Interviewer: Perfect. Um, Vita means life. So, can you tell us about the life behind the label?

Will: Yes. So it's actually pronounced Vita. Well, it's the Italian um, pronunciation.

Interviewer: Oh, Vita. Sorry. Oh, yes.

Will: Yeah, I mean, the reason for the Italian, the nod to Italy is, I mean, my wife Jane and I spent quite a bit of time there and have a huge affinity with the country and, well, I guess just the wine and food side of it at least. But anyway, yes, Vita. So I think, um, yeah, being life, the, it's really about, and this is in a question later on that you, um, have written, is like translating the, the life of the vineyard and and the fruit, um, and that kind of DNA into the bottle. So, yeah, I mean, my favorite wines over the years have been organic and biodynamic wines and those are the places that I've worked and I've kind of, I guess recognized one of the reasons that those wines have been so meaningful or impactful for me is because of the, um, yeah, the amount of, the life that they cultivate in the vineyard from a plant standpoint and also from a people standpoint. Um, so yeah, it's it's all about kind of highlighting that life um, before the grape gets to the bottle.

Interviewer: Oh, that's so beautiful. I love that. Um, what moments or ideas sparked the creation of Vita wine? So I see, I know you mentioned that you guys have spent a lot of time in, in Italy and you probably have a strong connection to it.

Will: Yeah, totally. It, I mean, it's it's all of, it's that we spent, um, some time working with a producer over there which was amazing, but it's also the times I've spent with other producers. Like I've had a very formative experience um, in terms of my wine life at uh, Milton in Gisborne. So they are real pioneers in organic and biodynamic viticulture. And being able to work with them and see those processes and how they impact the product, that had a big impact. And then after that, um, another amazing experience working at Black Estate, which is in North Canterbury. They too are organic and biodynamic practitioners. And it really, yeah, I mean, Vita is just a, a like, um, just a snap, yeah, snapshot of all of those experiences, um, and no doubt experiences prior to that outside of the wine industry and food. Like I've, I've worked in the food for a long time and um, yeah, I always lean towards the, um, I guess more sustainable, more real, more like, um, pared-back version of everything in those industries.

Interviewer: You mentioned a little bit around, um, the biodynamic side of things. What what does that entail? What does that look like? What is that?

Will: Yeah, so biodynamics is, I mean, it's actually a, a farming or set of farming practices um, invented by Rudolf Steiner, but um, the grape industry or the the wine industry is one that has really taken it internationally on board. Um, so it really is a, I think for the layperson, it's like a a step further than, than what you would consider organic. So you, there are a series of preps that are made, um, and it's really all about, um, increasing life and biodiversity in the vineyard and in the like wider business too. Like with the team, it's really, um, in a holistic approach to producing more energetic products.

Interviewer: That sounds so interesting. Um, you've built your wines around North Canterbury's character. Um, what makes this region special to you and how do you see that reflected in your wines?

Will: Um, yeah, so yeah, I think I was attracted to North Canterbury, I mean, one because I'm from Christchurch, so, but I'd moved away and um, it's a familiar place, but I think probably the biggest draw, um, back to Canterbury at the time, we moved back in 2020, um, it was to work at Black Estate with Nicholas and Penn. Oh yeah. Um, yeah, I really, really admired their wines and liked, admired the look of the business from the outside in. Not, I didn't know them. Um, so it was, you know, a bit of a leap of faith, but turns out we were very like-minded and got along amazingly well and worked there for three years, which was an incredible experience and really shaped my view and philosophy on, yeah, growing grapes and making wine. Um, so during that time, I kind of fell for the region, I guess. Um, I think it's a compelling place to make wine. It's a, it's a difficult place to make wine. Um, you know, in a 10 year average, you'll get quite devastating frosts, you'll get drought years, you'll get, um, extremely wet years. So it is challenging. I think compared to a lot of other regions in New Zealand, but it's got really exciting and and um, yeah, really exciting geology. Um, and it's got some great plantings already that have for a long time made, you know, more than three decades, four decades almost made um, exceptional wines.

Interviewer: You touched a little bit around kind of just like the challenges around climate change, right? So there are years that you're going to get drought, you're going to get super wet years, you're going to get frost or snow even. So how do you see that, I guess, changing, um, for the wine industry or like how do you see that impacting the wine industry? Because I'm assuming it's only going to be becoming more frequent.

Will: Yeah, totally. Yeah. I mean it's a, it will, it is impacting the wine industry hugely. And I think, yeah, the big challenge is the, um, frequency and then the the variation. So as I say, you know, Christchurch or Canterbury, um, can get awful frosts, awful drought. It can get kind of the whole gamut and and when that's happening more frequently, um, you've got to be so on your toes with how you approach the farming for that vineyard every year. You, you know, you can't assume that each year, uh, the weather is going to be the same, which is a massive challenge because when you are farming grape vines, there's a lot of decisions that are made based on the weather, well based on, um, based on assumptions of how the weather is going to be, say in one or two months. So, you know, if it's going to be really hot and dry during summer, you from a practical standpoint, you want to leave more leaf on the vine around the, um, around the fruit, for example. But if it's going to be wet and humid, you'll want, you know, the leaf to be more sparse, so the disease pressure is lower. But these, these decisions need to be made, you know, a month or so before. Yeah, so it's really challenging. It's um, it is, it's, and yeah, I don't know what the, the answer is. Um, particularly in organic and biodynamic viticulture where, you know, a lot of these things are quite manual, um, and can't be done quickly. Um, so yeah, it's it's a big, it's a huge challenge, climate change.

Interviewer: Yeah, I can imagine. Um, you've described your process as translating the vineyard into the bottle with as little interference as possible. What does that look like in practice and what does it take to trust nature so much?

Will: Um, yeah, so it's it's like, it's really, yeah, as I say, trying to capture that the DNA of that season. So every season is so different. Um, which is the beautiful thing about wine or any product where you're, you're, um, you know, doing something once a year with a, with a natural product. Um, so in practice, it's really just trying to interfere as little as possible. So, you know, wine is made by in its purest form, just crushing grapes and letting the juice ferment um, into wine. So really trying to, so, yeah, do do that. So grapes come in and we'll ferment with native yeast. So we won't add any commercial yeast. So that's kind of the first big, um, big decision that's made. Um, obviously the, we work with organic grapes. So that's kind of, yeah, that in itself, um, is very important because that you, in my view at least, you're, um, you're cultivating more life, better bacteria, better yeast by not spraying synthetic herbicides and fungicides. Um, so yeah, the grapes come in, they're treated very simply. They'll be pressed and or fermented as whole bunches depending on the, um, the wine. And yeah, fermented with their own native yeast that's on the, on the fruit and in the air and on our hands. And then really like only interfering if things um, need to be like, if if, like there's a few stylistic, um, things that, uh, like, um, what am I trying to say? Stylistic decisions to be made, but really it's like not doing anything drastic to the wine, um, that might, you know, give it more oxygen or mean that we need to add more sulfur along the way. So, an essence trying to bottle fermented grape juice without any additions or without taking anything away. So we won't fine or filter the wines. Um, we will add a little bit of sulfur to some wines if they need it. So that's just a preservative. But, um, my my preference is to not, um, but I'm not, you know, hugely dogmatic about that. Um, and yeah, so that that's that.

Interviewer: That's pretty, that's a pretty awesome journey to be honest. Um, how does sustainability show up in your approach? Obviously, I know you just spoken about, um, doing the wine itself differently and the process of it to get it into the bottle a lot different. But, uh, more around, um, you know, through sourcing or packaging or the relationship that you built with the growers.

Will: Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I mean from a grower standpoint, um, I think the first and most important thing is that the vineyard is farmed without any synthetic inputs because I mean, yeah, the sustainability around, um, the land and the vineyard itself is kind of the critical thing because without those, we can't make the wine. Um, and yeah, so very important to me that um, organic viticulture is followed in the vineyard. And then from from that point on, yeah, it's again, it's a big challenge, sustainability in an industry like this. Obviously wine is, um, I mean it's got a very important part in a lot of people's lives, but it is quite a hedonistic product, you know, it's a, it's it's alcohol, it's something, you know, is not maybe necessary for, you could argue. Um, so being sustainable in all of the production and and sales side of things, things is a, um, is always top of mind. Um, we, packaging, I mean, yeah, we use glass bottles and you can't avoid that. Um, we use unlaminated labels, so that's nice, just paper. Um, but we, a big thing we've been kind of trying to do more of and moving towards is putting wine into keg. Um, instead of bottle. So it that makes such a big difference. Um, for a lot of reasons, you're not using glass which is, um, you know, it has a certain footprint in terms of manufacturing it. And then it's heavy, so it it is more expensive and and has a bigger environmental impact to ship. Um, so putting it, and and you've got to recycle them whereas a keg can just be used again and again and again. Um, so we have a restaurant in Christchurch and where a lot of our wine is now sold at Lily's. And so we keg a lot of wine for the restaurant instead of bottling wine in the winery next door and then bringing it over to the restaurant and so, yeah, that, I think that's a big one. I think a lot of people actually, um, in New Zealand in my cohort are doing more kegging and seeing the benefits of that from a sustainability standpoint.

Interviewer: Yeah, that is pretty cool actually. I didn't know um, wineries were starting to do that, so that's awesome.

Will: Yeah. It's good and expensive.

Interviewer: Yeah. Um, as a small producer, how do you navigate the balance between staying true to your craft and building a viable business in a competitive wine market?

Will: Yeah, it's tricky. It is tricky. I guess, um, just believing in yourself and what you're doing is so important because, yeah, it's a, it's an, as you say, an increasingly, um, saturated and busy market. Um, with like, yeah, since 2020 since starting Vita, there's been such a proliferation of, um, like-minded growers and and winemakers, which is so good and it's really exciting. Um, but I think, yeah, it is, it is, there's a lot of similarity out there and that's when it does become so important to really stand behind and believe in like your your own philosophy. And not get, not muddy but not get distracted by what other people are doing and and potentially change your your approach because of that. Um, like, you know, I know why I got into this and and the philosophy around what the wines I want to make. So, yeah, it's really hard, but I think staying true to that original craft and and the reason behind it.

Interviewer: Yeah, that's actually, yeah, that's pretty cool. And that and that's true, right? Because obviously in a world where we're being fed so much information, across so many channels. It's quite, it's quite hard not to be tempted to kind of just go, "Oh, they're doing this, they're doing that, or maybe I should go and do that."

Will: Totally, so difficult not to, yeah, follow the trend or, you know, get sucked through a trend.

Interviewer: Um, there's a noticeable shift towards natural and minimal, um, intervention wine across Aotearoa. How do you see Vita fitting into that movement and what change would you like to see next?

Will: Um, yeah, it's a, it's a good question. Um, in that, I um, I do try and stay like focused on my own, um, philosophies in in the sense that I, yeah, I do want to be a, I do want to fit in and be a part of that industry. I'm not really sure where I fit in. Um, the, maybe this is a bit of an aside, but the last year and a half of my life has been really, um, taken over, well, no, it's been very busy with this restaurant that we've set up. Have you, I'm not sure if you've been, have you been to Lillies?

Interviewer: No, not yet.

Will: Okay, yeah. So we we moved our winery from North Canterbury to town, we're on St Asaph Street. And it's, yeah, taken, um, up a lot of my bandwidth, my brain space and and time. Um, so I think the, from this next harvest which starts in February, March, um, it's going to be a great opportunity, now the restaurant's up and running, to kind of refocus my my my time and my my thoughts to Vita and I don't know, maybe, maybe hopefully answer that question properly for myself. Yeah, sorry, I don't have a very good...

Interviewer: No, no, I think that's absolutely fine. Um, I guess in terms of, um, wine practices, what would you like to see different? Like what would you like to see more of essentially?

Will: Yeah, um, I mean, I definitely like to see more people growing organically. Um, it's a, we don't, we don't have great stats on that in New Zealand and it's because we're primarily, um, a commercial wine growing nation. Um, so that would be amazing. I don't know what, I don't know what the answer is there. I went to an amazing conference, the organic wine growers conference, um, earlier this year and there were some great conversations around it but no silver bullets. Um, it's really expensive to do that and it's risky, um, to grow organically, but um, it is the better of the two options, I guess, in my mind. Yeah. Um, so that, I'd like to see, um, more people drinking wine in New Zealand and and getting excited about wine. It's such a, it's a scary product, I think. Like I, I, I was so daunted by wine before I, um, became fascinated by it. Um, you know, it's got this stigma around it that it's a drink that you can't drink unless you, you know, are part of the club or if, you know, you know, know about it, which is crazy because it it isn't, it shouldn't be like that. Um, it's like anything else. If you, if you enjoy it, then great. You know, people get caught up on like, oh, I don't know how to describe this wine, but it's really like, do you think it's yummy? And it's if you do, then perfect. That's a drink for you. Um, yeah.

Interviewer: No, that's really awesome. Sorry, I was just looking at the at the website for Lillies. Um, it looks really awesome.

Will: Try it, yeah.

Interviewer: Um, no, I think this is just really the last question, um, for us to wrap up. So every bottle tells a story. Um, what's one that's stuck with you? A vintage, a challenge, or a moment that reminded you why you do this work?

Will: Yeah, nice. Um, I think so Vita's first vintage, um, 2020. So it was lockdown. It was COVID lockdown and Jane, my wife and I were living in North Canterbury. I was working at Black Estate and, um, we'd just gone into lockdown. So that vintage, Jane and I picked all of the Riesling, um, ourselves over a day, which was like, it was amazing. It was kind of, it was the most special harvest, um, that Vita has had in a lot of ways because it was just very intimate and just the two of us. Um, and and the wine, the wine kind of reflected that and has a really special, um, place in my heart because of that. Um, and then so like as a follow on, you know, the last vintage we did, which was our first one since the, um, restaurant's been open, so last year, it was, um, it was equally amazing in some ways. It was much, it was less intimate in the fact that there were more people, but we were harvesting with our family and friends and colleagues from the restaurant. So it had its own kind of special, intimate DNA, um, attached to it.

Interviewer: Yeah, I can imagine. And it must, and it must have been such a, um, beautiful experience, especially to do it with your wife and do it with your friends and family. It makes it so much more meaningful.

Will: Yeah.

Interviewer: No, that's okay. Look, um, thank you, that's all of the questions that I had.

Will: Great.

Interviewer: Um, thank you so much, Will for your time today. Um, and I'm so sorry for all the changes.

Will: Not at all.

Interviewer: Um, so what I'll do is, obviously, I'll just, I'll I'll have a look, I'll finish up the transcript, do the write up and then I'll send it to you, um, hopefully over the weekend. Um, so like I said earlier, just, you just let me know what you want, what you don't want, where you want to be, you know, things that you want me to rephrase or do instead, whatever it is, all it is okay. This is all about you and Vita wines and the amazing, um, I guess story that you've shared with us or with me today essentially.

Will: Cool. Thank you. Oh, how did you find Vita wines?

Interviewer: Um, so we've been, we've been working off, um, a spreadsheet that we have. So we kind of just scraped, um, the websites across Canterbury for, and we gave it certain criteria. So we knew that we wanted organic, sustainable, uh, consumable products essentially. So, um, and that's how I found uh, Vita wines. And then I kind of just went through your website and I had a look at your products and I was just, and I was looking at the, at your about page and I was like, "Okay, I'm really sold on this idea. I really want to know more." So, as much as obviously there's some automation around scraping everything together, but I'm still doing all of the checks and it's like, you know, is this the story that we want? Does it align with what we're trying to do as well and the content that, uh, I'm we're putting out there, essentially.

Will: Oh, cool. Oh, that's nice.

Interviewer: No worries. But hey, well, thank you so much. It was great to meet you. Enjoy your Friday. Um, and might see you at Lillies. I was just trying to book a table.

Will: Nice, yeah, come in for sure. Yeah.

Interviewer: Awesome. All right. I'll see you later.

Will: See you later. Bye. Thank you.