WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY.
Being a winemaker, is a great job, well it is more than a job it is a way of life, but it is not rocket science. I find that it is more about feel and imagination than science. Sure you have to know your stuff as far as the technical side goes, but I don't for a minute believe that science alone can make great wine. One must also be able to clearly pre-visualize the wines one wishes to make, to imagine and realise the feel, style and tastes one is trying to achieve. then take the path that defines that style.
The New England wine region is largely defined by small vineyards which grow grape but do not make wine, of the approximately 47 vineyards which are to be found in the region only 3 are capable of making their own wine (including Eastview). most of the rest are shipping their grapes by road many hours drive away to The Hunter region or to Port Macquarie. A process which sees the deterioration of the grape through oxidisation and crushing by the action of the bouncing in trucks and trailers and the weight of the fruit in the bulk bins. I have known of grape being held for some days before transport. If the New england is to develop and take it's place at the table of great Australian wine regions we must stop this, and back ourselves by investing in wineries within the region, if you do not make wine but grow grape you are a farmer not a winemaker. And you cannot guarantee that the wine you sell is from your property let alone the New England Region. The arrogance of farmers who claim to be winemakers simply does the region a dis-service, it is impossible for the wine buying public to trust suppliers who cannot guarantee the probity and provenence of their product
The New England Region
The New England wine region is largely defined by small vineyards which grow grape but do not make wine, of the approximately 47 vineyards which are to be found in the region only 3 are capable of making their own wine (including Eastview). most of the rest are shipping their grapes by road many hours drive away to The Hunter region or to Port Macquarie. A process which sees the deterioration of the grape through oxidisation and crushing by the action of the bouncing in trucks and trailers and the weight of the fruit in the bulk bins. I have known of grape being held for some days before transport. If the New england is to develop and take it's place at the table of great Australian wine regions we must stop this, and back ourselves by investing in wineries within the region, if you do not make wine but grow grape you are a farmer not a winemaker. And you cannot guarantee that the wine you sell is from your property let alone the New England Region. The arrogance of farmers who claim to be winemakers simply does the region a dis-service, it is impossible for the wine buying public to trust suppliers who cannot guarantee the probity and provenence of their product
What Next for the New England Region
The New England wine region is at a crossroads as it develops from a parochial hobby farm based micro industry which owes as much to the Hunter for it's style as it does the New England terroir, to a quality focused provider of wines unique to the New England. Wines which are totally New England made and are true representations of this region. Our aim at Eastview Estate is to do just that, to find and bottle the very essence of the New England character by making our wine right here in the New England, our grapes go from vine to crusher within minutes of picking, not days, the difference can be tasted in any one of our wines. If you have ever tasted fruit from a supermarket and compared the same fruit picked freshly from a tree you will know what I am talking about. Fruit starts to deteriorate the moment it is picked.