, had revealed the potential of the country's land. They wanted to make wine in New Zealand that was as good as any in the world.

Ross and Bill began at the bottom, in a ragged tin shed in West Auckland, in 1974. Not exactly salubrious headquarters, but the wines they released from that first vintage, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Burgundy and Gamay Teinturier, immediately placed them amongst the leading group of innovative winemakers. Chardonnay and Gamay Teinturier were not common varieties in New Zealand at that time, and it was the first time Sauvignon Blanc had ever been produced, but they were committed to a new way, and had belief in their ability to make it work.

Within a year the success of these wines was being noted. In 1975, the 'Burgundy' won the first competition trophy for Matua Valley in what has become an illustrious tradition of awards, being made the Champion Red Wine at the Royal Easter Show in Auckland. A less publicised triumph was the impression the Sauvignon Blanc had made amongst the other winemakers, leading to the decision to include large quantities of this variety in the first vineyards to be planted in the now famous Marlborough region. One year out, and Matua Valley were already having an industry wide influence with their innovation and vision. The Spence families needed support, however, for the dream was hungry for capital, and in 1976 a new company, Matua Valley Wines Ltd was formed in partnership with another Auckland family, the Margans.

The new foundation allowed Matua Valley to put down more substantial roots, as benefits a prestige wine producer, and in 1977, 25 hectares of land was purchased in the beautiful green Waikoukou Valley, 35 kilometers west of Auckland city. A new, pentagonal winery was built there, on the crest of a low ridge looking across the valley, and the first steps made towards landscaping gardens and establishing a centre where visitors could be presented with Matua wines in suitable and gracious surroundings.

The Waikoukou Road vineyards were planted with all manner of experimental grape varieties, and the quest for those suitable for making fine wine in New Zealand conditions continued. Greater areas were committed to those varieties that seemed of greatest potential; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but there were also trial blocks of more exotic characters such as Pinot Noir, Semillon and Shiraz.

Some of the experiments worked, some, as is the nature of pioneering, did not while some that Matua have decided do not fit into their own winemaking future have become successful varieties for other New Zealand winemakers. The courage to experiment was always tempered with the ability to be decisive in the interest of producing better wine, and the quest for more suitable grape varieties has been matched by the search for better vineyard sites, which has taken the Spences to every major wine-growing region in the country, from West Auckland to Canterbury.

With the growth of the company from the tin shed days to the current highly focused professional company, younger members of the families are now becoming involved. Simon Spence, having qualified as a viticulturist at the famous Roseworthy College in Australia, joined the team and took over the viticulture responsibility from Bill, to give Bill more time to focus on the sales and marketing.

In the early days, a considerable quantity of Matua Valley's grapes came to the Auckland winery from vineyards in Gisborne, and this region remains the source of many Matua wines, with the established Judd Estate Chardonnay being the most illustrious. Today, Simon Spence is regularly in Gisborne planning the viticultural year with growers, which is essential for wines, which by their very quality must reflect the nature of the land from which they come. Hawkes Bay too, has vineyards that absorb Simon's time, especially those of the Smith Dartmoor vineyard, which began in 1985. Based on the classic character of Cabernet Sauvignon, these wines won accolades from Sydney to London, establishing Matua as about the first New Zealand winery to make premium red wines in reasonable quantities. This commitment to sensible production levels made Matua one of the best known premium wineries in New Zealand, the largest boutique, making wines which not only grab critical acclaim and wine awards, but which are available throughout the country at accessible prices. Excellence and availability could almost be the company motto.

As the original quest for excellence comes closer to being achieved, appreciation of Matua wines has spread abroad from New Zealand, establishing a healthy market in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and Europe. Everywhere that quality wine is understood and appreciated, and where the excitement of New Zealand wine is being acknowledged.

While Matua Valley is a uniquely New Zealand success, the reward for hard work and persistence in the pursuit of a dream, the beginning of the new millennium brought another challenge - to realise the international potential that New Zealand's unique growing conditions and Matua Valley's achievements had presented. While success within New Zealand's wine culture, and recognition by the world's wine media were significant accomplishments, the whole story would not be completed until Matua Valley had assumed a position in the international fine wine market that reflected that success. When the Margan family decided that they wished to pursue other ventures, the issue of Matua Valley's future role become a key one for the Spence family. To sit back satisfied with their status as one of New Zealand's finest was not part of the culture of the company, no matter how attractive that may seem, but to make Matua Valley truly international would require considerable financial and distribution resources beyond the capacity of the family. The decision was made to seek an international partner for Matua Valley, one that would help consolidate the important vineyard base of the company, and also offer global trade opportunities. It would mean that Matua would no longer have an exclusive New Zealand ownership, but conversely, expanded vineyards would cement the company's New Zealand identity through the character of its wines.

As with the entire development of Matua Valley, the choice was made on the basis of the high quality standards and particular personal qualities a new partner would bring to the partnership. In choosing Australian company, Fosters, the Spence family reflected their long association with the neighbouring Australian wine industry, and Fosters' international vision that culminated in the creation of the company's wine division, Beringer Blass. In the short time since Matua Valley has become part of the Beringer Blass family, giant developments have been made towards establishing Matua Valley as a globally respected fine wine brand. At grass roots level this has involved the purchase of new land and vineyards providing the essential base on which wine making of the highest quality can be sustained.

The best news of all for consumers, however, is that the fruits of that winemaking will be distributed to the world's fine wine markets, making Matua Valley an option for wine drinkers from Sydney to Edinburgh. Great wine is accessible wine, and in terms of the original dream of making finer wine than any of their contemporaries could imagine, such global recognition will be the Spence brothers' ultimate achievement.