Wine - The Renaissance of Müller-Thurgau

By Nicola Belsham

Yellow nectarine and orange-blossom flowers on the nose, with ripe apricot and stewed apple on the palate. As golden as the first full moon of 2010, this wine is almost as large.

The Renaissance of Müller-Thurgau

Schubert Wines and a splash of New Zealand’s grape-growing history.

As New Zealanders, we’re quite proud of our wine industry. Even though it’s a young one, we’ve come a long way.

Grapes were first planted during European settlement but, as a nation, we’ve only been producing wine commercially since the 1970s. Back then you could pick up a bottle of white – made in any style – for around $3. And those whites were predominantly made from just one, prolifically-planted grape varietal. That grape has now all but disappeared. Yet on the doorstep of Wellington there’s still an opportunity to try the grape that is an important part of New Zealand’s wine history.

Like other parts of New Zealand, Martinborough was first planted with grapes in the early 1890s, but the introduction of prohibition in the Wairarapa meant that the original plantings were pulled out just 10 years later. Then, in the 1970s, the government became economically interested in viticulture and invited Dr Helmut Becker, an advocate of the globalisation of the wine industry from the Geisenheim Institute in Germany, to make his recommendations of grape varietals suitable to New Zealand.

Unfortunately, when Becker arrived at Martinborough, the summer was much like the one we experienced this year. Unusually cloudy, cold and rainy, Becker declared that the only vine that could possibly produce in such unforgiving conditions was a recently manmade white varietal (a cross between Riesling with what was then thought to be Sylvaner). It had been developed by Professor Herman Müller from Thurgau in Switzerland. Cleverly named Müller-Thurgau, this was not a vine that produced wines of great quality, but it could produce quantity!

So Müller-Thurgau was planted… in abundance. We experienced the grape vinified and packaged as anything from dry Chablis to sweet Sauternes. It was Müller-Thurgau’s hey-day, and all hip wine enthusiasts had their favourite – conveniently labelled ‘dry’, ‘medium’ or ‘sweet’.

With an oversupply by the mid 1980s, the government set up a vine-pull scheme – paying growers up to $6,000 per ha to remove the vines. As such, Müller-Thurgau was ripped from the ground, to be gradually replaced by more sophisticated, quality vines such as Chardonnay.

Step forward to the late 1990s and some young winemakers from Geisenheim, Kai Schubert and partner Marion Deimling, arrive in the Wairarapa and acquire a small vineyard just outside the Martinborough Square. With a focus on Pinot Noir, Kai and Marion pull out most of the experimental vines then on the property but keep the Müller-Thurgau, which made up a good third of the plantings.

This was done for economic reasons. In the late 1990s, when everybody was planting, it was difficult to obtain the rootstock needed for grafting and production. Thus, it was necessary to be able to produce at least something – albeit from a varietal that was considered unfashionable.

Although Müller-Thurgau doesn’t have a great reputation, Kai and Marion believe it comes down to what you do with it. Managed well, with low yields, they have produced two characterful wines enjoying more than a bit of cult popularity both in the Wellington region and around the world.

The Schubert Tribianco (where Müller-Thurgau has been blended with Chardonnay and Pinot Gris) is a case where Kai feels that 1+1+1=5. Whilst it’s an unusual blend, the three components have created a better, more interesting, versatile and whole wine. Likewise, the Schubert Dolce, made from late harvested, dried-out Müller-Thurgau berries, is an extremely nice way to lift the blood sugars.

Both the Tribianco and the Dolce are an opportunity to enjoy and go a bit ga-ga again over this one-time most planted grape variety in New Zealand. And who knows… perhaps with meticulous producers like Kai and Marion of Schubert Wines, Müller-Thurgau will even experience a bit of a renaissance?

Schubert Tribianco 2008 – An unusual cuvee of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Müller-Thurgau, Schubert’s Tribianco is a favourite of the sushi lover! The dry and delicate mineral characteristics are perfect companions for the clean flavours of Japanese food. Fresh spring flowers, Pink Lady apples, celery and lemonade on the nose. Light flint gold (the French oak used) adds to the complexity and fine structure of this wine.

Schubert Dolce 2008 – Made from 100% Müller-Thurgau, this opulent dessert wine is perfect for creamy blue cheeses and after-dinner decadence. Yellow nectarine and orange-blossom flowers on the nose, with ripe apricot and stewed apple on the palate. As golden as the first full moon of 2010, this wine is almost as large. Enticing and succulent, this is one for the true lovers of sticky wine.