Jenny Dobson, New Zealand Winemaker And Wine Consultant With A French Touch

Jenny Dobson is one of New Zealand’s most experienced winemakers. But she didn’t actually start making wine in New Zealand until 1996. That was still early days for the New Zealand wine industry. When Jenny wanted to learn how to make wine, in 1979, her home country offered no wine education whatsoever.

“I had a chemistry degree”, says Jenny, “and I wanted to learn about wine. So, I went to the country of wine, France. I was very lucky to work with wonderful people in France. I learnt the philosophy of wine, the enjoyment.”

Already as a young girl, she was fascinated by aromas. “When I grew up, there were very few licensed restaurants in New Zealand and no culture of wine. But my father is English and we drunk wine at home and I got to taste and I was fascinated by the different smells of wine. I think that was why I was driven towards wine. In fact, there is a scientific base to winemaking, but there is also an artistic side to wine that doesn’t follow the rules of chemistry. It challenges you. I actually find I get more enjoyment from the artistic side. But it does help to have a degree in chemistry.”

Jenny spent 16 years in France, mostly in Burgundy and Bordeaux. In 1995 she spent a year in Western Australia. They make some lovely wines there, she says, but for family reasons, she wanted to go back to New Zealand. “At the time New Zeeland was still very much a pioneer in winemaking so it was very interesting. I came back in 1996.”

She settled in Hawke’s Bay. She spent 12 years as chief winemaker at Te Awa Estate. Now she works as consultant winemaker at several estates in Hawke’s Bay, such us Unison Vineyard, William Murdoch and Sacred Hill. She also makes her own wines. There are currently two wines in the Jenny Dobson range, a white and a red.

Watch our interview with Jenny Dobson on this video:

The white is a superb wine made from the grape Fiano, a very unusual grape to find in New Zeeland. Fiano is an old variety from the south of Italy and not the easiest grape to work in the vineyard. Jenny had the possibility to buy the grapes from a farmer for 3 years. Now she leases the vineyard. “Diversity is important”, she says, “there is so much Sauvignon Blanc.”

The wine has a fabulous texture with some hazelnuts aromas and a slight bitterness at the finish, probably from the thick skins, which lifts the wine and give it character. A wonderful food wine.

The recently released red wine is a whole bunch fermented Merlot dominated blend called Doris after her “avant-garde” grandmother. ”You generally don’t want stems from Bordeaux grapes”, she says. But apparently it works for Doris because Jenny is very happy with the result. ”One of the advantages is that you get more approachable tannins with whole bunches.”

Did she bring a European way of doing things with her back to New Zeeland? Yes, she says, in some ways. The way she made wine, her winemaking philosophy, was very different from the Australian (where most New Zealand winemakers probably had had their training).

“I had more emphasis on the vineyards, rather than the winery. One of the big differences was that I wasn’t afraid of air in red winemaking. At that time Australian trained winemaker saw air as the enemy.”

They also looked at blending differently. The aspect of blending different grapes was very much part of her winemaking in France, in Bordeaux not least. When she arrived back in New Zealand, she noticed that the winemakers blended when they had a problem. They tried to hide a fault, whereas she was making something better. This has changed now, of course, she adds quickly.

What has changed in 25 years in New Zealand? According to Jenny, the biggest change is the rise of Sauvignon blanc. “The surface planted in Hawke’s Bay has hardly changed, whereas in Marlborough it has increased from under 4000 hectares to 25 000 hectares. Most of it is Sauvignon Blanc. “The development of Sauvignon Blanc has been extraordinary and, in some ways, detrimental to the diversity of New Zealand.”

In short, it is difficult for other grape varieties to get attention. At the same time, she admits that it is nice that the country now is known for something else than only rugby and the All Blacks.

And other grapes are gaining ground. Pinot Noir has already a certain fame and, she says, the next thing is Chardonnay. “We have amazing Chardonnay in all our wine regions. Each region has its distinct character and the styles also differ within the regions

She points out that Hawke’s Bay Syrah is another discovery to be made. “I love our Syrah. They are world-class and offer such great diversity. And our Bordeaux blends have a New Zealand freshness about them that sets them apart.”

If you come to New Zealand and only have time to visit one wine region (heaven forbid), you should definitely, according to Jenny, go to Hawke’s Bay. “We have the diversity. Here you can taste Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, blends.” And Fiano, not least.

“Diversity is the beauty of wine”, says Jenny. “We drink wine for pleasure. It would be boring to drink even the world’s best wine every day.”

—Britt Karlsson