Craggy Range: the Aussie winemaker at a New Zealand icon

Julian Grounds could be describing himself when he discusses his hopes for the future direction of Craggy Range’s wines: ‘A lot of personality and not as much polish.’

The self-deprecating Aussie winemaker has been groomed for his first introduction to the London wine trade, sporting a new hair cut and a crisp shirt, but the 32-year-old is a little less starched beyond these shores.Grounds was born into a wheat-growing family in Albany, a remote part of Western Australia, and grew up loving punk rock and ditching school to go surfing. When he signed up for a viticulture and oenology course aged 17 (not yet legally allowed to drink), no-one could have guessed the heights he would attain.

He graduated top of his class, winning the Leeuwin/Talijancich award for future leadership, and became Len Evans Tutorial Dux in 2017.

There followed impressive roles at Margaret River’s Leeuwin Estate, Oregon’s Ponzi Vineyards, Yarra Valley’s Giant Steps and back to Margaret River with McHenry Hohnen before being headhunted for the role of chief winemaker at New Zealand’s Australian-owned Craggy Range following Matt Stafford’s resignation.

Grounds moved his wife Sara and two young children to the rural Hawke’s Bay town of Hastings in early 2019 to take the reins.

There’s a move toward organic viticulture at Craggy, with conversion having started at at its Te Muna Road and Gimblett Gravel vineyards in 2018, while there are plans in place to trial high-density plantings (10,000-12,000 plants per hectare) on the recently expanded Te Muna site.

Grounds has also purchased concrete tanks from Italy with a view to extending maceration time with its key Bordeaux varieties.

In the Pinot and Syrah department – Grounds’ weak spot – expect greater experimentation, whether that’s in picking decisions, whole-bunch choices, wild fermentations, extraction regimes (he prefers pump-overs to plunging), and the use of concrete eggs.

The goal? ‘I’m looking for fragrance that’s not from ripe fruit and oak.’

When it comes to Craggy’s already-excellent Chardonnays, he says: ‘The wines will have an element of profoundness: texture, weight and complexity.’

While Craggy Range has made many successful reds, there has been a sense that its top Hawke’s Bay cuvées were trying too hard to be perfect. Grounds’ appointment sends new signals. ‘There wil be an evolution in the level of excitement,’ he says. ‘There will be a higher level of risk taking.’

Watch this space.

Tasting the Craggy Range Wines