December 07 / January 08
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NEW ZEALAND WINE PERSONALITY OF 2007
Effective industry leadership earns title for Stuart Smith
It’s never easy to single out someone for recognition as the industry’s Personality of the Year, and, at first sight, we thought that 2007 would be more difficult than usual because there was no immediate standout contender.
As in other awards of this kind, previous winners are not considered, so that ruled out George Fistonich DCNZ (inaugural winner in 2005) and Jim and Rose Delegat (winners in 2006).
This award is not for long or earlier service; that is recognised in other ways. This is for the most outstanding contribution during this current year.
An early contender was Steve Smith MW for his outstanding leadership of the team that organised Pinot Noir 2007, and for his inspiring chairmanship of the event itself. He would later come into prominence as chairman of judges in the revamped Air New Zealand Wine Awards, and, at this stage, looks like someone whose time is still to come.
If the title was just for contribution to the sizeable Marlborough segment of the industry, Gerry Gregg would have to be a contender. But his recognition has come from that region, and deservedly so as recounted by Tessa Nicholson on page 12 of this issue. Or, again in Marlborough, Neal Ibbotson, whose Saint Clair wine estate keeps winning top awards around the world. But as we looked back over the whole year, and from a nationwide perspective, it became clear that there was someone who deserves wider industry recognition for his efforts on our behalf: Stuart Smith, chairman of New Zealand Winegrowers.
In a role filled previously by high fl iers from major companies in the winery sector, it can’t have been easy being the fi rst grapegrower leader to succeed to the top job, and part-owner of a Category 1 small winery as well. It’s taken some of us perhaps too long to realise the extent to which Smith quickly grew into the role of industry leader, quietly, but firmly and effectively. However, as 2007 comes to a close, it is now obvious that Stuart Smith is, far and away, deserving of the title of New Zealand Wine Personality of the Year.
Profile of Stuart Smith
Tessa Nicholson
Sixteen years ago Stuart Smith says he knew nothing about wine, other
than it was a good drop to drink.
These days he is the chairman of
New Zealand Winegrowers Board
and there are few in the industry who
could beat him for his knowledge on
the growing and production of quality
wine.
Born in Methven to a farming family, his early years were spent dealing with sheep, some cattle, crops and deer. He even had his ticket for velveting deer and stags during the heyday of the industry. Originally intending to go to Lincoln, his tertiary studies were sidelined when he visited Western Australia and gained a job on a major 600ha cropping farm. From Australia to Ireland, he went lambing, before coming back to Methven to help out on the family farm.
In 1991 he met Julie Small, whose parents had a small vineyard in the heart of Marlborough’s Southern Valleys. Ken and Jill Small were keen to expand the property and eventually develop their own label. At the time, Marlborough was going through an immense growth stage, with recognition coming strong and hard for the wines being produced in the area. Smith says he could see the potential and made the decision to sell his share in the Mid Canterbury farm to invest in the wine industry.
Fairhall Downs established
In 1994 he and Julie became co owners,
along with Ken and Jill Small, in
what was known as Fairhall Downs.
As the new boy on the block, it was a
steep learning curve for him, although
he admits winegrowing is just another
form of farming, and he had plenty
of practical experience in that. As the
Fairhall Downs vineyard began to expand,
Stuart and Ken were also faced
with having to replant phylloxera-affected
vines. There was no let-up in
the workload or the knowledge being
gained.One of the beauties of that era in the
mid-90s was the sharing on knowledge
within the industry. “I thought the Marlborough wine
industry was relatively big back then,
but in hindsight it was actually only
small, when you compare it with how
it is now. But within a few months I
knew everyone. If a new person came
into the district to grow grapes, we
would soon know them; there was a
lot of interaction and a great way to
become part of the community.”
Twelve months after arriving in Marlborough, the region hosted the second Romeo Bragato Conference, with Small taking on the role of organiser of the Silver Secateurs. He roped Smith in to assist on the day, which whetted his appetite for the organisational side of the growing wine industry. Smith was elected to the Marlborough Grape Growers Council, quickly moving up the ladder to the role of president by 2001. He was also the Marlborough representative on the New Zealand Grape Growers Council for six years, before being elected vicepresident in 2005, and president last year.
Managing expansion
There have been some tough years
for the industry, in terms of managing
the exponential expansion.With more
land in grapes, more workers were required
and Smith was concerned that
grapes weren’t going to get pruned
in time, due to a lack of labour. As far
back as 2000, he was lobbying government
offi cials to bring in workers from
the Pacific nations to help assist over
the busy winter months.
He was also lobbying the industry itself to come together as one unit, rather than the fragmented separate boards of grapegrowers and winemakers. “It was absolutely essential for the industry to speak with just one voice. We all have common interests, in that we are running businesses, either growing the grapes or making the wine. We needed to merge, and the end result has proven how right we were to fi ght for that. We now have far more prominence because of the one voice, one industry status.” These days, the Winegrowers board is made up on seven winemakers and fi ve grapegrowers, and according to Smith it works well. “We have had some robust debate, which is how it should be. But everyone agrees on working together.”
Aim value not volume
One of the aspects he likes most
about being involved with winegrowing,
is the vertical integration of the
industry.
“Being able to grow a product such
as grapes and then take the extra step
of producing a final commodity such
as wine, couldn’t be further from the
integrating of other forms of farming.
Say with sheep, you grown the product but then it is handed over to someone else to create the fi nished article and market it. “With wine, you can have hands-on at every level, with the cellar door where your product is sold to the customer direct being the ultimate in integration.” As for the future of the New Zealand wine industry, Smith believes everyone should be looking to value instead of volume.“We have been growing rapidly and everybody has been scrambling to get as much volume as possible. I believe the time has come for us to ease off increasing volume and concentrate hard on increasing value. For example, here in Marlborough, we continually hear about how bad it is that the region has become a monoculture.
“Champagne is a monoculture, but look at the tremendous value they draw out of their piece of land. They have built themselves a wonderful, credible brand in Champagne. Now I know New Zealand is more spread out, but that is an advantage because we can offer more styles of wine and have more stories to tell. I think wineries now have to concentrate on getting more per bottle or case of wine, rather than aiming for more cases. That’s our challenge and that’s how we have to go forward.”
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