Winemaker shows up Aussies

It's always good to get one over the Aussies, but it's even better when it's in a viticultural arena they've always prized as theirs.

The fruity, sometimes feisty, wine variety of shiraz - the variety Kiwis grow and produce as syrah.

A variety which grows very well across stretches of geographical landscapes like Hawke's Bay's Gimblett Gravels ... although if you ask winemaker Nick Picone about how it thrives here he's more likely to use the word "brilliantly".

The New Zealand wine industry has been raising a toast to Bay-born Mr Picone over the past fortnight ever since he took his skills to the Aussies and triumphed - with those congratulatory toasts highly likely to have been a syrah.

Or maybe a merlot ... or a chardonnay, because they, too, did it for the judges at the 12th annual Wine Society Australasian Winemaker of the Year competition in Sydney a fortnight ago.

The award, coupled with his joint winning of the New Zealand Winemaker of the Year title at the Royal Easter Show last year, has clearly underlined the fact he is very, very good, at his job - which is senior winemaker at Villa Maria.

It was just the second year the 34-year-old had taken on Aussie's best winemakers for the Australasian award and figured he might have been in with a chance as the three wines he crafted and entered had two things going for them - the excellent 2010 season and the fact all there were from grapes grown "back home" in the Bay.

And he covered the range - a Villa Maria Reserve Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2010, a Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2010, and the Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah.

In Australia, and internationally for that matter, New Zealand is accepted as a leader in producing sauvignon blanc, so the entering of other varieties, particularly syrah, rattled a few cages at the awards.

"We've known for years that Hawke's Bay-grown syrahs are good," Nick said, explaining that all 150 who entered had to submit three wines they had crafted, and from those the best two as determined by the judges would go into the competition.

Ten finalists were selected, Nick among them, with his syrah and chardonnay being adjudged his two top efforts.

So the announcement time arrived and, with his father Vince alongside him, one name was read out and it was his.

His father wasn't too surprised, though, having tasted the syrah earlier in the evening and telling him "son, you could win with this".

"It was just awesome," Nick said.

"I'd said to dad earlier that it would be great to bring the title to New Zealand for the first time because it was long overdue."

The thrill was only dampened by the fact his mum, Marg, was not on hand to also witness his moment in the industry's sun.

She is bravely battling illness, and Nick, his voice breaking a little, simply said "I dedicate this to mum".

The reactions from the Australian winemakers afterwards were memorable, Nick said with a smile.

"They were having me on about the fact we [New Zealand] had always had sauvignon blanc sewn up but now we'd gone and turned everything upside down because I'd won with a syrah. It's their grape - their flagship grape - 'now you're doing our shiraz' they told me."

As Nick said on the night after receiving the award, which is recognised as the most prestigious and significant for young winemakers (under 35) in New Zealand and Australia, he had started out "from the bottom".

He was born in Napier but with his parents moving about, also spent time in Waipukurau, before returning to Napier where he went to Napier Intermediate, before again returning south and attending Central Hawke's Bay College. Then it was off to Waikato for a spell, and then a return to the Bay where he took up a three-year degree in the science of winemaking at the EIT.

"Dad was always passionate about wine and I'd sometimes taste it, and enjoyed it."

His father ran winery tours through the years and Nick sometimes went along.

"He got more and more interested," Vince said.

"From a young age he had the motivation and desire to go into the wine industry."

Nick said he was captivated by the "mystique and magic" of creating a fine wine.

"I wouldn't say I'm obsessed but I am very quality driven. I aspire and keep striving to make better and better wines."

He's looking forward to coming back to the Bay for Christmas to catch up with family and friends and underlined very clearly that despite being based in Auckland with partner Mandy and two youngsters, he's a Bay lad through and through.