The Babich family is mourning the passing of Joe Babich, New Zealand wine industry pioneer, who passed away on 13 January 2022 after a two year battle with cancer, aged 81.
David Babich, Joe’s nephew and CEO of Babich Wines, said, “On behalf of the Babich family and with great sadness I would like to announce the passing of Joe Babich, much-loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and New Zealand wine industry pioneer. Joe was an exceptionally well-regarded and talented winemaker, but his greatest legacy is his positive impact on those around him. Joe was invariably and famously down-to-earth, warm, and approachable, with a wry and gentle sense of humour. He will be sorely missed by family and friends, and colleagues in the wine industry.”
Joe was born on 10 October 1940 into a winemaking family, with his father Josip having founded Babich Wines in 1916 and in time his brother Peter also working in the business. After initially exploring a pharmacist apprenticeship, Joe decided to join the family winery, where over a 60 year career in the wine industry he built a reputation as one of New Zealand’s most talented and respected winemakers and wine judges.
He combined a traditional attitude to winemaking with an open-mindedness that allowed constant innovation. Joe produced, in secret and unknown to family or the winery, one of the first New Zealand Chardonnays to be not only matured, but also fermented, in barrel. The resulting wine, Irongate Chardonnay, continues to be an icon in New Zealand wine even today.
Joe’s contributions to the New Zealand wine industry are extensive, and are recognised by a range of accolades. These include the Winemaker of the Year Award at the New Zealand Royal Easter Show (1994), the Sir George Fistonich Medal in recognition of service to New Zealand wine (2013), the ONZM in the New Year’s Honours for services to the Wine Industry (2015), induction into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame (2015), induction into the West Auckland Business Hall of Fame (2016), and investiture as a Fellow of New Zealand Winegrowers (2017).
Joe also served as Chairman of Judges at the New Zealand Wine Awards on six occasions, testament to his leadership, and the respect with which he was held in the industry. He was also instrumental in setting up the wine export certification process which helped pave the way for the growth of New Zealand wine on the world stage.
Joe Babich is survived by his wife, Judy, and son, André and partner Magdalena and their daughter Stella.
With the New Zealand summer in full swing, we’re enjoying the sunshine and so are our vines. Unfortunately, there’s another fan of the summer heat — the fast-growing weed.
Now, we love plants in general. But we do tend to favour our vines over anything else, especially when they’re competing with our vines for nutrients and water. And nothing is as greedy as a fast-growing weed, so effective management is a crucial part of our summer work schedule. If we don’t keep weeds under control, they undermine our chances of having an excellent grape crop when harvest time rolls around.
How do we keep weeds under control? Although chemical sprays are highly effective in weed management and are safe for the environment when used carefully, non-chemical weed control is much more ideal. On our certified organic vineyards, we make judicious use of an organic herbicide, but we also have two other handy methods that help us deal to weeds without sprays.
The under-vine cultivator cuts the weeds’ roots and turns over the soil, leaving the exposed weeds to die in the heat and sunlight. The under-vine weeder looks something like a road or gutter sweeper, with rotating brushes that cut and smash the weeds. It doesn’t kill them, but keeps their growth under control.
As well as the machines we also use methods of old, with our vineyard workers pulling out weeds by hand, or cutting their growth with weed trimmers.
But why do we do it? Can’t weeds and winemakers peacefully co-exist? Unfortunately, no. At least not if we want to keep producing our sustainably crafted wines year after year!
First of all, when weeds compete with our vines for water (which is a big problem if we have a dry summer) and for the vital nutrients in the soil that we work so hard to maintain, it reduces our crop levels and our vines start to suffer, losing their vitality and health.
Second, they pose a frost risk. Not so much in summer, of course, but it’s not unheard of. All that weed foliage at ground level is just asking to frost up if an unseasonable cold snap hits, which isn’t good for the vines at all. The weeds also block air movement around and under the vines. Grapes grow better with plenty of good ventilation.
Third, weeds can harbour nasties that our grapes don’t need, providing a handy place for mealy bugs and other pests to hide away.
So, there you go — we need a weed-free zone under the vines to reduce a whole range of negatives that impact vine growth. Because without healthy vines, we wouldn’t get to make the wines we love!
Before wine, we need grapes. And before grapes, we need flowers. In fact, flowering is one of the most important phases of the 18-month process of growing a grape that’s ready for us to harvest. It’s an exciting time for our team as we watch the new crop start to flower. Nothing beats wandering between the vines on a hot summer’s day, hearing the cicadas sing and knowing that nature is hard at work.
However, flowering season can be a nerve-racking time for our viticulturists, as what happens from now helps determine the size, quantity and quality of the grape crop come harvest. Every Vineyard Manager wants an even Fruit Set (when the fertilized flowers develop into a grape and then turn into bunches) as this prevents fungal infections and diseases on the grapes – it also ensures the grapes grow evenly and perfectly for optimal ripeness…no pressure!
To trigger the transformation from buds to flowers, it takes consistent average daily temperatures of between 15-20°C (59-68°F). If it’s too cold in spring, or there’s not enough sunlight, it can impact the number of flowers — which in turn impacts the number of grapes we have to harvest for our next vintage. And cold temperatures or heavy rain during the flowering period can cause what we call shatter, where we lose flowers. If that occurs, we don’t grow such tightly packed clusters of grapes, which isn’t ideal, as it can lead to inconsistent grape size.
For all of their importance in the process, once they’ve announced their arrival and put on their show, the grape flowers only stay around for about 10 days. But during this time, something pretty magical happens.
Unlike other plants, bees don’t have to buzz about in the vineyard to get the job of pollination and fertilization done. Grapevines are hermaphroditic (they possess both male and female organs) so as long as they’re kept safe from extreme weather and pests or disease, they can manage the job of turning flowers into grapes (or berries, as they are properly known) all by themselves!
The vineyard never looks prettier than when our vines are in full flower. But there’s also something ugly lurking at this time of year too…an abundance of weeds. They love the same conditions as our vines. Check out our next blog to see how we keep them under control!
Wine is something of a time machine. When you drink it, it’s a celebration of the present, but the wine is also an encapsulation of the past – it tells the story of the summer when the grapes grew, what it was like in the vineyard back then, the heat and the sunlight on the vine leaves, how the grape bunches grew to juicy ripeness.
When we make wine, we take that knowledge of what went before – over a century of winemaking expertise – and project it into the future. This is not science fiction, it’s good winegrowing!
If you go down to our vineyards today, you’ll see people walking between the rows, counting the floret clusters on the vines. The reason we want to know how many there are is that each of these floret clusters will develop into a bunch of grapes in the coming months…
Of course, we still don’t know how big those bunches will be. The weather over the summer, especially in December, will determine that. But by understanding the amount of floret clusters we’ll begin to understand how to apply the lessons of the past to most effectively tend the vines in the future.
For instance, if we’ll need to thin the bunches to optimise the concentration and depth of flavour. And if we do, by how much. This type of vine management regulates how much energy the plant is able to put into each grape, its flavour profile, and ultimately the quality of wine in the glass.
Over the coming months, we’ll be watching, waiting, and working in earnest. Because what happens next will determine exactly how many of those floret clusters will turn into juicy, flavourful grape bunches, and how much delicious wine from vintage 2022 we’ll be able to deliver to your glass.
Now that’s something to look forward to!
Make no mistake, it can get incredibly hot and dry in Marlborough over summer. That heat is great for ripening grapes, but it also makes the vines thirsty. And the trouble is, the time when they need water the most is also the time when the rivers are at their lowest. River flows in Marlborough during summer are something like ten times lower than in the winter.
But it’s not only the vines that need water – the rivers and riverbanks are teeming with life. The fish and the birds and the frogs and the plant life all need water. If we take too much of it, they suffer…
At Babich, we do everything we can to live and work in harmony with nature. Always have. We’ve been around as winemakers for over a hundred years and three generations, and we want to be around for hundreds of years and generations to come. Sustainability is not only the right thing to do, it’s the only way forward.
So, the smart thing for us to do is to store as much water as possible in the wet season, when rainfall is plentiful and the rivers are pushing masses of water to the sea, so we don’t need to take so much from the river when nature cannot afford us to.
That’s why, over a number of years, we’ve been systematically building dams to help irrigate our vineyards. In fact right now, we’re just about to finish our fourth. This large earth dam, on our organic Headwaters vineyard, will hold enough water to carry the vineyard through summer, even if we have three months without rain. (Which is what happened last summer. When we say dry, we mean dry!)
The addition of the new dam means we’ll have enough water stored to irrigate almost 70% of all our Marlborough vineyards this coming summer, with a water storage target of over 500,000m3 by 2023. All so we can leave the water in the river, where nature wants it.
And let me tell you, if the stream is flowing well, there’s no better way to finish a hard day’s work than with a plunge into that cool, fresh and pure mountain water, with a BBQ and a glass or two of refreshing Babich Sauvignon Blanc waiting for you back home!
Working with the environment like we do, we have a deep appreciation of its interconnected and circuitous nature. The rain that feeds the rivers that flow from the hills and mountains of New Zealand into the sea, all originated from the sea. And being an island nation, we New Zealanders have a unique connection and appreciation for the beaches and oceans around us.
That is why we jumped at the opportunity to sponsor the Surfrider Foundation, firstly the originating organisation in the US, and now the Australian arm of their operation as well.
The Surfrider Foundation was founded by a group of surfers in Malibu, California in 1984 with the mission to protect the world’s oceans, waves and beaches through coastal protection schemes, education, public advocacy and clean-up initiatives. Over time, the Surfrider Foundation and its important messages has spread to over 80 countries and active chapters around the world, and an expansive volunteer network with the Australian chapter being founded in 1991 on the Gold Coast.
Among their most important and interesting initiatives is not only cleaning up plastic and pollution in our oceans and waterways, but working to prevent pollution in the first place by promoting good environmental practices at hospitality venues and businesses, particularly those on the coast, and advocating for marine protection and conservation. Their work in maintaining public beach access through advocacy and litigation has also resulted in dozens of beaches remaining open for public enjoyment and appreciation.
While there may not be an obvious link between Surfrider Foundation and wine, with Babich Wines’ long-running history of promoting sustainability and sensible environmental practices in winemaking, our support for likeminded organisations such as the Surfrider Foundation is an easy fit.
So, while the world is large, complex and disparate, it’s important to recognise that we only have one environment. When we each do our little bit, whether picking up a plastic wrapper while walking on the beach or supporting organisations like Surfrider Foundation, we can help ensure that future generations enjoy the world, and our wines, the same way we do today.
Doing the right thing for Cure Kids
Founded in 1971, Cure Kids is now the largest non-government funder of child health research in New Zealand, with more than NZ$60 million invested into child health research projects spanning mental health, respiratory conditions, cancer, neurological disorders and more. The list of breakthroughs is astonishing, and has saved, extended and improved countless children’s lives for decades.
To recognise their important work in child health, and help Cure Kids celebrate their Golden Jubilee and 50th anniversary, the team at Babich Wines have created a special release of Babich Black Label Cabernet Merlot 2019. The release is limited to 1000 cases, with all profits going directly to Cure Kids to help fund the research that ensures they can support children’s health into the future.
The specially branded Cure Kids 50th Anniversary Babich Cabernet Merlot will be available in New Zealand from 16 September 2021, and only while stocks last. You can purchase exclusively through Glengarry stores and online at www.glengarrywines.co.nz/curekids, with free delivery nationwide!
With a history stretching back more than 100 years over three generations of winemaking, we’ve naturally taken a long-term view of the world, working with an eye on the future and future generations. Our commitment to sustainable winemaking today, is driven by our commitment to those inheriting the world tomorrow.
And while sustainability, and caring for our vineyards and the environment comes naturally, so too does caring for our community through many years of support for causes like Cure Kids, and our desire to inspire community-minded thinking around the world.
If you happen to be in New Zealand and in a position to support Cure Kids, we’d encourage you to join us by purchasing in-store or online, and be rewarded with a stunning, limited release wine in the process!
New Zealand Wines Made with Care; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Here at Babich Wines, we feel a particular connection to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Made with Care campaign, which promotes our country’s food and beverage industry around the world. As a New Zealand wine exporter, telling the world the story of what sets our produce apart is vital to our industry’s success.
For us, the Made with Care campaign is confirmation that we’ve been doing things right, ever since we planted our first vines over 100 years ago. Since 1912, every generation of the Babich family has committed to building a sustainable business that allows the next generation to continue making deliciously drinkable New Zealand wines, for generations of wine lovers to come.
We see it as paying it forward, for our family, for wine lovers and for the planet. And it starts with caring for the land and the vines. You need great land, to grow great grapes, to make great wine.
But what does ‘Made with Care’ mean at Babich Wines?
First of all, it means crafting our wines sustainably. To us, sustainability is less a trend, but rather a concept that has been at the roots of our legacy, craft, and success since day one. It’s a key ingredient of our slow, careful process in an ever-changing, always-on world. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Care also means craftsmanship. Every one of our wines is the result of the love we have for our craft. We’ve been making wine for three generations, drawing on knowledge that is even older, but always with an eye to the future. Care means innovation and refinement; for example, we’re producing more and more organic and vegan-friendly wines. We know wine drinkers want them, they’re amongst the fastest growing wine segments in the world, and we have the craft, care and experience to craft wines with the quality and character that has made Babich Wines famous the world over.
Every wine we produce is made with care – with vision, thoughtfulness, ingenuity, and true craft. We’ll never stop striving to delight wine drinkers and make the everyday extraordinary through the care that goes into our sustainably crafted wines. From grape, to glass. Every time.
That hard-working spirit is something that runs deep in our veins; and we’ll keep ‘paying it forward’ for as long as we exist.
We’ve set the audacious goal of increasing the size of our organic vineyard estates by 50% in the next three to five years. Converting conventional vineyards to organic is a long process, with each vineyard needing to operate on fully organic principles for at least three years before being certified as organic.
But after more than 100 years of Babich winemaking, what’s a few years? We take a long view, operating our vineyards in a way that will be sustainable for generations to come. Which you can do if you see to it that you never take more from nature than what you give back.
All of our vineyards are certified sustainable, with the proportion certified organic by BioGro growing year by year. Our oldest organic vineyard, Headwaters, has been certified organic for more than a decade already.
Our drive to expand our investment in organic vineyards is based both on sound environmental practices and a thirst for innovation. Winemaking is a time-honoured and traditional art, but has thrived in New Zealand not only because of the excellent terroir, but also due to a bold, enterprising spirit that brought our wines to the top of the wine world.
Most of the viticulture practices we use are similar across all our vineyards, whether they are organic or not. Using smart canopy management to maximise airflow and reduce the instance of powdery mildew and botrytis is a technique we use everywhere. We also use irrigation sparingly, giving the vines just enough to thrive.
The main requirement that sets organic vineyards apart is that no synthetic agrichemicals may be used on them. In practical terms, this means that pests and diseases need to be controlled only using natural products and great care in vineyard management.
Fortunately, living in clean, green New Zealand makes this easier than in some parts of the world. There are simply fewer pests to contend with, mainly mealy bugs and leaf roller caterpillars.
Weed control can also be a challenge, as you don’t want the weeds to take up the water and nutrients in the soil, depriving the vines. We have devised ways to address this challenge without resorting to synthetic chemicals.
The first step is the choice of vineyard. If the land is fertile enough, it doesn’t matter if the weeds take some of the nutrients, there is enough left for the vines. In fact, on some vineyards, weeds may help control excessive fertility to actually benefit the vines.
We can also deliver water to the vines in a way that the weeds struggle to get to, by installing underground irrigation. Babich is one of only a few wineries in New Zealand that uses underground irrigation. The weed roots tend to be very shallow, so the deeper vine roots will have first dibs on the water.
To get rid of unwanted weeds, we are investing in a new piece of equipment that uses flail brushes to chop weeds down closer to the trunk of the vine, reducing the competition between the weeds and vines for nutrients and water.
“Using organic methods, it takes more inputs to harvest fewer grapes than on other vineyards,” says our Marlborough viticulture manager, David Bullivant. “But we see the benefits not only in environment sustainability, but also in great fruit quality. When you unpack it all, expanding our organic vineyards is a no-brainer.”
With all of our grapes now in the winery, and winemaking well underway, our 2021 Vintage is starting to take shape. And it’s certainly one to watch. Here’s what our winemakers had to say on the 2021 Vintage.
Marlborough
Overall, 2021 was an excellent year for Marlborough and for Sauvignon Blanc. An early Spring brought forward budburst but cold November rain drew out flowering and late frosts contributed to a lower than ideal fruit set. A dry January was followed by rain in March that assisted ripening, bringing the fruit to excellent condition. We started harvesting early, but not exceptionally so compared with recent vintages.
Sauvignon Blanc
Our Sauvignon Blancs are bursting with tropical fruits, perfumed thiols, displaying great depth and purity. Budburst was early in our Marlborough vineyards and fruit set light. After a wet start the season was very dry with average temperature. As a result, we had a nice long ripening period even with an earlier harvest.
Light crops and a long ripening season have resulted in flavour and concentration. This year we see lots of ripe tropical and fruit salad notes. We’re also seeing plenty of perfumed thiols; Blackcurrant, Passionfruit, and Broom. We’re bottling the first of our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc now, with our Black Label Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc still on lees, developing yet more weight and complexity. We’ll bottle that in a few months.
Pinot Noir
Low crops have resulted in some incredible tasting fruit across all three of the valleys we grow in. Our Pinot Noirs are deeply coloured and flavoursome. They’re just starting their secondary, or malolactic, fermentation now.
Rosé + Pinot Gris
The Rosés are vibrant and our Pinot Gris are fresh and balanced.
Our Organic wines
We are thrilled with the quality of fruit coming from our Organic vineyards. The Sauvignon Blanc is displaying its typical characters (mineral, citrus, and spice) and showing real depth with layers of flavour. We will allow this to further develop on lees also.
Hawke’s Bay
Warm Spring temperatures brought forward flowering, kicking off the season early. A trend that continued with the earliest harvest we’ve ever had from Hawke’s Bay – starting with Chardonnay on the 23rd of February. No pressure at all to pick as the weather was kind and the fruit condition excellent.
Chardonnay
Low crop levels meant concentrated and ripe flavours. Both our Irongate and Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay look weighty and flavoursome.
Reds
The Syrah and Bordeaux reds are shaping up to be intense, dense, and long at this early stage.
Another vintage, another exciting selection of sustainably crafted wines. This is the stage of winemaking where the magic happens and we live for it. Here’s to 2021!
