Winemaking. My philosophy.
I grew up drinking
wine at a young age in 1970's New Zealand. The choice of local
product was miniscule but there was a significant choice 
of foreign
wine, mostly French, German, Italian and Australian. Wine was
predominantly consumed with food.
In the early
1980's many NZ wine makers traveled to France, Germany &
Italy for "enlightenment." While working in the dairy industry I became
enthralled by the parallels between handling fragile milk products
and grape juice. So, commenced my life towards wine and
ultimately,
production under my own label.
My passion is for balanced, region appropriate wines that reflect the
site of origin. I like wines that
taste varietal. I like wines that taste great with food and have the
ability to age in the medium term. I don't like wines that show
excessive alcohol, extraction or oak . . . .
In terms of Pinot Noir, I want Pinot to taste like Pinot . . . not
"Shiraz
in drag'. . . to that end, I pick a little earlier, retain a little
more
natural acid, have a lower alcohol . . . use oak for structure not
flavour.
Rick Hill
Wine Maker
Labyrinth Wine Cellars