James Pritchard and Yil Hernández head up the winemaking team at The Hunting Lodge. The duo start their mornings at work with a chat and a laugh before starting their daily tasks. Hernández looks after bulk wines, bottling and the cellar team, whilst Pritchard leads the winery operations as the head winemaker.
Pritchard began his winemaking journey on Waiheke Island at a young age, working with Man 'o' War and Goldie before gaining international experience in Napa and Bordeaux. Hernández, originally from Chile, became a winemaker in a hunt to develop further her love of creating. In Chile, she worked for the prestigious winery Montes Winery and has spent time at Yealands Estate, Crossroads Winery and Mission Estate since relocating to New Zealand. Coming from two extremely different winemaking backgrounds allowed the duo to play off each other's strengths to experiment with new varieties and blends.
"During vintage, we like to trial new things, split batches across different yeast or even some funky bourbon barrels in things like our Project X. We are fortunate that our owners support our creative hunt 100 per cent, which keeps us motivated for what's to come," said Hernández.
The Hunting Lodge boasts an onsite bottling facility that includes three packaging lines. Pritchard and Hernández recognise their laboratory and cellar teams' massive role in having successful vintages and creating exceptional end products. The teams meet daily to review any challenges or priorities and ensure everyone is on the same page regarding upcoming tasks.
Having a cohesive team is especially important when bottling wines, explained Hernández.
"Bottling is not easy, and having a good laboratory and cellar team are fundamental for success as there is always a chance of a plan B when things don't go as expected."
Though the job involves lots of creative freedom and wine tasting to ensure everything is on track, it also comes with its own challenges. The unpredictable climate of Auckland can make for interesting growing conditions, with new challenges popping up each season. This year's unprecedented rainfall has resulted in the duo's most challenging vintage. Instead of focusing on the negatives, the duo chose to view this vintage as a unique opportunity to allow their skills to shine.
However, as the effects of climate change continue to increase, grape growing has become more difficult. Hernández recognises the cost winemaking has on the environment and believes introducing and maintaining sustainable processes is vital to the industry's future.
"We must do better in the future as we are heading to an era where producing is more difficult, valleys are changing, and somehow vintages are starting earlier every year," said Hernández.
Pritchard shares a similar view and recognises the role new technologies could play in minimising the industry's environmental impact for future generations.
"Our job is to do the best we can for future generations and winemakers."
