Fromm Winery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Fromm Winery, a small winery in Marlborough, offers a special selection of wines that reflect the soil in which the grapes are grown. While visiting be sure to ask about the history of the two unique winery tanks.
Fromm Winery in Blenheim, New Zealand is one of the smallest wineries in the Marlborough region. Currently the winery produces between 6,000 and 7,000 cases of wine. The tasting room is bright and offers several wines to taste and purchase as well as wine related books.
History
Fromm Winery was the brainstorm of Georg Fromm a Swiss winemaker. During a trip to New Zealand in the 1980’s Georg realized that this region would be a good place to grow grapes and have a winery. In 1992, Georg opened the Fromm Winery with Hätsch Kalberer. Today George Walliser and Pol Lenzinger own the Fromm Winery.
Vineyards
The vineyards consist of 23 hectares (57 acres) with mostly Pinot Noir vines. The winery owns four vineyards including Fromm Vineyard, Clayvin Vineyard, William Thomas Vineyard and 'Quarters' Vineyard. Fromm Vineyards was the first vineyard planted. The nearby Wairau River affected the soil in this vineyard and the soil is silt and alluvial gravel. In the vineyards, the grapevines are planted close together, forcing the vines to be stressed. When vines are stressed the roots grow deeper and the resulting grapes are of a higher quality.
Fromm Vineyard is home to Gewürztraminer, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Syrah. Clayvin Vineyard was named for its soil, which is predominantly clay. Varieties planted in this vineyard include Chardonnay, Riesling and Syrah. The William Thomas Vineyard consists of 20 acres. The soil is a combination of clay and alluvial gravel. Grapes include Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. ‘Quarters’ Vineyard, also with a soil of clay and alluvial gravel, is planted with Pinot Noir.
Organic and Biodynamic Principles
Fromm Winery uses organic principles in the vineyards and is gradually adding Biodynamic strategies. One example is the composting made on the property and used in the vineyards. Hay, grape skins, stems and grape seeds are added to the compost. The compost is on plastic. Water run off from the compost pile is collected and diluted. The resulting mix is then ready to spray in the vineyards.
Winery
The tour group’s tasting took place in the winery where there were barrels and tanks. A quick glance at the tanks turns into a longer look. There are two unusual tanks. A closer look revealed more knobs on the tanks than one usually sees on a wine tank. Also changes had been made in the tank observable because of the patching. As it turned out these were the first tanks we had seen used in a winery that had originally been used for making beer.
White Wines
Riesling Spätlese 2009 was a light yellow straw color. There was an aroma of stone fruit. The wine was sweet and crisp with a fruity finish that dried. The fruit yielded to some mineral notes. This wine was seven percent alcohol. Spätlese means ‘late harvest.’ The wine had 80 grams of sugar per liter (about eight percent residual sugar). Lastrado 2009 was a Sauvignon Blanc with an aroma of mineral with chalk notes. The taste had notes of flint. The crisp finish had mineral nuances with citrus hints.
Red Wines
Pinot Noir Brancott Valley 2007 was a dark ruby. There were cherry notes on the aroma and taste. The crisp finish had cherry notes yielding to flint. There were mild tannins. Syrah Fromm Vineyard 2007 was a dark purple. There was white pepper on the aroma while the taste offered dark fruit and spice notes. There were tannins on the finish and the fruit yielded to spices especially cinnamon. Pinot Noir Fromm Vineyard 2007 was a dark ruby. The aroma offered fruity nuances especially cherry. The fruit taste had an emphasis of cherry with flint nuances. The finish had intermediate tannins and fruit yielding to flint.
Enjoy your visit to Fromm Winery where you can taste wine and discover organic and Biodynamic principles used in the vineyard.
Fromm Winery
Godfrey Road, RD2
Blenheim 7272
New Zealand
