muddy waters wines from nz have just landed

Another incredible group of  wines to cross the Tasman from New Zealand to our cellars, here at The Vine Press are those from Muddy Waters.   Rave reviews abound and we are now stocking their stunning Unplugged Riesling, James Hardwick Riesling and their brilliant Pinot Noir.

Here’s some background info about Muddy Waters and their growing philosophy:

The vineyards of Muddy Waters are situated on sunny slopes above the Waipara Valley (direct translation from the Maori place name – wai (water) para (sediment, mud) in North Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand.  Protected from cool sea breezes by a range of coastal hills, the Waipara area has a climate distinct from the rest of Canterbury. Cold, frosty winters, warm dry summers and dry sunny autumns provide intensely flavored ripe grapes. Soils are ideal for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, mirroring the Burgundian soils that are the natural home of these great varieties.  Muddy Waters specialise in Pinot Noir, Pinotage, Syrah, Riesling and Chardonnay. Muddy Water is the dream of owners Michael and Jane East, who purchased the property in 1993. The first wines were produced in 1997. Winemaker, Belinda Gould, and vineyard manager Gwyn Williams are both dedicated to the production of unique, hand-crafted wines at Muddy Water. All canopy and crop management is done by hand with meticulous attention to detail.  Each vine is treated as an individual, resulting in balanced vines, and reflected in balanced wines. The extra vineyard work gives open vines and low crop levels. This in turn means minimal use of vineyard chemicals and results in more flavour. All fruit is hand-picked from Muddy Waters own vineyards and travels no more than 500m to the winery for processing. All the grapes are hand-sorted on conveyor/sorting tables which gently elevate the whole clusters to the press or destemmer. The white wines are carefully pressed as whole clusters to give minimal skin contact and clean unoxidised juice. The reds are destemmed using gravity and fermented in small open-top fermenters, the caps are managed by hand. Because the fruit is in near-perfect condition, the juice is fermented by the native yeasts from the vineyards and almost no winemaking additives are used. Muddy Waters’s philosophy of the wines reflecting the vineyards means that in the cellar the wines are pumped and handled as little as possible and when possible they bottle without fining or filtration. At Muddy Waters their wine is “hand-crafted, no compromise…”

“I believe that if you christen your winery with an unusual name it will have a positive effect if the wine is good and a negative influence if the wine is poor. In the case of Muddy Water, the wine is, thankfully, very good indeed” – Bob Campbell; Cuisine Wine Annual, 2001