Kim Crawford wines have been at the forefront of the New Zealand artisan wine movement since their inception in 1996. Originally started in 1996 without the benefit of a winery or even a vineyard the winery has shown an impressive growth curve, but still keeps the idea that bigger is not always better when it comes to wine making. They still craft wines that they feel are lacking in the marketplace such as fruit forward Chardonnay and are generally one of the most willing wineries to take risks, such as switching over to screw caps because they feel it keeps the wine fresher. As a small editorial note, some wineries also switch because screw caps only cost around 10 cents instead of 50 cents for a more standard cork.
In true artisan fashion Kim Crawford wants to make sure everything is handled with utmost care in the vineyard so that they may use the most gentle winemaking practices available once the grapes come into the winery. They aim to allow the grapes and the subsequent wine to express the unique terrior and growing conditions that exist not only in their region of New Zealand, but in the growing season itself so each and every vintage is somewhat different.
While they encourage their growers to take the utmost care they also demand that all of their farms are not only organic and sustainable, but that all decisions in regards to the vines and the farm itself are made with the flavor profiles of the wine at the forefront. For example, they want to ensure that the leaves of the vines are able to at least partially cover the grapes so they are not overly exposed to direct sunlight which causes changes in their flavor profiles.
As with any winery, ideas are great but do not mean much without the hands on approach from a great winemaker. Kim Crawford has Matt Large on staff as winemaker, he brings a willingness to experiment with wine to the team, one which is fairly unique within the profession. While many wineries only pick their fruit during the day because it is the easiest time to find workers, Matt has attempted to pick at midnight and also in the afternoon to see what the different affects on the grapes are as they come in at different times and more importantly different temperatures.
I can highly recommend finding a bottle of Kim Crawford wine at a fine wine shop near you. You'll find both small parcels as well as regional blends available with the highlight (for me at least) being a Chardonnay which is fruit forward (as is normally only found in California) but without the use of oak (extremely rare).
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