Seresin Estate
Seresin Estate, located in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, was one of the first New Zealand producers to run, what are classified as, completely organic vineyards.
Since its founding, it has been a pioneer in the art of organic winemaking and continues to strive for perfection to this day.
A Taste of Seresin Estate
Seresin Estate was founded by ex-Hollywood cameraman Michael Seresin in the early 1990s. Seresin left New Zealand in 1966 to work as a camera assistant in Europe and from 1970 began working on commercials and movies, before becoming director of photography on films ranging from Midnight Express to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to Gravity and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
In the early 1990s, Seresin decided to found a winery in his native New Zealand that made wine in a sustainable, natural way and he has managed to do just that.
In early 2018, Seresin Estate was acquired by Ben Glover, the founder of Glover Family Vineyards, and Rhyan Wardman, a former first assistant winemaker at Seresin Estate. They plan to turn Seresin Estate into a collective winemaking facility called The Coterie. Michael Seresin decided to downsize his production and will be moving to a different location. He is also an investor in the Coterie and his wines will continue to be made at his former estate, in the manner that they always have been.
It is smart investments such as these that have helped bring Michael Seresin to the top of his game and made Seresin Estate one of the best wineries in New Zealand.
Seresin Estate has property in both the Wairau and Omaka Valleys, which covers a wide variety of terroir and allows for the planting of a few different kinds of grapes.
39% of Seresin’s output is Pinot Noir, 33% is Sauvignon Blanc, 13% is Chardonnay, 4% is Pinot Gris, 4% is Riesling and 2% is Viognier.
Seresin Estate has a reputation of being one of the finest vineyards in New Zealand, and it is not without merit. Seresin produces a few different core wines, as long as single-vineyard Sauvignon Blancs and a white blend. The red wines from Seresin are made exclusively from Pinot Noir, are also single-vineyard, and have helped to put Seresin on the map in Marlborough.
At Seresin Estate, they have a much more in depth view of what constitutes organic winemaking than what is traditionally expected from organic wine makers.
Seresin farms biodynamically, which means they farm in harmony with natural rhythms. The estate claims that this gives the wine a place in time as well as unique and complex character. However, what truly makes Seresin unique is how they see the vineyard as a living organism, with wine as just one part of a complete meal.
With that in mind, the vineyard floor has wildflowers and grasses growing alongside the grape vines and the estate also produces olive oil and wine vinegars. What’s more, they also grow fruit, salads and vegetables on the estate and hold an annual dinner that showcases the foods and wines grown and produced. This encourages the idea that the vineyard is much more than just the grapes grown on it.
Seresin Estate’s differing terroirs and climates allow them to grow a variety of red and white grapes on the property. The soil in the Wairau Valley is more gravelly and the climate warm. In the Omaka Valley, the climate is a bit cooler and the soil is made of clay. The grapes at Seresin Estate are harvested by hand and they use natural yeasts in the fermentation process. Depending on the wine being produced, they either age the wine in stainless steel vats or oak barrels and the wines are neither fined nor filtered before being bottled.
Seresin’s white and red wines have become major players on the Marlborough stage. The white wines are flowery, aromatic, and fresh, while the red wines are round, full, spicy, and complex with a balanced acidity.
For you, we have chosen the 2015 Seresin Marama Sauvignon Blanc.
