Heidi Seifried
With an award winning big brother, Heidi had a lot to prove...and she has!
- After a long search for a great tasting, great value Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand we struck GOLD with winemaker Heidi. She is a 3rd generation family winemaker (who is actually a dentist by day and winemaker by night) with a point to prove!
- Her family are mega successful winemakers, her brother Chris has been winning awards for his wines for years. Heidi wanted to get her hands out of peoples' mouths and start competing with her brother... after we tasted her wines we jumped at the chance to support her
- We love her, not only are her wines some of the best tasting we have found, they also offer amazing value... so support Heidi and help her leave dentistry in the dust and reach her full potential in the family business.
Vineyard Location
Heidi Seifried's Story
Heidi Seifried's Story
"I guess you could say that wine is in my blood. I grew up on the family vineyard and winery alongside my siblings who now also work in the family business. My mother and father pioneered modern wine-grape growing in the South Island of NZ. This was back in the early 70s when as a young couple they were told Nelson was too far south and that grapes would only ever be viable in the North Island of NZ. Now, 35 years plus later, the South Island of NZ produces the vast majority of NZ wine! In addition to this, grapes are grown very successfully 800 km south of Nelson in Central Otago. Quite a remarkable turnaround in such a brief time!
As a small business we do everything as we have done from early beginnings. Specifically we graft grape plants, run a nursery, grow and nuture the grapes, pick / ferment / blend / stabilise and finish the wines, bottle the wines and market the wines all ourselves! Whew! Growing up in this environment gives one a broad perspective on every aspect of growing and making wine? and naturally sparked my interest. And yes, I do enjoy drinking the stuff!
There are many things that we're proud of here at Seifried, but one thing in particular are our green credentials! We were one of the first wineries on board with the New Zealand Sustainable Vineyard programme (in the mid 1990s) and we were the first accredited Sustainable winery in our region in 2003. This means that we look very carefully at what we do and how we grow our grapes and make our wines. We are constantly measuring our inputs and trying to work as well as we can to produce sustainable wines. The programme encompasses environmental, social and economic sustainability.
My key tips for being a good winemaker?
- Let the vineyard speak through in the wine.
- Ideally winemaking is just capturing and retaining what has been achieved in the vineyard.
- Fruit purity is all important when we are talking about our wines!
- Clean, well-made wines are imperative.
- Keep tasting wine ? no matter how many wines you have tasted in the past, or how much you know about wine, there are always more undiscovered wines out there to learn about and enjoy!
In a nutshell...Winemaking is definitely a mix of art and science. You need to be particular about winery cleanliness and hygiene, and keep your eye on the ball at all times. However on the other hand you need to loosen up about wine going through its own ?phases? and evolution.... you cannot control this!"
