When Judy Finn thinks back on her 45 years of making wine she is proud of what the family have achieved.
Judy and Tim Finn were inducted into the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame at the Nelson Pine Industry Business Awards earlier this year.
The couple have owned and run Neudorf Vineyards since they first bought the Moutere land in 1978.
Judy says Tim knew he wanted to be growing on north-facing clay soil, so when they block came up for sale, they knew they had found their spot.
“It was a commune in the 70s and it was just what we wanted,” Judy says. “It was a traditional mid-European farm, there were pigs and cows - it was fabulous. We just wanted the land for grapes so there was a lot to clean out.”
Fast-forward to 2023 and the couple’s daughter Rosie is now running the business alongside general manager Todd Stevens.
“We are very lucky to have a family who wants to take over,” Judy says.
Rosie says she has the full weight of her parent’s support.
“Tim and Jude are extremely self-deprecating and very understanding of Todd and I. There’s no point in giving someone an opportunity and then micro-managing that, in-fact that’s worse,” Rosie says.
“When you’re giving that trust to somebody in your business, the fact that they follow through on it is awesome.”
Judy simply says: “If you’re not using the brains of younger people you’re a fool.”
She also says being open-minded about change is very important.
“Everyone who works here leaves a footprint behind.”
She says retirement doesn’t mean very much; the days are still busy.
“Over vintage, I’m the dump basket who comes down to help when they need something, which actually isn’t bad. We’ve also got far too much garden as we get older.”
She says they are most proud of what the winery has produced, and even though they no longer enter competitions, they have amassed a host of awards over the years and still feature regularly in lists of the country’s top drops.
“We are also proud of our persistence and probably the ethos of bringing certain principles to what we do.
“We’re organic and we don’t irrigate and we use all wild yeast. They’re not the easiest decisions to make because you’ve got little in your arsenal if there’s a problem when you’re organic,” Judy says.
The company continues to do most things by hand, rather than by machine.
“It’s all hand-pruned and picked, it’s pretty intensive. Our vineyard labour bill would shock any conventional farmer, I think.”
One of the things Neudorf is known for is consistency.
“But also, you’ve got to be different every year. With climate change we finish picking now before we even used to start.
“There’s been such terrible weather in the rest of the country we were steeling ourselves for difficulty, but the fruit this year is fabulous.
On receiving the award, Judy is humble.
“It was really nice that they did the awards together with Agnes and Hermann Seifried. You’re recognizing two important parts of the industry, the little ones and the big ones. And the fact that we all know each other and have grown up together, it was really lovely.
“There’s so many people you need to make the whole industry work – little guys, big guys and the outliers doing really wacky stuff – they’re all part of the same industry. In Nelson we’ve got a really nice breadth of those people who are satisfying all the little niches in the market.
She says the community have been supportive of the industry on the whole.
“We’re lucky in Nelson because all the restaurants have been incredibly supported, you just don’t ever take it for granted.”
As for the future, Judy is optimistic.
“The future looks pretty good, I’ll get back to the garden.”
