A Chat with Ayrburn's Master of Wine

Sophie Parker-Thomson is a Master of Wine and has worked with Ayrburn on our wine production from conception. Raised in the New Zealand wine regions of Gisborne and Central Otago, winemaking and hospitality were endemic to Sophie’s upbringing. We caught up with Sophie after the 2023 harvest to find out a bit more about her, and about what she brings to the Ayrburn wine story.

Tell us a bit about yourself outside of wine.
Such a huge part of my life is wine, so there’s not a great deal outside of it aside from family, which is incredibly important to me. Matt and I have an 8-year old daughter, Isabella, as well as our most recent addition – a very energetic 11 month old miniature fox terrier who keeps us all entertained! I enjoy getting out in our beautiful Marlborough backyard whether that’s fishing in the Marlborough Sounds, hiking up a mountain in the Richmond Range or getting out for a run or mountain bike along the Taylor River.

How would you describe the way you like to make wine?
I’m always seeking elegance, focus and purity in my wine and so with our own wines, these are the things we seek to highlight through our winemaking. As a consultant however, you’ve got to respect your client’s vision and what they want to achieve with the wines – whether that’s to make wines that win trophies and gold medals at shows, or to produce wines that hit an accessible price point and deliver value for money, you must adapt to deliver that. Luckily I feel that there’s many parallels with what the Ayrburn team is seeking in their wines and there’s an alignment on having an open mind when it comes to making these wines.

How would you describe the Ayrburn wine range?
For me the Ayrburn wine range represents a high quality and interesting array of wines, offering something for everyone. The wines share a common characteristic of being really enjoyable, and crowd-pleasing that over-deliver on quality. Most are from single vineyards or single subregions and we’ve been careful to ensure they all showcase real provenance as well as the frequently playful personalities from Ayrburn’s colourful past.

I personally am a big fan of the 2022 Ayrburn Napoleon Pinot Noir, and not because it happens to be the most expensive! The 2022 vintage was a spectacular one for Central Otago, and although the wines are still in their infancy, we have made the Napoleon to be a wine that will only get more impressive as it ages. We selected a very special single clone parcel (clone 115 for the wine nerds among us) of 26-year-old Pinot Noir vines from a hillside vineyard in the prestigious Bannockburn subregion for this wine. It was such high-quality fruit that we decided to use a high proportion of whole bunch in the fermentation, which lifts the aromatic profile and also adds additional complexity to the tannin profile. It’s a beautiful wine.

Do you think you can taste your winemaking style in the Ayrburn wines?
The main man behind the wines is definitely Jody, who is ultimately making all of the Ayrburn wines, but as a consultant it’s our job to work with him and determine the best winemaking pathway to get the best out of the fruit as well as achieve the desired style. While we create winemaking plans together, because Jody is the one who’s nurturing the wines 24/7 in the winery, the wines reflect his winemaking skill! It’s about working together, and mutually respecting the roles and responsibilities to make the best wine possible. Where we have the most input is before the fruit is harvested, and before the wine is bottled, where the all-important and often overlooked balancing occurs.

What is it that makes Central Otago wines so special?
Quite simply, climate and soil are the most important factors that determine why the wines from a certain place taste like they do. If you’re making wines sympathetically, the resulting product should reflect this and have sense of place.

What do you think we could see more of from Ayrburn wines in the future?
Who knows! It’s an exciting time as Ayrburn is only in its infancy, so we’ll wait to see what the punters and critics say, as they, especially the former, are the ones that shape the future.