Our series of Monty Waldin's profiles of leading New Zealand wine producers today features Quartz Reef in Central Otago. Monty is the author of Monty Waldin's Biodynamic Wine Guide 2011 (sold via www.lulu.com).
Quartz Reef was founded by Austrian Rudi Bauer (pictured left), the first qualified oenologist and viticulturalist to work in Central Otago. Initially he worked for Rolfe Mills at Rippon in 1989 in the vines. ‘The first thing I did there was sell all the weedkillers in the first step to convert to organic certification [this was not continued by Rippon].’ Bauer planted the first vines at...