Iconic wine estate to become part of Auckland University

Media release

Faculty of Science
The University of Auckland

16 July 2011

Iconic wine estate to become part of The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is positioned to become the Southern Hemisphere’s premium wine science facility thanks to the vision of pioneering Waiheke winemakers Kim and Jeanette Goldwater.

The Goldwater family have partially gifted their iconic vineyard and winemaking operation to the University’s Wine Science programme. The gift will allow students and researchers to operate in a world-class commercial winemaking environment.

“This is an unprecedented and extremely generous donation that will benefit both the University and the wine industry,” says Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon.

“The opportunity for immersion in a high-quality commercial winery means that our students will be better trained than ever before and highly attuned to the realities of the industry. We believe that the wine industry will benefit from the supply of high quality graduates as well as the University’s ongoing wine science research.”

The University has acquired the Waiheke property, partly through a commercial transaction, and partly through the $4m philanthropic gift. The 14-hectare vineyard and winery will operate two parallel streams. An established team will continue to produce wines commercially under the premium Goldie brand and more accessibly-priced Island label. Wine science students will keep producing their own wines for teaching purposes under the university’s Ingenio label, work as interns in the commercial operation, and have access to the fruit and data for research.

The Goldwater family has had a long association with The University of Auckland with three generations of graduates. Kim Goldwater says he immediately thought of the Wine Science programme when he was contemplating the vineyard’s future.

“This is the perfect size for a teaching operation and I’m a great believer in knowledge and proper research. The overall quality of New Zealand wine is now better than anywhere else in the world because our winemakers are well educated, so it’s my quiet dream this will become an important centre for wine education and research.”

“The new arrangement means that we will be hardwired into the industry and able to fine-tune our teaching to industry needs,” explains Wine Science Director Randy Weaver.

“Teaching for the first half of our year-long Postgraduate Diploma in Wine Science will be onsite at the Waiheke estate and students will continue to work there several days a week for the remainder of their studies. Our philosophy is to teach wine production as a process that runs from the vine to the mouth. At the Waiheke estate our students will be exposed to everything from vineyard and winemaking operations to interaction with the public in the tasting room.

“We are expanding the curriculum for the course and anticipate that the number of students will double to around 30. The scale of the estate is perfect for teaching purposes and its proximity to the city, the historic value of the winery and the natural beauty of the site all will be major drawcards for local and international students.”

“Our Wine Science programme already provides valuable information to industry,” says Dean of Science Professor Grant Guilford. “For instance research on native yeasts has led to the commercialisation of a strain that increases fruit notes and complexity in wine, and work on the effects of temperature on the aroma profile is leading to changes in wine storage. We foresee further opportunities for research based at the Waiheke winery that will benefit winemakers.”

Kim and Jeanette Goldwater are pioneers of the wine industry on Waiheke who planted the first wine-quality vines on the island in 1978. Through a family trust they own the vineyard previously known as Goldwater Estate, while Gretchen Goldwater and husband Ken Christie own and operate the winery business Goldie Wines.

The gift will see both the Waiheke vineyard and winemaking operations become part of The University of Auckland. It brings the University’s “Leading the Way” fundraising campaign to $158 million to date.

Notes

About Wine Science at The University of Auckland

In the last 20 years, the global wine industry has become increasingly internationalised and sophisticated. Along with other new-world producers, the New Zealand wine industry has grown rapidly. This success has created demands for highly trained and skilled participants and for locally focused scientific research of the highest standards.

The Wine Science Postgraduate Programme at The University of Auckland caters for these demands. It uses the experiences of winemaking in New Zealand to highlight the multiple dimensions and applications of wine science. A central theme is that wine science is more than simply winemaking. The programme is organised around understanding wine production as a process that runs from the vine to the mouth. Courses examine the science of grape production and winemaking, and analytical techniques in winemaking.

As part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Wine Science students are given hands-on experience producing their own wines, which are bottled under the University’s Ingenio label. Students have been producing Ingenio Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc since 2003 at a model winery at the University’s Tāmaki Innovation Campus. Ingenio wines will now be produced at the Waiheke estate.

www.auckland.ac.nz/wine

About Goldie Wines

Goldie Wines is located at the vineyard previously known as Goldwater Estate on Waiheke Island. “Goldie” was the name of the flagship red wine from the Waiheke vineyard under the Goldwater brand. By 2009 the family had sold all of their winegrowing interests in other regions as well as the Goldwater brand. They retained the Goldie name, with the intention that it would become the umbrella brand for wines from the Waiheke vineyard.

Goldie Wines’ first harvest was in 2010 from the same vines and using the same techniques that bought renown to Goldwater wines. Its wines will be released as they are made and total production eventually will be around 3,000 cases, with 200 to 500 cases of each variety or label.
The wines will be sold under the premium Goldie brand and the more accessibly-priced Island label.

www.goldiewines.co.nz

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