Hard work keeping it on the straight and narrow
It's a hard road making wine on State Highway One, just south of Christchurch.
He doesn't understand why New Zealanders drink cheap Sauvignon Blanc when it is not a globally popular variety.
"Why would I grow Sauv Blanc when it's only 11th in the world in white wine?" he told Rural News. "I grow the number one white wine in the world, which is Chardonnay."
Shand says they are competing against big outfits that might routinely rip up and replace tens of thousands of vines each season in search of better yields or to follow changing varietal demand.
When they bought the vineyard, they were advised to rip up the Cabernet Franc.
Instead, they have nurtured it, taken cuttings and taught themselves how to make and finish it, and it is now the most lucrative grape on the property.
Shand says that Cabernet Franc has now been planted in Central Otago, depriving his grapes of being the most southerly Cabernet Franc in the world. However, he is proud to say his vines are the most southerly growing on their own rootstock.
"I've got old grapes here that I've restored. I'm probably not your traditional vineyard person. I'm a restorer."
In search of cash flow, they are making some Pinot Gris this year from grapes bought from the defunct Lone Goat block.
But they otherwise pride themselves on being a single-vineyard winemaker, meaning they don't produce blends with grapes bought from elsewhere.
Shand believes good wine is made "in the vineyard" rather than in the winery and they have good soil with good flavours.
