Fancy footwork

Marlborough’s magnificent whites have so much more to offer than perfumed savs, as UNO wine columnist Jess Easton discovers.

Photos Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media

There are many ways to become a master winemaker and while Richelle Tyney may have taken a slightly unorthodox route, the result is still going to end up the same.

The Nelson-raised, Blenheim-based wahine – who has strong Bay of Plenty whakapapa (Ngāti Maniapoto/Ngāti Porou) – manages the winemaking programme at Greywacke, working alongside enigmatic founder Kevin Judd.

That’s the same Kevin Judd who helped put Cloudy Bay, Marlborough and New Zealand on the world wine map, forever changing the perception of 'new world' wines and Sauvignon Blanc as a variety.

He started his own label Greywacke in 2009, named for the relatively bland bedrock that underpins most of Aotearoa, and started producing vintages that are anything but bland.

Before joining Greywacke in 2021, meanwhile, Richelle had spent the best part of a decade working with the likes of Mahi’s Brian Bicknell and Spy Valley’s Paul Bourgeois.

Before that, however, she’d studied exercise science in Christchurch, played representative touch rugby and been a handy basketballer.  Two uncles – Jamie Joseph and Terry Mitchell – were All Blacks and she knew far more about sport than wine, apart from that it came in at least three different colours and was good fun at parties.

Her OE changed all that. Landing a nannying job in Switzerland, she was introduced to fine wine by the family she was working for and a lightbulb went off in her head. Before she knew it, she was back home, enrolled in winemaking at Lincoln University.

A very similar lightbulb went off in my head the first time I tried a Greywacke Riesling, building up to Kitchen Takeover’s Ki Tua event earlier this year. 

Smooth and delicious, with layers of honeysuckle, citrus peel and juicy
stone-fruit flavours, subtly emerging and swirling rather than bursting and punching.  And, wait a minute – it’s from Marlborough? A region that is known for being Sauvignon Blanc centric with not much else.

A morning tasting with Richelle dispelled that misconception forever, as she unleashed the full spectrum of Greywacke’s white wine wizardry. Riesling, Pinot Gris, a startlingly good Chardonnay and a Wild Sauvignon that was wildly interesting and jaw-droppingly tasty.

Greywacke is all about hand-picking and hand-crafting. And the thing I love about Richelle is how she’s completely unfazed at working with an industry legend; her own confidence and sense of self are only going to grow the depth and quality of Greywacke’s offerings.

“Kevin’s both highly creative and very detailed at the same time – which is what makes him so talented – and there's a mutual respect where questions are asked and decisions are made,” she explains. “It’s rewarding to work with an industry icon and know that my input is genuinely contributing to the wine style."

And maybe there’s something in her sporty background that helps too; a sure-footedness when the pressure comes on and the weather throws curve balls.

“I love it at harvest, with all the problem-solving and thinking on your feet. That’s the beauty of it – no year is ever going to be the same.  I wouldn’t recommend it but I love it.” 

Jess Easton is a director and owner of Kitchen Takeover, complementing her career as a Tauranga-based lawyer.