Greg Hay is one of the most enthusiastic and colourful characters of the Central Otago wine industry.

His educational background and early career while not designed to prepare him for the important role he now plays in the local wine industry, proved to be a valuable stepping stone. After graduating from Otago in 1985 with a degree focused on marketing and management, he lectured in marketing for a time before moving on to managing a venison export company in Auckland and later pricing air freight into US and Tahiti. A lasting memory of this time was wearing a suit and tie and having combed hair, which he hated! In total contrast was a season of beekeeping on the West Coast, which he loved.

Greg's home territory is Motueka but the family had a property in Beaumont which is still farmed by his brother. By 1987, Greg had made his way down to Chard Farm where Rob had just bought the land, to help with planting "for a few weeks." He never left. In 1987, two hectares were planted, while the seven hectares added in 1988 doubled the then Central Otago vineyard area. Chard Farm had formerly been planted as an apricot orchard. In those early days, Rob made wine for Alan Brady through Taramea. and Rippon also used this winery. Rob became more involved in winemaking and Greg with viticulture after completing a three month course at EIT. From 1989, Greg and Keith Thompson looked after the Chard vines (Keith later did cellar door sales at Chard) as well as the growers contracted to Chard Farm and later the Lake Hayes vineyard. Greg visited Oregon and Napa Valley during this time to have a good look at other areas.

In 1997 Greg left Chard to become a consultant and the following season joined Peregrine for its first vintage. From this early involvement, Greg has watched the local industry's rapid expansion. He predicts that in ten years time there could be 3000 hectares of vines planted in Central Otago - maybe more, but water could be a limiting factor. There is a large area of land available onboth sides of the Wanaka Road, but in the Gibbston Valley only another hundred hectares of planting is likely.

Greg believes that there will be a lot more exploration of potential microclimates, and the true advantages of the area will only be realised when we drop the "flat land" mentality. Care needs to be taken that while hills are an attractive option from the point of view of frost run- off, our vineyard soils do need some power to fully express the grapes on them. When asked if over-production was a danger, Greg was firm in his belief that yield must be kept down and quality up. He asserts that Central Otago as a brand must be a priority, with promotion of the region very important -"this can't be emphasised enough." The concern is a big player coming in who compromises quality.

"We shouldn't try to emulate Burgundy: we must try to make the very best Pinot Noir that we can, force our own style, and become known for that."

When Chard Farm was established, there were only six wineries in Marlborough and fifty labels in the whole of New Zealand. However Greg sees that there is a down-side of expansion in that the friendly and cooperative spirit can disappear from the industry. Central Otago is still the most cohesive wine-growing area, and he hopes that points of difference between growing areas in Central Otago can lead to marketing differentiation without any claims of superiority of one region over others.

Article by : Robin Dicey, Full Circle Vineyard

        

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