Grasshopper Rock Blog

For me the answer is an emphatic YES.

Great brands have distance from their competitors and it will take more than just making great wine to achieve this. How we grow wine needs to be part of the brand story.

One of the most visible operations in most vineyards is tractors. Tractors for mowing, spraying, leaf plucking, trimming, harvesting and pruning. Some vineyards do all these and more and some do less depending on grape variety, location and economics.

We would like to run our tractors on biodiesel because we care about the environment but our Government’s dithering is stopping us.

It seems unbelievable to me that in this country we have at least one major oil company keen to distribute biodiesel, we have companies trying to differentiate themselves in international markets and the Government can’t make a decision to give biodiesel a long term future.  In the meantime our biodiesel plant capable of producing 20 Million litres per year sits idle.

Biodiesel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to the fossil fuel version.

To read more see:
New Zealand Food Technology magazine
Ecodiesel’s submission to the Green Growth Advisory Group

To do something positive speak up and show you care.

Phil Handford

Disclosure: Phil Handford is a shareholder and director of Ecodiesel Ltd and Grasshopper Rock. Grasshopper Rock is not a shareholder in Ecodiesel.

Yesterday I had an enjoyable day visiting wine trade customers and prospects.  Yes I know, not everyone stocks our wine and those that didn’t had excuses which I failed to outweigh.(#FAIL)

Here are my insights:

• Not much has change in the past two years. Still heaps of crazy deals on offer as wineries try to clear surplus stocks of wine.
• It is the wineries/distributors who are making the offers – so you can’t blame the retailers.
• Google “$6.99 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc” and you will find plenty of hits, mostly unknown labels and probably questionable quality.
• But, I think there are signs that this is a stage on the maturity continuum from a new to a mature industry.

There are wine brands which are offering heavily discounted wine and in the process damaging their brand. How do we know they are damaging their brand? Just listen to what retailers are saying about those brands. If retailers say some wineries are damaging their brands then the consumer will hear the same. Even if the wineries sees it differently,  the retailer’s perception about brand damage will become reality.

There are definitely a lot more wine brands than two years ago. Many of these labels (brands) are set up just for the purpose clearing wine and usually justified to protect another brand or are set up by opportunists taking advantage of low grape prices.

The real brand damage seems to be isolated to a minority. The 80/20 rule could be applied here. I would suggest 20% of the wineries are causing 80% of the brand destruction.  And the discount pricing by 20% of wineries, is creating problems for the other 80% of wineries who actually want to stay in business for the long term.

It is not easy for wineries to stay in business, but we all need to very clear about our vision, goals, and strategies.  There are many different drivers in the wine business, from the corporate brand who owns many international brands, labels and vineyards to the brand that owns many vineyards around NZ to the single vineyard winery like Grasshopper Rock.  I wonder if some NZ wineries are struggling with understanding where they are headed, especially  the mid-sized wineries who seem to be doing a lot of the brand devaluing.

May be these are the growing pains of an industry becoming more corporatized. An industry which has seen more wine become a commodity and price more important than quality.  It is also a sign of immaturity in the NZ industry. New Zealand cannot compete internationally as a producer of the cheapest wines; too many other countries can do this on a larger scale with lower costs.

In my view the maturity in the NZ wine industry will come when we better value the story of individual vineyards. In future, the family or corporate who can have the most valuable brand/s will own or lease the best vineyards. Many vineyards are too young to know if they will be the premier vineyards but the time will come when it is clear which vineyards most consistently produce quality.

I actually came away from yesterday’s trade visits very encouraged despite the pessimism of some about the general state of the wine industry and a few feeling sorry for me trying to sell wine! I am excited because the awareness is growing that the world-class wines and labels will come from the single vineyard wines. This is where the real stories and brand values  will be built.

This is why we established Grasshopper Rock ten years ago and why we decided to find what we thought was the best Pinot Noir vineyard site in Central Otago to build a great Pinot Noir brand from. To establish a great brand was our vision when we started and it hasn’t changed. All that has changed is that the site is better than we imagined and the industry has gone through a bigger crisis than we imagined.   Aren’t we doing this for the next generation anyway?

When it comes to wine tasting notes it seems some people have no scruples. Have a look at these screen shots. Do you think this was just a misunderstanding between an online retailer and a wine company? I don’t think so, but it is difficult to get the truth so you be the judge. The offending screen shot was taken before the tasting note was wisely deleted by the online retailer after an appropriate phone call.  We are of course quite flattered that someone should want to use a review of our wine for another wine.

Below is the screen shot from Raymond Chan Wine Reviews website.

The shot below is from Winesonline website on 2nd November 2011

What do you think?

I love hearing customers rave about our Pinot. Gold Medals are great too but when wine is tasted with friends or with food it takes on a new meaning. Wine is to be drunk not tasted. I received this email feedback yesterday.

Dear Phil,
We have just ordered a case of your 2009 Pinot Noir which I hope is as good as your 2008. We bought 2 bottles of the 2008 when in Raglan a few weeks back. To say we were impressed would be an understatement , especially as we had a cousin and his wife staying with us, from France, and know their wines well.

For dinner one evening we had a Felton Road Pinot Noir, which as you more than likely know, is supposed to be the real top shelf stuff. We drank it and liked it but then as a contrast we thought we would try the 2008 Grasshopper Rock PN. THERE WAS NO COMPARISON!!! All present for the meal agreed on this and also to the quality , numero une, of your Pinot. They compared it more than favourably with any thing from France.  What more can I say?! Congratulations.

One little word of warning  —– the 2009 had better shape up well or I will have to sing your praises only as a one-pony-trick that hasn’ t been repeated.  I am sure this will not be the case although one has to remember that the different vintage years do vary for a 100 and 1 reasons. My prayer is that 2008 will be repeated or excelled many times again in the future so that we can continue to enjoy it.

Best regards,
Nigel B.

I am not arrogant enough to think Grasshopper Rock will outshine Felton Road for a long time. As stated greatness comes with consistently delivery outstanding wines and Felton Road has a big headstart.

Grasshopper Rock is a different site and will produce a different Pinot Noir. Of course we are encourage by the nice comparison! 

Phil