This month we are staying in Marlborough and visiting Ripple Effect Wines, a tiny family project on a one hectare, hillside, dry-farmed block in Marlborough. The owners, Jeremy & Catalina thoughtfully grow and hand-pick Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, creating vibrant and immersive wines. They run the whole operation themselves with the support of their amazing community of friends, having a great time in the process.
THE PEOPLE
Jeremy, co-founder and winemaker at Ripple Effect Wines, left little old New Zealand In 2006 to do a vintage in California before finding himself in Chile, the home country of his beautiful wife Catalina. After meeting in 2010, they packed their bags to explore some of the world’s greatest wine regions, before settling on Marlborough as their new base and home.
Ripple Effect Wines are focused on making soulful wines, grown on a unique site with the help of some truly epic people.
While Jeremy got stuck into making wines, Catalina continued her career as a dentist. Alongside working their day jobs and welcoming two wonderful children, Benji and Sofia, they started making small-batch ‘garage wines’, leading to Ripple Effect wines today. For the most part, they’re the whole team behind Ripple Effect Wines, a special family project that they hope will bring joy to all who encounter it, just as it has them.
THE BRAND
Beginning as an ‘underground’ project of passion and community, they first used grapes given to them by generous friends to make playful wines to share with their close mates and family. In 2022, a major piece of the REW puzzle came to fruition, when trailblazing wine growers Andy and Kyna Laurie offered them their grapes in exchange for work, tending to their dry-farmed, hillside vineyard, Escaroth.
The name Ripple Effect Wines is a nod to their happy place, the ocean, and ties in nicely with their dream to play a small part in something far bigger with this journey. Jeremy has long been a surfer, and their efforts to conserve water through dry-farming techniques inspired a ‘lightbulb’ moment with the name Ripple Effect – something that encapsulates two of their biggest passions.
Beyond that, they genuinely hope that their journey will inspire others to have a crack. While their dream is to remain boutique, their intention is that the ripple effect will continue on to create big waves in the small, conscious, and deliciously made winemaking scene.
THE PLACE
The Ripple Effect Vineyard is a one hectare block located in Taylor Pass, in the dramatic Southern Valleys of Marlborough. Escaroth sits on a sun-drenched, north facing slope, relying solely on rainwater for irrigation. With dry-farming and doing everything by hand, their focus is on consciously creating small-batch Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, in an effort to highlight the environment the grapes are grown in. Planted in 2003, the ageing vines add stunning complexity to their wines.
Being naturally low-yielding, Escaroth provided the perfect opportunity for them to build on their dream to create a ‘gate-to-glass’ wine brand that celebrates their environment and encapsulates the amazing community that helped it come to be.
THE WINES
Ripple Effect have four really interesting sounding wines available at the moment – here are the notes on them – I’m really looking forward to trying these!
SUMMER HAZE, Chardonnay & Syrah Rose
Chardonnay was hand harvested then pressed the following morning, with the juice being separated into different ‘cuts’. The free-run and light pressings were transferred to a tank to undertake *stabulation. Once the Syrah was ready to be picked the Chardonnay was racked off heavy lees and a wild fermentation began. The Syrah bunches were suspended above the fermenting Chardonnay, resulting in *carbonic maceration. Once the Chardonnay had completed alcoholic fermentation the Syrah bunches were removed to a separate vessel and foot stomped to release the juice and allow wild yeast to take over the alcoholic fermentation. The Syrah was then pressed and blended with the Chardonnay to give the alluring colour and aromatic interest.
OTHERSIDE, Chardonnay
Hand harvested bunches were placed into small tanks in the vineyard, to minimise the chance of the berries rupturing. The tanks were charged with carbon dioxide gas before filling to ensure anaerobic conditions were maintained throughout the process. Once filled with whole bunches the tanks were sealed and allowed to go through *carbonic maceration. The bunches were left to their own devices for an extended period, during this time intracellular fermentation began (within each individual berry) giving this wine its unique attributes. After this stage the bunches were gently crushed in a basket press to release the juice and allow wild yeast to take over the alcoholic fermentation. Hand harvested bunches were placed into small tanks in the vineyard, to minimise the chance of the berries rupturing. The tanks were charged with carbon dioxide gas before filling to ensure anaerobic conditions were maintained throughout the process. Once filled with whole bunches the tanks were sealed and allowed to go through *carbonic maceration. The bunches were left to their own devices for an extended period, during this time intracellular fermentation began (within each individual berry) giving this wine its unique attributes. After this stage the bunches were gently crushed in a basket press to release the juice and allow wild yeast to take over the alcoholic fermentation.
SECANO, Chardonnay
Hand harvested bunches were whole bunch pressed the following morning, with the juice being separated into different ‘cuts’. The free-run and light pressings were transferred to a tank to settle overnight, then racked to barrel. No sulphur or carbon dioxide was used at this stage – oxidative handling. A few days after being put to barrel the wild fermentation began and resulted in a slow steady ferment. Once ambient temperatures warmed up after winter, wild malo-lactic fermentation began, with the wine resting on gross lees for an extended period of 19 months. Only French oak barrels were used with 15% new oak in the blend. The wine was racked a couple of times before bottling unfined and unfiltered.
DEEP GLOW, Pinot Noir
Hand harvested bunches were gently de-stemmed into a small fermenter to retain a large percentage of whole berries, this was covered by a layer of whole bunches. Carbon dioxide was added daily to provide a protective blanket until the wild fermentation began. During the peak of fermentation, the cap was hand plunged once a day with care taken not to submerge the whole bunches at the surface. Once the fermentation had completed the wine was tasted daily to decide the pressing date, total maceration time of 21 days. The grape skins were pressed in a basket press directly to barrel where it underwent wild malolactic fermentation and èlevage for 10 months. Only French oak barrels were used with 30% new oak in the blend. The wine was racked a couple of times before bottling unfined and unfiltered.
*stabulation: the process of homogenising juice with lees for a period of time, generally at cooler temperatures to avoid uncontrolled fermentation.
*carbonic maceration: a whole bunch fermentation technique in which the first phase of fermentation is conducted in a completely anaerobic atmosphere, within each individual berry.
Stockists
You can now find Ripple Effect Wines in a few stores and they are working on getting to a spot near you!
https://www.rippleeffectwines.co.nz/stockists
The team at Ripple Effect love working with small, locally owned and specialised wine shops, where the staff are passionate about everything wine and have that wholesome community vibe that they are all about. If you’re a locally owned liquor store, restaurant or bar and keen to chat about becoming a stockist, click here to get in touch. They’d love to hear from you!
All wines are currently available for purchase here:
https://www.rippleeffectwines.co.nz/shop
JB’s Wine Notes
Ripple Effect Wines, ‘Summer Haze’ Rosé 2024, Marlborough NZ
Shiny & bright, salmon pink in colour with copper hues. In the nose, aromas of sweet raspberries, peaches, grape-fruity citrus notes & a hint of spice. On the palate concentrated flavours of red summer berries, ripe stone-fruit, tart mandarin, there’s subtle creamy lees & a fresh acidity / peppery grip. Long intense, off-dry finish. 97.5% Chardonnay 2.5% Syrah, A still, carbonic rosé. Really enjoyed it.
Ripple Effect Wines ‘Otherside’ Still Carbonic, Chardonnay 2024, Marlborough NZ
Pale glossy straw in colour with golden hues, oily viscosity. In the nose, it’s quite aromatic, with aromas of poached peaches, crisp apple & a whiff of smoke? On the palate it’s mid weighted & slightly creamy, with flavours of stewed peaches & pineapple, spice, & a fresh, lively lemon acidity. A long succulent & concentrated finish. Really delicious!
Ripple Effect Wines ‘Secano’ Chardonnay 2023, Marlborough NZ
Bright clear straw – gold in colour, a medium viscosity. Ripe tropical & stone-fruit aromas in the nose, with toasted nuts, butterscotch & warm bread notes. A creamy, juicy palate with concentrated flavours reflecting the nose, peach, nectarine & pineapple, a fine citrus acidity, creamy lees, malo & textured oak influence all adding layers of depth & complexity. Very moreish & luscious finish. Excellent.
Ripple Effect Wines ‘Deep Glow’ Pinot Noir 2024, Marlborough NZ
Deep ‘glowing’ semi-translucent cherry – ruby red in colour. An inviting nose with aromas of sweet cherry, ripe dark plum, savoury earth & barrel spice notes. On the palate, there’s lots of concentrated fruit flavours, cherry, plum & dark berries, baking spices, silky tannins, a fresh acidity & subtle oak influence all in harmony. Still very young but showing huge potential. Long dry, full flavoured finish. Excellent.