NZ Winery in Joint Venture To Produce French-Styled Sauvignon Blanc

A Frenchman drinking New Zealand wine in a top English restaurant has lead to an unlikely joint venture with one of our country’s leading wineries.

Hawke’s Bay winery Trinity Hill has begun a joint venture with the French winery House of Pascal Jolivet, under the name Esprit Wines Limited, with the goal of producing a Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc for the American and British markets.

Trinity Hill’s winemaker John Hancock says as part of the arrangement Trinity Hill has planted a 38 hectare vineyard in the cooler high country, south of the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke’s Bay.

“The plan is to use our grapes and utilize techniques developed in Loire Valley, where The House of Pascal Jolivet is located, to produce an innovative wine. Jolivet, whose wines supply Michelin-star restaurants in France, has an impressive global distribution system to take our new classic style to a bigger market,” says Hancock.

Esprit’s 2008 wine will be distributed by Jolivet’s agents Maison, Marques and Domaines.

Pascal Jolivet, the Sancerre wine producer, was having dinner at the Bleeding Heart Restaurant in London, which is owned by Trinity Hill directors Robert and Robyn Wilson, when he first tasted Trinity Hill’s 2005 Sauvignon Blanc.

Pascal was so taken with the Hawke’s Bay expression of Sauvignon Blanc that he flew to New Zealand. “It was so different from a Marlborough Sauvignon, more European in style, that I immediately decided to visit Hawke’s Bay with the Wilson’s. I was impressed with the soil and the winery. We set up a joint venture which we have called Esprit Wines Limited, to capture the spirit of both countries,” says Jolivet.

Jolivet’s winemaker Jean-Luc Soty is working with Trinity Hill’s John Hancock on the 2008 harvest. Both winemakers report that the 2008 crop is looking terrific.

*ABOUT TRINITY HILL*

Trinity Hill is a partnership between John Hancock, Robert and Robyn Wilson (owners of London’s Bleeding Heart and The Don restaurants) and Aucklanders Trevor and Hanne Janes. Three entities, hence “Trinity Hill”.

Trinity Hill was established in 1996 in the unique and high quality Gimblett Gravels region in Hawke’s Bay. During the last ten years, Trinity Hill has collected over 850 awards. The famous wine reviewer Robert Parker rated Trinity Hill as excellent in his 2008 wine guide.

For more information visit www.trinityhill.com 

*ABOUT THE HOUSE OF PASCAL JOLIVET *

The House of Pascal Jolivet is one of the youngest and most progressive wineries in France’s Loire Valley. Founded in 1987, this specialist in the wines of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, has very quickly gained a leading position in the Michelin-starred restaurants in France.