[EVENT] Launching Matua Valley Wine

October 18th, 2013. I was startled when I got the invitation to attend launching Matua Valley Wine at InterContinental Jakarta Midplaza Hotel. I came to the event with Soya. The event was held in pool area. The pool was nice. A little bit hot that night, but later it was okay.

Matua, the producers of New Zealand's first Sauvignon Blanc and New Zealand's Wine Producer of the Year is now expanding its footprint in the region to include Indonesia. Speaking from one of Matua's vineyards outside of Auckland, Matua winemaker, Greg Rowdon said he's thrilled to see Matua expanding its markets in Asia.

He says, "When you taste a Matua wine, you really taste New Zealand in a glass. Our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanis perfect for the climate in Indonesia, being crisp, refreshing and full tropical notes like passionfruit and guava. It's also a wonderful food match for the rich and spicy flavours often found with Indonesian cuisine."

Greg Rowdon
Winemaker, New Dad and Keen Boater

Greg is a lover of all the good things in life – food, coffee and wine. He realized this all the way back in high school when he had the ingenious idea to contact Matua for some career guidance. At the time Mark Robertson, Now TWE’s chief winemaker, gave him a tip: study science. So Greg did exactly that, with a Masters Degree in winemaking.

Greg was quick to discover the reality of following a career in wine wasn’t exactly as glamorous as he first thought. Cleaning tanks is hard work. And he never thought you’d need to have such pristine floors to make wine. But despite the level of cleaning involved, he kept at it, even venturing over to work on vintages in France.

Outside of work, Greg is a boating enthusiast from way back (he comes from a family of boaters). There’s no better pastime for Greg than getting the family out on the boat, playing sport, enjoying food and relaxing. And these days family is a big focus for Greg, having recently become a proud new dad.

Contrary to common belief, winemakers don’t drink wine all day. The reality of the job is far more complex. In his role, Greg gets to experiment and push the conventions of winemaking. For example, recently he focussed on building complexity and texture into our Chardonnays. So much time is spent talking about the aroma and flavour of wine, why not focus more on the texture?

But, we know the real reason Greg’s been focussing on our Chardonnays – it’s his favorite drop!

2012 MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC 454.8k

All the varietal zing you'd expect from the grandaddies of Sauv blank in New Zealand. Look at it in the glass. It's just about singing with fresheness. The lively nose shows tropical and citrus fruits with subtle herbaceous characters. Its crisp fresh palate offers classic Marlborough acidity, structure and length.

2012 MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR 454.8k

Without wanting to overplay things, we reckon this is our best Pinot yet. With a great growing season the fruit is truly ripe and full and the predominant flavour is cherry, which reflects the wine's lovely vivid cherry colour. We also get blackberry notes and some lovely sweet smoky oak. Mouthfeel is initially soft and luscious, held up nicely by the supple tannins for a savoury lingering finish.

2011 SHINGLE PEAK SAUVIGNON BLANC 499.8k

Light green in colour, the nose is intense, displaying tropical and citrus fruits with herbaceous varietal characters. The palate is generous and fruit driven with classic Marlborough acidity providing structure and length to this wine.

2011 SHINGLE PEAK PINOT NOIR 499.8k

Dark cherry in colour with sweet, ripe, dark cherry aromas and smoky herbaceous undertones. The palate delivers rich fruit flavours and a smooth velvet finish.

Matua has been gaining more international recognition in recent times. Late last year, Matua was named the 2012 IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition) New Zealand Producer of the Year Award (London). The latest release of their Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (2013) has also just picked up a Double Gold at the China Wine awards as well as Gold at the New Zealand International wine show.

Matua now has 102 awards in total, including 12 trophies and 19 gold medals in the last 12 months - making it the most internationally successful New Zealand wine brand.

For me, I prefer the red wine. That's all. Cheers.

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19th October 2013. Another invitation on the launching of Matua Valley Wine at Four Seasons Hotel. I was there with Hans, Octa and Aline. Soya had another meeting so he couldn't come with us.

It was held in pool area too. So beautiful. The place was amazing. Lovely.

I didn't take many photos, just enjoy the party :)

In the end, I still love the red wine. Cheers again!!!