I was sitting back thinking about John Hancock and his team at Trinity Hill for pioneering a new and potentially exciting red wine variety for Hawke’s Bay, Tempranillo, and I got thinking about Spain and its influence on Hawke’s Bay. As we sit and enjoy our latte at the Opera Kitchen in Hastings, Hawke's Bay we are surrounded by the strikingly beautiful Spanish Mission façade of the region's Opera House, now thankfully restored to one of modern splendour, a terrific piece of architecture and design at every touch. Most of us know and can see that, however what many don’t realise is that one of our pioneering winemakers was of Spanish descent.

In 1866 Jose Soler (renamed Joseph for his new, English speaking country) arrived in Wanganui from Spain via Victoria, planted vines, purchased grapes from the Maori settlements up the river (yes, the Maori people were probably our first contract grape growers!), and actually developed quite a decent wine business. He gained numerous accolades winning prizes in Melbourne in 1880 and London at the quite pompously named “Colonial and Indian Exhibition” in 1886. His crowning glory occurred, somewhat unfortunately in the year of his death. Judged alongside overseas entries at the Christchurch Exhibition in 1906, his wines took three of the five gold medals awarded. The Aussies sniffed a rat and insisted on a re-judging by an expert approved by the Australians. In the re-run Soler’s wines took all five gold medals. The interesting note here is it is very likely that those wines included our current darling Syrah and quite possibly some Tempranillo.

While Soler’s Wanganui enterprise failed due to poor climate and soils, he made a huge contribution to Hawke’s Bay. In 1888, Soler insisted his nephew join him in New Zealand. He was a young, obviously pioneering, man named Anthony Vidal. He worked with his uncle, but deserted his vineyards in Wanganui and Palmerston North for warmer, drier pastures. In 1905 he bought some old stables in Hastings and then after some time selecting his pieces of land, developed vineyards in Havelock North, at Te Mata and at Te Awanga, and founded Vidal Wines. Vidal still exists today and is as much a Hawke’s Bay institution as it is a producer of some of our finest wines. The vineyards at Te Mata and Te Awanga are still some of our best sites for wine production, and now the grape variety that calls Spain its home, Tempranillo, is continuing that Spanish legacy.

Another salute to the region’s Mediterranean history is Deliciosa, our wonderful little genuine Spanish tapas bar in Havelock North, serving the real deal with wines and food of its homeland. Next time you are at Deliciosa, try a glass of the Lustau Fino Sherry, it is light and dry, served cold it is a great aperitif.

I tasted a whole bunch of Spanish red wines this week and thought I would round this out with three or four great value wines all set for drinking over this winter. If you have trouble finding them, ask Mac at Advintage to get them in, they are terrific.

Steve Smith - Wine & Viticulture Director

Thanks to Dick Scott's wonderful book “Pioneers of New Zealand Wine” for the background information.