Montana's cropping figure belies sauvignon blanc yield disaster

By Nicholas Bryant

Friday 5th May 2000

END OF THE GOLDEN WEATHER: Peter Hubscher says Montana manages its crop better than many others. The yield of the company's Marlborough sauvignon blanc crop (far left) was 15% down this year

Winegrowers are puzzled by Montana Wines' claim it has escaped this year's disastrous sauvignon blanc vintage largely unscathed.

Cropping of sauvignon blanc grapes in Marlborough was down 40-50% this season, a crippling result for small players.

But Montana, the country's biggest wine company, said its vintage had been very different and this week publicly announced its sauvignon blanc yield was only 15% down on the successful 1999 vintage.

That claim has bewildered local growers and winemakers who say even new plantings, of which Montana had very little bearing fruit this vintage, could not account for such a small decrease in production.

Some question whether Montana is playing down the extent to which its sauvignon blanc pick has suffered in an attempt to maintain its international profile.

"If you ask statisticians to give you figures they can generally work it any way you like ... how they determined that I don't know. They do manage their vineyards differently because they're on a different scale," Bladen Winery owner Dave Macdonald said.

His sauvignon blanc crop was down 40%, causing him to postpone an expansion from 20 to 40 tonnes next year, and he said growers across Marlborough's Wairau Valley had suffered a similar fate.

He also knew of wineries that were struggling to fill export orders.

"Any of the wine companies involved in a massive increase in production [as most have been] which are actively seeking export orders will probably have problems filling expectations," he said.

Montana managing director Peter Hubscher said his company had suffered like all the others but put the apparently small drop in production down to good management.

"Montana's been in Marlborough longer than anyone else, we choose our sites carefully and have more knowledge of the district ... I think it's not entirely surprising we manage better than smaller producers who get into difficulty," Mr Hubscher said.

Many small Marlborough producers are heavily reliant on sauvignon blanc and will feel the pinch, not only from this vintage but possibly next year too.

"It will strain the profitability and cash flow and put costs up massively," Mr Hubscher said.

"The bigger problem for some will be if there's a big crop the following year coming off a difficult financial base."

Sauvignon blanc grown in Marlborough has become our highest-profile wine internationally and reaps big export dollars.

Over 30% of the country's wine was exported last year at a value of $125.3 million. Just under a third of that, $37.5 million worth, came from Marlborough sauvignon blanc and Marlborough sauvignon blanc-based blends.

Despite the disappointment in Marlborough, Montana's total grape harvest was 9% larger than in 1999, Mr Hubscher said.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet