Going For Gold at Grasshopper Rock

Indulge us a little bit of kiwi patriotism this day. The 2024 Paris Olympics have just wrapped up and our wee nation at the bottom of the world (despite being missed off the world map at the closing ceremony…) did remarkably well, finishing third for ‘Medals per Capita’ behind only Dominica and Saint Lucia. But while our minds have been on Olympic Golds these past few weeks, it never takes our thoughts long to go back to where they belong… wine. And there’s one spot in New Zealand that’s golden in both history and reputation – Central Otago. 

We are lucky to live in comparatively close proximity to Central Otago, affording us the privilege of knowing winemakers, winegrowers and experts in the region, which has fruitfully provided us with the newest addition to our Dhall & Nash stable, Grasshopper Rock.

They may fly under the radar, their bottles may be absent from hip Insta profiles or splashy wine lists but ask anyone who really knows Central Otago, and they’ll tell you: Grasshopper Rock pinot is legendary!

Co-Proprietor Phil Handford was “Going for Gold” right from the start – Grasshopper Rock was established in 2003 after the founders – a group of friends, spearheaded by Phil Handford – set their visions on a prime piece of Central Otago land. They were four kiwi farming families with varying agricultural backgrounds who understood that vines weren’t the same as stock. “If it’s terrible farmland, you know it’s good wine land,” explains wine writer Amanda Barnes, “While cows and sheep like fertile soils and luscious green grass to graze on, vines do better when they have to struggle a bit.” So who better to know what land works well for than someone who knew what wouldn’t?

As tech icon Steve Jobs simply but inspirationally once said “Do one thing and do it really well“. And that’s exactly the path that Phil and the team have followed. The Grasshopper Rock pinot is built for pure pleasure for discerning Pinotphiles.

Our wine knowledge was quite limited,” Phil admitted to Jamie Goode for the Wine Anorak, “but we had a clear vision. We wanted to do something like this, and do it really well. We made sure we got the right site, and we invested heavily in frost protection and got a full time vineyard manager which meant we could consistently achieve the right quality.” Ultimately this meant a crystal-clear focus on one grape, and one vineyard only: Pinot Noir from Earnscleugh Vineyard.

So what made this the right site? “Grand Cru sites only exist because of the determination of people to achieve great things. Our reason to plant vines was simply to grow great pinot noir” Phil explains. This uncompromising search for the right land led them to a small hill in Central Otago’s Alexandra sub-region.

Alexandra was the sub-region that excited them most, being the southernmost sub-region in Central Otago, (which also makes it the world’s southernmost pinot noir winegrowing sub-region!) Further to the east, away from the Southern Alps, than other sub-regions, makes this also the driest sub-region. Low rainfall is ideal for ripening pinot noir, but it does mean irrigation on the lighter soils is essential… but thankfully the historical gold rush has answers for this! This land was originally part of a larger parcel known since the 1860s as ‘Como Villa’ and has European history that dates back to the 1860s gold rush and the early establishment of grape vines in the 1870s. An old gold mining water race now brings water from the surrounding hills for much-needed irrigation and frost fighting.

The Alexandra sub-region is a large basin and its topography and location deliver both the highest and lowest temperatures in Central Otago, with extreme fluctuations never more evident than during summer and autumn, when the grapes are ripening.

On the south side of the basin, across the Clutha River from Alexandra township, are the warm north facing slopes, where you will find Grasshopper Rock on Earnscleugh Road.

The vineyard takes its name from a rare grasshopper, Sigaus childi, which is found only in Central Otago, and predominantly on the Earnscleugh gold tailings, which lie along the Clutha River, across the road from the vineyard. “We can’t claim to have made the acquaintance of the grasshopper, yet, but we felt that the name had a certain distinctive ring about it.”

And the ‘Rock’ alludes to the gold that is no longer in the tailings (and probably never was.) 

The new gold is wine and we hope that you will find a little bit of gold in the pleasure you get from Grasshopper Rock.