Wine with wings

Contrary to what the name might suggest, The Flying Winemaker doesn’t own a plane, nor does he hold a pilot’s license. But there is sincerity in Eddie McDougall’s moniker, yes, he does literally jet in to make the wine.

By Walt Dickson.

Born in Hong Kong, based in Australia, Eddie might be relatively new on the scene in Wairarapa, but he is an established name in other parts of the world; an award-winning winemaker, chairman of the Asian Wine Review, wine judge and TV personality behind one of Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic wine brands, The Flying Winemaker.

He swooped into the region in late 2018 buying the Gladstone Vineyard with lofty ambitions to make the best and most expensive wine in New Zealand.

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Last year, his first vintage, he made two special wines at Gladstone that he says, will turn heads when they’re released: a field blend of three aromatic white varietals and an icon Pinot Noir that will be positioned as “New Zealand’s most expensive wine and best pinot”.

Eddie grew up in Brisbane and was studying for a business degree and working as a waiter in the early 2000s when he had a wine epiphany one night. Someone handed him a glass of Alsace pinot blanc and he was hooked. He enrolled in a winemaking degree and worked vintages across Australia and Italy. In 2008, he launched his own label making wine in the King Valley (Victoria), and, later, Margaret River (Western Australia), buying fruit and leasing space in other people’s wineries.

His big break came in 2009, when he moved back to Hong Kong to set up the city’s first urban winery, shipping frozen grapes in from Europe and Australia. That’s when he earned his Flying Winemaker name, attracting the attention of television producers.

Fast-track to 2018 and he was again looking for opportunities, initially in Australia, but when nothing caught his fancy, looking across the Tasman.

“I was happy to go wherever good wine is made, and Gladstone ticked all the right boxes.

Making it such a great acquisition was that at Gladstone all the “really hard work” has been done, he says. “We believe that it is still the oldest white wine vineyard in the area - the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes were planted in 1986.”

Pinot Gris and Reisling have also since been planted, and instead of making three wines Eddie makes a blend of all three.

“Coming here we want to represent the region, and on a brand level to represent what our true unique selling point is. . . we think we can make some serious, serious wines.”

In addition to the winery site, Gladstone Vineyard also owns considerably larger blocks of vines at nearby Dakins Road, as well as leasing crops from other growers. It is from the Dakins Road block that Eddie hopes to produce his icon Pinot Noir - to be called The Wairarapa - which he says will be the most definitive wine of the region, only made in the best possible years, 2019 being one of them.

With a global team based in Hong Kong and currently exporting throughout Asia, Australia, Norway, UK and USA, the sky is the limit. But he is not ignoring the domestic market, and is determined to continue Gladstone Vineyard’s reputation for hosting terrific events.

Building on the success of the nearby Harvest Festival, Eddie aims to run up to four events a year at the winery. Exactly what they will be and when, wine lovers won’t want to miss out if his super cool Rosé Revolutions, a mainstay on the calendar in Asia, are anything to go by.

Meanwhile, if you are in the neighbourhood, the cellar door is open daily from 11am–5pm (except public holidays), but don’t expect to see Eddie, after all, when you have wings, you gotta fly.