the not serious Jules Taylor
Marlborough winemaker Jules Taylor had recently flown out of Boomtown to come to the Big Smoke for some trade calls. We thought we’d make the most of her trip and invited her to join us in the tight squeeze of the K Road studio for a chat.
Many people think Jules is a man. She’s not. Much like winemaker Kim Crawford isn’t a woman. One thing Jules Taylor most definitely is, is a fierce maker of the wines. She’s got the gongs to prove it including the title of Gourmet Traveller Wine New Zealand Winemaker of the Year 2021.
Unlike most of the winemakers working in Marlborough, Jules was born and raised in Blenheim. Her Mum and Dad still live there and it’s where Jules and George have raised their kids. It’s safe to say the roots of Jules Taylor, both the person and the wine brand are firmly, deeply, sincerely well established in our most well known wine growing region.
Jules arrived to our podcast studio early and ready to go, despite this sort of thing not being her jazz. She admitted to having lost sleep, worrying about what to say. It’s ironic because she’s a dream to chat to and we had a lot of laughs as well as tasted some pretty great Marlborough wine and it wasn’t just Sauvignon Blanc — the aromatics of which Jules mentioned often evokes memories of her Mum’s glasshouse tomatoes.
It’s all fond memories and feels on this chat so grab a glass of something wildly herbaceous and enjoy. This is the not serious Jules Taylor chat.
CHAT FACTS
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Jules Taylor Grüner Veltliner 2019
OTQ by Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc 2021
antipodes still mineral water 1L
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Daniel Le Brun — a winemaker that Jules’ Dad did some odd jobs for. The wine company that exists today that bears his name (est. somewhere in the late 80’s / early 90’s) was sold to Lion Nathan in 1996. Like a total boss and wine rebel, Daniel and his family started their own company No.1 Family Estate on Bastille Day in 1999 and remain committed stalwarts of the NZ wine industry. No.1 Family Estate is one of our best sparkling wine producers and in fact support other sparkling wine makers with the craft of making this time consuming booze.
John Belsham, formerly of Vintech (est. in 1998) - a custom crush facility where different wines are made under contract for labels) latterly of Foxes Island wines
Simon Waghorn, winemaker at Astrolabe wines (est. 1996) and a wine judge
Pernod Ricard which was formerly and briefly Allied Domecq which was actually formerly Montana Wines. Montana Wines was established in 1934 by the Yukich family. Originally established in Titirangi, Auckland the first wines were sold in 1944. Montana is synonymous with NZ’s wine history. British company, Allied Domecq purchased the company in 2001 for $1billion but only two years later sold it to French company Pernod Ricard.
Cloudy Bay, Marlborough (est. 1985) was bought by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) in 2010. (the two companies had an educational exchange for the sparkling wine programme for a few years prior to that purchase)
Kim Crawford — long time pal of Jules and along with Erica Crawford, now the maker of Loveblock Wine. Kim Crawford wine was established in 1996 and sold to Canadian company, Vincor in 2003. Kim & Erica established Loveblock wines in 2004.
Marlborough Valley Cellars — circa 1986-ish…
George Elworthy — Jules’ other half and owner and manager (also a qualified winemaker) at the winery.
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Bud rubbing — an important task that typically takes place in late spring and directly impacts the way the grapes develop. By removing the shoots and buds that are starting to grow on the lower parts of the vine, it helps send all the energy and nutrients into the grapes and canopy during this important growth time.
Dropping wires — effectively, dropping wires refers to the action of moving wires to accomodate the leaf canopy that grows in Spring and Summer. For example, a top wire can be pulled away from the posts and the new growth shoots tucked up neatly and the wire will be clipped back onto the posts. It’s the wires that make rows of vines look totally under control when really those crazy shoots just want to grow all over the place.
Free run portion — The juice released by a pile of grapes as their skins split under their own weight, before they are mechanically pressed. With white wines, this initial juice is considered to be the highest quality since it has the least amount of contact with bitter elements in the pips, skins and stems.
Spittoon — a vital piece of kit for remaining sensible when tasting wine. It’s a metal or earthenware or plastic pot typically having a funnel-shaped top, used for spitting into. Real pro’s have a spittoon on hand for all tastings so they don’t get pissed. It’s a good way to reuse your takeout coffee cup too as it happens. (although come on mate, where’s your Keepcup?)
Whole cluster fermentation — is the act of converting whole grape bunches and all of their components together, including stems, seeds, and berries into juice. The alternative to this is to remove the stems of the grape bunches.
Wild fermented — when yeasts that are naturally occurring in the winery or cellar interact with the natural sugars in the grape juice instigating the fermentation process and where the alcohol in wine comes from. Sometimes a winemaker might need to add a yeast mixture to start the ferment. This is called inoculated ferment.
Malo — short for malolactic, referring to malolactic fermentation which is a process where tart malic acid in wine converts to softer, creamier lactic acid (the same acid found in milk). The process reduces acidity in wine and also releases some carbon dioxide in the meantime.
Barrel fermented — as opposed to stainless steel, clay amphora or concrete eggs. In this chat with Jules it’s an important note as much of the Sauvignon Blanc we know and recognise from Marlborough is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Oak allows some of those big Marlborough fruit flavours to cool their jets. It also gives the wine a more rounded texture.
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Jules mentioned Marlborough’s agriculture prior to wine citing garlic, corn and wheat as the crops that she recalls from her childhood prior to the explosion of vineyards. The mainstay (from the early days of the late 1800’s) was sheep, barley and lucerne. Vegetables, like Jules’ Dad’s pumpkins and her Mum’s tomatoes were the mainstay of farming livelihoods back in the good old days.
Gordon’s Gin — Jules’ Dad’s go to Gordon's London Dry Gin was developed by Alexander Gordon, a Londoner of Scottish descent. He opened a distillery in the Southwark area in 1769, later moving in 1786 to Clerkenwell. The Special London Dry Gin he developed proved successful, and its secret recipe remains unchanged to this day.
Silk screen printed label of the Jules Taylor OTQ bottles — silk-screen printed glass is a special kind of decorative glass made by printing a layer of ceramic ink on the surface of glass through the screen mesh for tempering or heat-strengthening process after. As a result silk-screen printed glass is durable, scratch-proof, solar shading and with anti-glare effect.
Keen to get your sticky mittens on a bottle of this elixir from Marlborough? Go straight to the source and get one of Jules’ famous hand-written notes while you’re at it.
