◆ How did you come to winemaking so young?Helen ―― Iʼve been interested in wine since I was about 15. My older brothers were bringing home Hawkeʼs Bay reds, and weʼd have these discussions where everybody would agree and disagree about what they liked. It always involved really good food and I enjoyed the discussions they stimulated, and the socialness. In New Zealand, people were just starting to talk about wine for the first time, so there were no preconceptions.In 1989-90 when I was finishing high school, before going to university I decided I wanted to work in a winery for a year. Michael Cooper had just put out the New Zealand Wine Atlas, and leafing through it Ata Rangi looked like a nice place run by quite a young couple. I wrote them a letter and they said ʻyes,ʼ and my mother took me over and they said ʻcan you stay?ʼ So my mother left me there and sent me some clothes, and I worked at Ata Rangi for a year in the winery, vineyard, selling wine, even babysitting, before I went to Massey University. At Massey I was always going to study Food Technology. I wanted to do a more theoretical degree, not too applied, so if winemaking didnʼt work out it was a good background degree. It involved a lot of engineering which turned out to be quite useful – fermentation technology, learning the actions of enzymes and yeasts, refrigeration. I finished a 4-year degree and then started working at different wineries. Even then my focus was on winemaking and ultimately on Pinot Noir, so I only worked at Pinot Noir wineries in Oregon and Russian River. It was a great decision because things moved a lot faster by being more focused.Clive Paton（the third one from the left）, Helen Masters（the second one from the right) and the members of Ata Rangi◆ Did any winery have a special influence on how you make wine today?―― Every place does things differently, but the first time I came across whole bunch was at Calera, which is in the Mt. Harland appellation inland from Santa Cruz, at quite a high altitude. Winemaker Josh Jensen had worked at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, so he was really into whole bunch and they were doing up to 100 per cent whole bunch fermentation. This was in 1998-99, and it was really interesting to see that so early on – it was quite a different style for California.◆ How did Ata Rangi and Martinborough start up?―― Derek Milne, a soil scientist at the DSIR (New Zealand Government Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) had spent time at Geisenheim (Institute of Winemaking in Germany) and knew the Martinborough region and conducted a study that showed the growing degree days, rainfall, and soil made it a good match for Burgundy. So on the back of that report he and his brother Duncan started Martinborough Vineyard and Clive (Paton who founded Ata Rangi) brought his first home block. Neil McCallum also left DSIR to start Dry River, and Stan Chifney started Chifney at the same time. So there was a group of four in Martinborough who started it off.Clive was share milking in south Featherston and had never made wine before, but was obviously interested. So in 1980 he took a big punt by selling his herd of cows to buy a small, stony sheep paddock and plant vines. It is pretty hard soil just to plant in, trying to get water to it, and he was also trying to grow garlic and pumpkins in between the rows to make money while the vines were getting established. At the same time he was a full-time solo dad to his daughter Neve. The next person to join the business was his sister Ali, who bought the 5-acre block next door, which they planted to give them a bigger business. Larry McKenna came along in 1986 as winemaker at Martinborough, bringing winemaking knowledge from his training at Roseworthy. And then Clive was joined by his wife Phyllis, who had been a winemaker at Montana, who added a cash injection and technical know-how. Also, Nick Hoskins joined Martinborough quite early as viticulturalist and is now highly regarded, and he bought a lot of information into the region. But Clive said it was just a lot of hard work. Ata Rangi's vineyardsWhen you look back on it you think ʻhow did it come about?ʼ but it was just people giving things a go. It grew slowly and organically, and every year all the wine was bought. People would come over from Wellington and were so excited that there was wine to buy they would fill up their car boot. It is not like starting a winery today where you have to spend so much on marketing and branding to break in and get someone to buy your wine.At Ata Rangi the first vintage was 1984, which was a red blend, and in 1985 there was a small vintage of Pinot, and from then on volumes increased until about 2008, our biggest year, and we have backed off a little from there. In the early 1980s in New Zealand it was a very dynamic industry people-wise and there were huge leaps. Luckily there were a few successful moves, such as Clive planting his first block with the Abel clone which really suits Martinborough, giving us the best acidity and the most consistent crop. We often suffer from poor crops and the Abel clone will be the lifesaver. There wasnʼt a lot of clone choice anyway – there was the Swiss clone AM 10/5 (ten bar five) – not a lot of nurseries, or knowledge about rootstocks, vinifera interaction and what works. However, Pinot Noir at that time captured peopleʼs imagination like no other, and suddenly we were making a Burgundy. Then thereʼs the fact that Sauvignon Blanc resounded so early, with such a clear expression. If they hadnʼt found Sauvignon Blanc, what would Marlborough have been?Cellar door◆ How have the vineyards at Ata Rangi evolved over time?―― They are actually still very similar today. Those consistent first wines Ata Rangi produced were amazing, and they were pretty much all Abel clone – so we knew that Abel was going to work. When we first planted the Dijon clones we were unsure about them, the crops were tiny, they were ripening too fast, but now they have some vine age they are more stable and consistent, so we have got them in a good place. We have replaced the things that didnʼt work like the 10/5 which was a struggle in cooler years, with more Abel. When we planted the McCrone Vineyard in 2001, we used exactly the same clone mix with Abel 45%, together with the Dijon clone and Clone 5 we used in our first vineyard. For the last 10 years we have produced around the same volume of wine. In 2008 we consciously decided there were some vineyards we didnʼt want to use any more, so we have slowly acquired the vineyards we liked to lessen our reliance on contract growers for the fruit we need, and ensure the profile of the fruit is 100 per cent within our control. Over time we have more understanding of what the soil brings to the wines. The roots have to work their way down through layers of rocks and it takes about 25 years generally to get down three and a half meters. At that age the vines tend to be much more restrained, with less fruit on the vines and slower to ripen. With the roots at a much deeper level in the ground where the temperature and moisture is more constant, the ripening happens much slower, and we get better physiological ripeness at lower brix.We have been sustainable for a long time, and the winery has had ISO14001 for over 20 years. Sustainability comes not only from Clive but from everybody in the business. Now we have started to move beyond just organics, recently installing solar panels, and we try to do a new project every year that cuts down our footprint in terms of that amount of resources we are putting into the vineyard, the use of diesel etc. There is always a new challenge that comes along.Compost heap using grape mastNatural weed eatersWildflowers growing between the rows in vineyards are good for biodiversity◆ How do you approach your winemaking?―― There is a fine balance between making something that is immediately approachable and something that is really compelling and starting to tell a story and evolve and develop. So where do you sit on that line? In reality, you have to do it differently every year. In some years when there is hardly any fruit, very small berries and it is going to be really tannic, then you pull back and try to get as much whole berry in there as possible. But if there is a year where there are bigger bunches, the wine is going to be more approachable, then you go ʻwell letʼs get in there more.ʼ The thing is you make a few big decisions on when to pick, how much whole bunch, when to press, but the biggest decisions are in the vineyard though the whole year. The vineyard is where it has all got to happen and take place.Then after the vineyard, we adapt to the vintage in the winery to ensure it all works out. The exciting bit is that every year is different. Youʼve got one shot, basically 7 weeks, so thatʼs the kind of the background pressure coming around and you think ʻin your lifetime how many vintages can you work on to make an impact.ʼ You want to get it right because you need to know you can stand by that wine for the next 20 years.◆ How is your winemaking evolving?―― For a long time at Ata Rangi we have relied on natural yeast, for the Pinot especially, and Chardonnay. The other varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc came later, and that is changing as well. Oak has changed a lot from 15 years ago when we used a lot of coopers from Burgundy, where they tend to do a relatively hot finish to the barrels and are more toasty, flinty and aromatic. I found that some of those characters were putting a layer of smoky toastiness in the wine – it was interesting, but was taking away from what the region was about. Iʼd always liked the Bordeaux coopers because they are subtle, so I tried some Pinot in a Bordeaux barrel. And the Bordeaux coopers said we can make them for you in a 228-litre barrel, so I started buying Bordeaux coopers in a Burgundy shape. Since then there has been a whole revolution in terms of Burgundy coopers who are now more sympathetic to New Zealand Pinots, supporting the fruit and the acid profile rather than putting in a layer and flattening everything. I used to use more coopers when I was in the experimentation phase, now I am probably using 8 main coopers, and within that I get enough variation to cover off a vintage, whether it is a bigger structured wine or a finer, lighter wine.Helen Masters taking on the world◆ Looking to the future – what are opportunities and themes for evolution?―― One example is how we approach Sauvignon Blanc looking at it from a different angle, how can I get those flavours that I want. So there is always something that gets you thinking. However, we are not about changing our wines just for the sake of it. The Chardonnay will always be the classic style – very unworked, very simple, reflecting what a great vineyard it is.Each vintage is already a response to what the weather conditions are – and that definitely puts a stamp on the wine, just like it does in Burgundy. We alter the canopy management and what we do in the vineyards if we think it is going to be a warmer year or cooler year, it is always evolving and changing. We are always looking at what root stocks there are, is there a better one out there, and what clones? So rather than the winery it is more holistic, in terms of the fruit you grow. We have to start there first and get that right, and the wine will come easily.Winery staff members studying their wines