Under the Influence

Michael Brajkovich, 49, winemaker at Kumeu River was the first New Zealander to claim the title of Master of Wine; he has worked with Bordeaux’s Christian Moueix and is one of the world’s leading proponents of Stelvin closures. Brajkovich took time out from the 2009 harvest to talk to Wine Spectator about growing up in the wine business, his Burgundian influences and screw caps. “My father started the business when he was 19 in 1944. Winery life was instilled in me at a very early age … There are distinct differences between here and Burgundy, but the varietal character comes through very strongly, and those traditional Burgundian techniques seem to work very well with the grape variety, particularly the barrels — the oak is so important to this style of wine … We’ve been using screw caps since 2001. Tasting [Australian Riesling] that had been aged under screw cap for 20 or 25 years I thought, if that’s the kind of bottle age character you get with a screw cap, that’s exactly what we want for our Chardonnay.”