Some of the biggest innovations came from doing it by the book

While Josip Babich’s winemaking had always been a healthy mix of tradition, intuition and trial and error, youngest son Joe saw room for improvement.

When Joe was mastering his craft, the Californian wine industry was a couple of decades ahead of New Zealand’s. It meant there was a model to follow and, most importantly, a book. Published in 1947, Principles and Practices of Winemaking was the best, and almost the only, reference book for a young winemaker to turn to. But thanks to this book, his winemaking peers, and a determination to do things better, Joe Babich helped introduce some of the biggest innovations in New Zealand’s wine industry.