A LUCKY DAY FOR GRAPES AND CLAY.
What does The House of Medici, Rudolf Steiner and Central Otago Pinot Noir have in common? Quite a lot actually.
When London based New Zealand banker, Philippa Fourbet (nee Shepherd) walked into a pottery works in the South of France it was no wonder, like the financial forebears the Medici family had thousands of years earlier, Philippa fell in love.
Not with her soon to be husband and proprietor of the now famous pottery works, Yannick, rather with the awe inspiring craftsmanship in the hand made Anduze pots. Philippa has a lovely saying, ‘I’d rather be born lucky than rich’, and as luck would have it, not long after their first meeting and pottery based correspondence, Yannick was invited to showcase his works at the Chelsea Flower show in London.
An invitation to view his latest collection turned into dinner, a long distance relationship, wedding bells, two kids, a vineyard and more than just a few glasses of world class Central Otago Pinot Noir.
The union of two people dedicated to the art and craft of their respective loves pottery and wine could have been perfect enough and could have stopped right there. However, as luck would have it (again) the exploration, innovation and experimentation of fine wine made in amphora pots hadn’t quite received the love it deserved.
Today, Domaine Rewa a grower and maker of well renowned organic and biodynamic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling in a traditional manner are going to blend their skills with the art of The French Potter in a unique and textual Pinot Gris, made in a clay amphora pot.
As the Fourbets have come to realise as the vineyard ages and the pottery works becomes established ‘the harder you work, the luckier you get’. Yannick’s dream is to produce New Zealand’s first clay amphora pot taking the concept of terroir to a new depth. Digging deep into the vineyard’s own roots to produce a winemaking pot, born of the land, sure to produce the truest reflection of that vineyard.
Lucky for you, the drinker, all the hard work is done. So sit back, enjoy our wines that speak of our place and if you spot someone hard at work down a small country lane pour them a glass too. After all that was the stroke of luck that got Yannick into the pottery business, but that’s a story for another day.
Yannick and a (then) new shipment of Anduze pots from his families business in southern of France.
Philippa, Yannick, Augustin and Mortimer Fourbet.
Phillippa and perfect Pinot. A quick quality control check before heading to the winery.