Heidi Seifried

Heidi's Story

"I guess you could say that wine is in my blood. I grew up on the family vineyard and winery alongside my siblings who now also work in the family business. My mother and father pioneered modern wine-grape growing in the South Island of NZ. This was back in the early 70s when as a young couple they were told Nelson was too far south and that grapes would only ever be viable in the North Island of NZ. Now, 35 years plus later, the South Island of NZ produces the vast majority of NZ wine! In addition to this, grapes are grown very successfully 800 km south of Nelson in Central Otago. Quite a remarkable turnaround in such a brief time!

As a small business we do everything as we have done from early beginnings. Specifically we graft grape plants, run a nursery, grow and nuture the grapes, pick / ferment / blend / stabilise and finish the wines, bottle the wines and market the wines all ourselves! Whew! Growing up in this environment gives one a broad perspective on every aspect of growing and making wine? and naturally sparked my interest. And yes, I do enjoy drinking the stuff!

There are many things that we're proud of here at Seifried, but one thing in particular are our green credentials! We were one of the first wineries on board with the New Zealand Sustainable Vineyard programme (in the mid 1990s) and we were the first accredited Sustainable winery in our region in 2003. This means that we look very carefully at what we do and how we grow our grapes and make our wines. We are constantly measuring our inputs and trying to work as well as we can to produce sustainable wines. The programme encompasses environmental, social and economic sustainability.

My key tips for being a good winemaker?

1. Let the vineyard speak through in the wine.
2. Ideally winemaking is just capturing and retaining what has been achieved in the vineyard.
3. Fruit purity is all important when we are talking about our wines!
4. Clean, well-made wines are imperative.
5. Keep tasting wine ? no matter how many wines you have tasted in the past, or how much you know about wine, there are always more undiscovered wines out there to learn about and enjoy!

In a nutshell...Winemaking is definitely a mix of art and science. You need to be particular about winery cleanliness and hygiene, and keep your eye on the ball at all times. However on the other hand you need to loosen up about wine going through its own ?phases? and evolution.... you cannot control this!"