Gordon's Winemaking Philosophy

For winemaker Gordon Ritchie, the hallmarks of a great wine are elegance and balance.  At TerraVin he aims to produce wines which are impressive as a whole rather than having one or two impressive features.  And how does he do that? 

“It is often about having the courage to choose not to do so something, not to intervene, as opposed to doing what is expected.  I guess what I am saying is that by doing only what is required, this gives a wine with truer expression.

“I am not talking about being too relaxed or being lazy.  I think the amount of scrutiny should still be just as intense to make an informed, conscious decision on what to do. Or not to do.”

TerraVin also aims to make wines expressive of the vineyard and area that they come from as opposed to showing the hand of the winemaker.  Determining that comes down to physical perception of the wine; its depth, breadth, length, tension and concentration.  TerraVin sources fruit from superbly sited blocks in Marlborough’s southern hills, and allows each site to express itself in the wines.  Use of oak is regarded more as a ‘seasoning’ than an ‘ingredient’.

The company’s name and logo show our central focus of being true to the site and the vines, under the attentive eye of the winemaker.