Taking it to the world: Clonakilla's Tim Kirk - Part I
To consistently produce arguably Australia’s best cool-climate wine, a lot of passion and skill is required and Clonakilla’s CEO, Tim Kirk certainly has this dedication.
However, Tim also has an unusual approach to making wine and building a business. For Clonakilla, it’s very much about a conversation… to listen to the customer, to understand the natural environment, and to monitor and respond to the wine that is developing in the oak barrels nearby.
Pull all this together and you’re ready to compete with the best in the world.
When we visited the winery, located outside of Murrumbateman and 40km north of Canberra, Clonakilla was in the process of delivering their famous Shiraz Viognier to be served in the First Class section of Emirates’ flights. It’s another huge achievement for the pioneering family of the Canberra wine district, and bodes well for a business looking to keep its place with some of the best in the world.
Image: David Reist
The quality of Clonakilla’s product, notably the Shiraz Viognier, cannot be questioned.
For us, it’s a mixture of tradition and innovation. Philosophically, we come out of the French school of winemaking where we see ourselves as interpreters of the landscape.
It’s a different way of seeing the wine compared to others who develop a commercial product that is created in a wine factory. We’re trying to pay careful attention to the unique landscape that we have here at Murrumbateman… to capture its essence and express it through wine.
When I was a kid, I loved to do watercolour painting. It’s a medium that requires a very light touch, and that helps you to understand that sometimes it is as important to pull back and show restraint instead of pushing to add something.
Using watercolours to capture the way light moves across the landscape is similar to how we make wine. In both instances its effect of light on the environment, albeit through a different medium.
Some of the region's cool-climate wineries are playing with some rare and unusual varietals. It’s easy to get the impression that Tim and the team aren’t looking to push too hard into this space.
I guess there are two parts to that. We certainly have a strong focus on the wines that we are best-known for – Shiraz, Riesling and Viognier.
However, we have a small-and-rare batch range that demonstrates other aspects of the landscape from very specific blocks. There’s a Pinot Noir, as well as a Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cinsault. They make a lighter style of red that is reflective of the Southern Rhone Valley (Châteauneuf-du-Pape).
Our Production Winemaker, Bryan Martyn, has his own label, Ravensworth, and plays with a lot of interesting wines (in fact, the website has a section titled ‘Weird Stuff’). As a result there are some pretty crazy wines that come out of our production facility, and it’s really great to be a part of what Bryan does.
Clonakilla logo set in the wall of the new cellar door. Image: David Reist
Tim’s vision of Clonakilla, and what it is trying to achieve, is certainly romantic. Perhaps this is the best way to express the subtlety of the process.
Going back to the idea of watercolours and capturing the landscape, we consider ourselves very much custodians of the wine. For Clonakilla, we feel that we have a responsibility to bring through a true representation of the environment.
We could easily make a cool climate shiraz that everyone would expect and understand, but at this level we are striving to develop aromas and textures and flavours that are essentially Clonakilla.
This is the most essential thing that we do. It’s how we build a reputation for creating great wine. Everything else flows from there.
Clonakilla's recent tasting in Shanghai
Tim has just returned from a trip to China, where Clonakilla’s wines are increasingly well-received. With such a huge market with so much attention being paid to this emerging market by winemakers from around the world, it can be daunting for anyone looking to dip their toe into exports for our northern neighbour.
The first thing that hits you in China is the scale. It’s like a separate universe. Catching the high speed train from Beijing to Hangzhou really brought it home. One minute you’re looking at open fields and the next you’re in the middle of another huge city and it just seems to go on and on.
The economy continues to power ahead, and there seems to be a lot of interest in wine from younger professionals (who now number in millions). There is certainly a lot of high-quality wines available already, and the market is quite dynamic, so we’re really excited about the potential of China.
In Shanghai we’ve been working with a fantastic distributor, Ruby Red, who has great relationships with a lot of the bigger international hotels restaurants, as well as their own retail shopfronts as well.
Seeing Clonakilla’s Hilltops Shiraz as one of the key wines in Beijing’s Shangri La Hotel was a real buzz for us. It’s always been filled with potential, and now we’re beginning to see that potential realised.
Image: David Reist
In March, Clonakilla opened a new cellar door to replace the small, albeit quaint, former shopfront at the entrance to the winery. The new space is many times bigger, features two separate tasting areas and greeted us with a warm fire that was very much appreciated in the depths of a Canberra winter.
As we continue to expand internationally, this building is going to become even more important for us. While I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a place of pilgrimage, the reality is that we needed a space that represented the quality of our wine.
While the old cellar door had plenty of history, it wasn’t really reflective of where we find ourselves in 2016. Now, if you’ve fallen in love with Clonakilla and find yourself travelling between Sydney and Melbourne, you can visit the winery for an experience that makes the extra travel well worth your while.
All of our wines are here on tasting – there’s nothing hidden away. To be able to taste the Shiraz Viognier and look out the large windows directly onto the vines is a thrilling experience for wine lovers.
Last week we even had someone from The Czech Republic visit us. He knew all about the wines and told us he’s been planning to come here for a long time, which was absolutely thrilling.
The addition of international flights is also something we’re looking forward to. They cut out so much travel time for anyone looking to come and see where Clonakilla is made. It presents a really big opportunity for us, and it’s great to be able to open this new space in readiness for what direct access to Asia might bring.
Click here to read Part II of our interview with Clonakilla CEO, Tim Kirk.