Leading NZ producer to move away from fine wine

Central Otago's Felton Road wants to distance itself from any notion of 'fine wine', owner Nigel Greening has said. Felton Road is no stranger to fine wine. One of Central Otago's leading producers, it commands impressive prices globally for its organic and biodynamic wines. One of just a handful of producers to make Pinot Noir exclusively from Bannockburn, New Zealand's latest GI, which became a protected region on 1 February 2022, Felton Road also crafts premium Chardonnay and Riesling from three vineyards in this coveted spot on the South Island. To give an approximate idea of bottle price at export, London wine merchant Lea & Sandeman currently stocks bottles of Felton Road's 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages of Bannockburn Pinot Noir for between £45.99 and £57.95 per bottle, while at Lay & Wheeler bottles of its Pinot Noir Block 5 are listed for £84. So attendees of Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 were surprised to hear that Felton Road intends to take a new direction, not in terms of its winemaking style but categorisation. "The whole notion of fine wine is based around over-priced snobbery," declared Felton Road owner and vigneron Nigel Greening during a panel discussion at the Pinot conference held in Christchurch between 11-13 February. From here on, he added, Felton Road is "uncomfortable belonging to the fine wine sphere."

What's wrong with deliciousness?

Greening stressed that he wanted Felton Road to embrace a policy of "inclusiveness". "We need to abandon exclusivity and embrace inclusivity," he said, applying this mantra not only to the ageing of wines, but to the language used to communicate about wine and the various certifications producers aspire to, among other things. "The inherent snobbery of fine wine maintains that you have to age your wines," said Greening. "Why? People shouldn't have to have cellars to be able to enjoy fine wine. Instead of waiting for 10 years, why not drink it tonight? What's wrong with deliciousness right now?" He also acknowledged that "we are losing the tribe we felt comfortable with" and needed to "start speaking the language of our future consumers", which necessitates abandoning the "tedious pretentiousness" that can often surround fine wine vernacular. Part of this involves dialling down the emphasis on critic scores, which Greening said "are fences when what we really need are gates…” The vigneron previously told Uncorked, that critic scores "have played a profound part in building our business and our global reputation, for which we are grateful, but not in debt. They haven’t ever influenced what we do."

Common sense and science

Furthermore, Greening railed against the hoops producers have to jump through to achieve certifications, and called for a new solution. "Neither organic or biodynamic are inclusive because you have to conform to be allowed in," he said. Felton Road would certainly know, having been organic and biodynamic across its three Bannockburn vineyards since 2005, and certified by Demeter since 2009. Instead, Greening favours the broader term 'regenerative viticulture' as it's an idea that "embraces flexibility". "We remain organic at Felton Road not because we believe that all sprays are evil," he said. "But because we don't yet have a credible alternative that makes sense for consumers. An imperfect hat is better than no hat at all." He describes organics as being "an input-based system" compared to regenerative viticulture which operates on an "output-based system." However, he is not in favour of establishing an official New Zealand 'Regenerative' certification as he's had enough of complying. "I just don't want any more certification," he said. "I think we can do this [make great wine] with just common sense and science."

New vines

On the subject of science, Greening revealed that when ordering new vines Felton Road "gives the nursery some soils from our own vineyards. They inoculate the soils in the nursery with that, so the plants grow up in the soil they will eventually be moved to."' He described the method as being "like giving the vines the dial-up code to the internet before they move in." Due to historical seismic action and earthquakes in New Zealand, the country is a jumble of soils from alluvial gravels, to limestone, clay, loess and schist, which allows for impressive diversity in its Pinots across the nation's characterful sub-regions. "There's a seismic hum in this country that never stops," said viticulturist Jeff Sinnott, who is also a member of the Tuku Māori Winemakers Collective. And along with this hum there is a palpable buzz among its winemakers who strive to make "living wine" that expresses the patchwork quilt of New Zealand's terroir. This could be the moment for New Zealand to redefine itself and shake off the restrictive definitions of fine wine. Or, as fellow panellist, the British TV presenter and wine columnist, Olly Smith put it: "I think what we have with New Zealand Pinot is the opportunity to make fine wine 'fun'."