The Estate

Born in Japan, but having lived overseas with his family in his formative years, Takaki Okada was exposed to wine early on in his life. It was not, however, until his part time job in a wine bar in Hokkaido during his university studies that he decided on a career in wine. Following his studies at UC Davis in the United States, and a stint managing Clos Henri's vineyards, Folium Vineyard was founded by Takaki Okada as a boutique and organically farmed estate with 8ha of vineyards located in the Brancott Valley in the Marlborough Region on New Zealand’s South Island. The wines crafted here are distinctively European in style, with vintage variation, and a subtlety that complements rather than overpowers food.  

Viticulture and Vinification

The climate in Marlborough is perfectly suited to growing premium Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. With a wide diurnal temperature range during the growing season, the fruits retain higher natural acidity while accumulating aromatics and complex flavour components. The soil was created by the ancient glacial action and river systems, and the low vigour clay based soil in Brancott Valley can retain sufficient moisture during dry summer to balance the growth of the vines. Despite this, Folium is only one of the very few estates that dry farm their vineyards in the region, causing the roots of vines to go deeper into the soil, resulting in more terroir driven wines. Grapes are hand picked in a contrast to much of the rest of the Marlborough region, where most Sauvignon Blanc is harvested by machines. 

Folium Vineyard believes that winemaking starts in the vineyard. Detailed care in the vineyard starts with pruning in the winter, followed by canopy management, such as shoot and bunch thinning, and leaf plucking during the summer, all the way to hand harvesting at optimum ripeness in the autumn. Different management takes place for different clones or vine ages to match the inimitable needs of each parcel.

Vinification is hands off. Sauvignon Blanc is whole bunch pressed into stainless steel tank, and with fermentation by indigenous yeast for the Reserve wine. Wines are kept on fine lees for 10 months before bottling. The Pinot Noir is destemmed into stainless steel tank and kept at ambient temperature for 5 days prior to fermentation. Fermentation is started by indigenous yeast, with all wines transferred into French oak barrels (10-15% new oak for the Estate wine, and 33%-40% for the Reserve wine) and kept there for 11 months for the Estate wine and 16-18 months for the Reserve wine.

Wines Produced

Folium vineyard sauvignon blanc

FOLIUM VINEYARD SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVE

FOLIUM VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

FOLIUM VINEYARD PINOT NOIR RESERVE

Featured in the 16th issue of the sequel to the immensely popular Japanese manga series about wine, The Drops of God (神之水滴), the Folium Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve 2015 was recommended to be a great match for the much loved Peking Duck dish.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Country:  New Zealand

Region:  Marlborough

Appellation:  Brancott Valley

Founded:  2011

Annual Production: 3,000 cases

Farming: Organic and dry farming