Larry McKenna

He’s not called ‘Mr Pinot Noir’ for nothing. Larry McKenna put Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir on the map and continues to make significant contributions to New Zealand wine.

My most enduring memory of Larry McKenna occurred while listening to him address a group of mainly English Masters of Wine during their tour of New Zealand wine regions. A very upper-class Englishman who had been studying McKenna’s craggy features intently said, to no one in particular, “Extraordinary! Extraordinary! The fellow looks more like a night-club bouncer than a winemaker.”

McKenna may have the look of a pugilist but his gentle, thoughtful and collegiate approach to unlocking the secrets of winemaking, particularly pinot noir production, belie his appearance.

Born and bred in Adelaide, McKenna blames his parents for arousing his interest in wine. His father was a surgeon with a wine cellar well stocked mainly with McLaren Vale reds. Wine had to be kept in the dark, stored on its side and needed time.

McKenna graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1976 with a Diploma in Agriculture. It was there he met fellow student, John Hancock, who offered him a job as assistant winemaker at Delegat’s in West Auckland. By then he’d travelled through Europe to get a taste of wine culture. Ten years later McKenna left Auckland for the Wairarapa to become CEO/Winemaker at Martinborough Vineyard. He quickly established a reputation for making great pinot noir after winning the Pinot Noir Trophy at the Air New Zealand Wine awards for three years in a row (1988-’90) as well as trophies for chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau and riesling. Trophy wins in Australia soon followed.

Production at Martinborough Vineyard expanded from 20 to 160 tonnes under McKenna’s stewardship and Martinborough Pinot Noir earned a place on the world wine map.

Since 1999 McKenna has been Director and Winemaker for Escarpment Vineyard. Escarpment was established with a simple aim: “to continually produce the very best of tomorrow’s definitive New World wines.”

McKenna has been in high demand as a wine judge in New Zealand and Australia for over 25 years and has chaired the International Chardonnay Challenge and Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

‘Mr Pinot Noir’ as he is sometimes known, is clearly driven by a desire to make great pinot noir and generously shares his knowledge and experience with others who have a similar ambition. He has headed up a number of pinot noir workshops and conferences that have clearly made a significant contribution to the development of pinot noir in New Zealand.

Recently McKenna was inducted into the NZ Wine Hall of Fame and received further recognition as a recipient of the Sir George Fistonich Medal for services to the NZ Wine Industry. He was made a Fellow of the NZ Wine Industry in 2016.

Bob Campbell MW

Photography by Mike Heydon.
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