Primary Pinot

Martinborough Vineyard is working with Martinborough School, the local primary, on a project called Primary Pinot. 

Primary Pinot is a fundraising initiative for Martinborough School and is a collaborative winemaking effort where the children of Martinborough School have picked the grapes and Martinborough Vineyard is turning this into wine.

2009 is the inaugural vintage and we’re looking forward to this being a great long term event.

Thursday 2 July 2009 - Press Release

Primary Pinot - 200 Hands

Primary Pinot is a fundraising initiative for Martinborough School and is a collaborative winemaking venture with Martinborough Vineyard. In April the children of the school picked the grapes and Martinborough Vineyard winemaker, Paul Mason, is now turning it into wine.

School Principal Ann Easter notes ‘the 2009 vintage will be called 200 Hands celebrating the enrolment of the 200th child in our school this year, showing the growing population of Martinborough’.

Pete Wilkins, viticulturist at Martinborough Vineyard and Martinborough School Board Trustee member, is the man putting the project together. He said ‘we’re now at the next stage of involvement by the children. We took barrel of Pinot Noir to the school today for the children to make their mark on. All 200 children put a hand print onto the barrel in celebration of the 200 Hands label.’

Ruth Mahupuku-Kelly of Martinborough School who is the school’s liaison person said ‘the next task is creating the artwork for the labels for the 300 bottles that will be produced.’ Mrs Mahupuku-Kelly also commented ‘this project is an important part of our technology curriculum for next term and will help cement close links with the school to the community.’

Tuesday 7 April 2009 - Press Release

Primary Pinot

Martinborough Vineyard is working with Martinborough School, the local primary, on a project called Primary Pinot. 

Primary Pinot is a fundraising initiative for Martinborough School and is a collaborative winemaking effort where the children of Martinborough School will pick the grapes and Martinborough Vineyard will turn this into wine over the ensuing 6 or so months.

Pete Wilkins, viticulturist at Martinborough Vineyard and Martinborough School Board Trustee member, is the man behind putting the project together. He said ‘I had 190 kids, pretty much the whole school, out picking today. We all had great fun and then a few of the kids got in and stomped the grapes. This is the beginning of a great long term event’.

After the harvest, while the Martinborough Vineyard’s winemaking team work their magic, the school will be busy working on artwork and making the labels for the 300 bottles that will be created. The wine will be released early next year to coincide with the next harvest and the next vintage of Primary Pinot getting underway. The finished wine will then be sold or auctioned.  

General Manager, Janine Tulloch of Martinborough Vineyard notes the vineyard is donating the grapes, the barrels and the winemaking to the project and will work with the school in gaining sponsorship for a website along with bottles, capsules and other necessary items.

‘The aim of the project is to help cement close links with the school to the community and it will be part of Martinborough School’s technology curriculum’ said Martinborough School Principal Ann Easter. Ruth Mahupuku-Kelly of Martinborough School who is the school’s liaison person said ‘We’re all extremely excited and enthusiastic about this opportunity and the teachers are thinking of new ideas daily – there are so many facets to this project that we can explore’.