Seresin

If Seresin is all about minimum intervention, they are constantly checking, strategizing and experimenting to craft truly vibrant, expressive wines. Located in New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region, Seresin benefits from a wonderful terroir, made of clay soil and a multitude of microclimates with different altitudes and exposures to the sun and the wind. This leads to different ranges of ripening time within their 200 acres site, of which 160 is planted with vines. The 40 remaining constitute an essential part of the biodynamic ecosystem they’ve grown for 30 years now.

Seresin’s winemaking philosophy is one of gentle care from the vineyard to the bottle. As one of the first biodynamic vineyards in the Marlborough region, it is all about putting as much vibrancy and life into the soil. Why biodynamic farming? The estate owner, Michael Seresin, noticed that in so many vineyards in the world’s greatest wine regions, there was no wild life left, only vineyards. After meeting with biodynamic winemakers and doing his homework, he decided to go against warning and criticism to go full biodynamic, refusing to spray the land with harmful chemicals and not to pollute the land and the earth, the soil and the water. Instead, he was going to make wine treating the land with the respect it deserves. His vineyards never had one chemical in it and always relied solely on grazing. His philosophy can be summed up in his words: “If you can grow grapes and make wine without using chemicals, why not?”. And, of course, in a cooler region like New Zealand’s Marlborough, it is a bit simpler but still a lot more work, and most of all, a necessity.

While growing Seresin Estate, Michael Seresin has also continued to work as Director of Photography on commercials and classic films, including Midnight Express and the adaptation of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. Michael got into wine early on, while living and working in Italy, where he met inspirational people around food and wine, as you do in Italy. Still, it was a bottle of Cloudy Bay that sparked his interest in winemaking. Soon after, he visited the Marlborough region and found his wine calling there, launching Seresin Estate in the early 1990’s.

Michael Seresin enjoyed the freedom that the Marlborough region offered when starting his estate, being able to plant whatever grapes he wanted. The first grapes he planted there in 1990 were Chardonnay, but the plants were not on phylloxera-resistant rootstock and the parasite destroyed the parcel within 5 years. In 1993, he planted Sauvignon Blanc, then Pinot Noir in 1994 and 1995, taking advantage of the cool climate. Seresin was amongst the first to plant Pinot Noir in the region. “It was a choice of the heart more than the head”, as Michael quickly realised that Pinot Noir takes a lot more work than other grapes. Still, if he could, he wouldn’t mind only growing Pinot Noir, his “desert island grape”, especially the burgundian style.

As the owner of Seresin Estate, Michael Seresin spends his time between New Zealand and Italy. His small team is as passionate, hard-working and dedicated as he is, and takes joy in the opportunity to grow grapes and make delicious wine using their creativity and intelligence. Seresin’s Head Winemaker, Tamra Kelly-Washington, grew up in Marlborough and started her career with Seresin in 2000. She then spent time working in Margaret River, Australia, and a few years making wine in Sicily, Italy, before returning to Seresin. Both growing the grapes and making the wines at Seresin, a typical approach from the old wine world, Tamra has a lot of experience and a fantastic personality that shows through the wines.