Generational change at NZ's Neudorf Vineyards

Rosie Finn is now the international marketing and brand director for Neudorf Vineyards.

If you are familiar with this small, but esteemed, New Zealand winery this may not come as a surprise, given Rosie (26) is the only child of founders Tim and Judy Finn.

But her path into the wine industry was not straight forward. At 17 Rosie moved to Wellington to study design at Massey University. Not one paper on viticulture or oenology was considered.

“I was lucky – Tim and Jude never pushed their dream onto me. They wanted me to find my own way. So two days after graduating, I moved to London where I met Melanie Brown, who was launching The New Zealand Cellar. Her drive to promote the very best of New Zealand wine was an inspiration, as was her enthusiasm for my wine education. My time with Mel introduced a real love for the New Zealand wine industry. Jude says it was like knowing the boy next door then realising he was quite the catch, though I like to think the outcome wasn’t as obvious as that."

Rosie says when the time came to move home, she had the chance to prove myself at Neudorf: "My new role includes working with our Australian, European & UK importers. As a small winery we depend on the enthusiasm of these guys to help tell the Neudorf story.”

Judy Finn says it is a joy having the next generation on board. "Rosie brings great skills in social media, branding and a certain youthful style which I admire. We are a small company (crushing 140 tonnes this year) but we’ve come a long way since Tim and I turned the downstairs loo into a hot box for newly grafted grapevines back in the 70s.”

Neudorf Vineyards was planted in 1978 and has a world class reputation for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. More recently the vineyard has attracted positive attention for Albariño, a grape Tim says is his insurance against climate change. Tim and Judy spent some time in Rias Biaxas last year to further their understanding of this briny, bulletproof grape.

Both the Home Vineyard and Rosie’s Block are run organically and are dry farmed – the grapes haven’t seen irrigation for 37 years. These wines are vegan, minimal sulphur and wild yeast ferment.

“I was brought up on the vineyard, surrounded by sheep, geese, chooks and a few thousand birds. I think being this close to our grapes makes it easier to pursue organic production. Judy doesn’t spray her roses, Tim doesn’t spray his potatoes – we try to keep it simple, keep it honest and keep it healthy,” Rosie says.

Neudorf is part of the respected Family of Twelve, a collective of twelve family-owned Kiwi wineries who work together in defining and marketing New Zealand’s place in the world of fine wine.

In New Zealand Neudorf is distributed by Eurovintage.

Outside of wine, photography, travel and design, Rosie enjoys SCUBA diving, fishing and wake boarding. She is an avid baker… vintage coffee breaks feature brownies, carrot cake and Anzac biscuits (chewy and crunchy). And being a New Zealander, watching the rugby with Tim and a glass of Pinot.

Rosie will be in the UK & Europe later this month with the new release of her eponymous Neudorf Rosie's Block Chardonnay.

ends

© Scoop Media