Alastair and Sue Stark – Our Story
Their interest in establishing Pisa Moorings Vineyard came about from Sue and Alastair’s rural background in
Central Otago since the mid 1970s. Sue was an import from England and with her love of horses and dogs and Alastair’s interest
in sheep farming the purchase of a block of land with an old cottage at Earnscleugh in Central Otago was imminent!
Alastair, qualified as a chartered accountant, was able to get a job in Cromwell. They were fortunately enough to have their
three children, Olivia, David and Caroline and in between Sue managed to ride her horse, establish a garden and learn to milk
Sanaan goats … Alastair got his sheep!
The Pisa Moorings Team
The building of the Clyde Dam for hydro-electricity in 1977 made a big impact on their lives. The mighty Clutha River had to be diverted for the construction of the dam which was no mean feat. The Cromwell Gorge that connects Clyde to Cromwell was frequently closed for development of a state highway as the water behind the dam would flood the existing roadway.
At this time there was talk of grapes being planted in the district and local farmers steeped in the tradition of sheep farming looked askance at such a ‘foreign’ idea! That’s when the learning curve of irrigation systems to grow anything in Central Otago made it’s impact!
In 1989 the Starks bought an 80 acre block of land at Lowburn not far from Cromwell. They built a house on the property
and have been there ever since.
The move was generated by their concern that Clyde Dam workers would be leaving the district for construction work
elsewhere and Cromwell’s future was a concern. Living at Lowburn at least meant Alastair could maintain work in growing
Wanaka should there be a downturn in Cromwell’s future.
Unlike many others they had a strong belief that Cromwell’s central location within the Central Otago district had to be a big
plus – Queenstown’s tourist industry was making an impact.
Establishment
In the early 1990s the Starks along with five other Central Otago families bought a 17ha block of land on the western shores of Lake Dunstan below the Pisa mountain range. Some of this land was being sold for residential homes but sales were slow at that time, although land was starting to be sold for vineyard development in the Cromwell basin.
In 1997 the owners decided to establish 10ha of this land in a vineyard encouraged by the knowledge that there was a
microclimate well suited for the growing of Pinot Noir grapes.
The intention was to encourage land sales by giving purchasers an interest in the vineyard and without any work they would
be entitled to a number of cases of free wine per year!
Ironically no one took up the offer but land sales started to increase, probably due to the escalating house prices of property
in Wanaka!
Ian Cunliffe and his team care for the vines. Near to harvest Dean Shaw (winemaker) meets frequently with Ian to ascertain ripeness. Once Dean gives the go-ahead the grapes are then hand harvested and taken to the winery for Dean to start the winemaking process.
Early vintages
10 tonne was the first harvest off the Pinot Noir grapes in 2001.
David Grant, winemaker from William Hill vineyard in Alexandra was able to make this first vintage and half of the juice went
to cover the costs of winemaking.
The 2002 harvest produced 16 tonnes of Pinot Noir grapes also made by David – this was a good year for Pisa Moorings Pinot
Noir and awards gained for this wine was encouragement to continue for the owners – setting up a vineyard to produce
premium wine is a costly business!
Dean Shaw
Winemaking
The winemaking of the 2003 vintage was transferred to Dean Shaw of the Central Otago Wine Company in Cromwell. With 26 tonnes of fruit to process COWCo was able to accommodate this bigger tonnage. Stainless steel fermenters and French oak barrels were purchased for the winemaking processes.
Marketing
At this stage there was wine in bond storage with no one marketing the wine!
September 2003 saw the marketing arm of Central Otago Winegrowers called COPNL (C.O. Pinot Noir Limited) host for the
first time in London a wine tasting event for the UK trade and consumers.
Just prior to this Alastair had been in hospital with a back operation (due to carrying too many deer out of the bush on his back in his younger days!). Alastair had had enough of hospitals so it seemed a good idea for them to visit Sue’s rellies in England and participate in the COPNL event and start marketing the wine.
Someone had to do the paperwork and that is how Sue got involved - Dealing with an alcoholic beverage involves many rules and regulations! Local vineyard owners where extremely helpful in giving advice on pitfalls to avoid.