It's a giant chunk of one man's life - and not a "same old, same old" sort of life.

"Every vintage is different. There are challenges with each — some vintages are easier than others, but I enjoy both really" Mooney says.

He remains passionate about wine and wine making.

"Some of the people I have worked with have been really great people and I reflect on that a bit."

He also acknowledges the personal support the industry provided when his wife Kate developed cancer in 2006.

A trust launched to raise funds for her treatment was hugely successful. He says they donated the surplus to other organisations to help other people with cancer.

In the beginning

Mission Estate was established in Greenmeadows in 1851 by a group of French Missionaries, Brothers of the Marist Order.

One of the last to work in the cellars was Brother John Cuttance. He mentored and influenced the young Mooney's development as a winemaker in his early days at the Mission Estate.

"He was an awesome guy, a great mentor and a very, very good winemaker" Mooney said.

Cuttance had worked alongside oenologists from France's University of Bourdeaux in France. He was a major influence on Mooney's development as a winemaker.

This involved much study and collaboration with other local vintners, some of whom had been trained in Australia.

At first he used the "primitive" gear available until the Mission Estate began to expand and change things.

"It was only later, in the 90s when we got vineyards on the Gimblett Gravels, that we started to make more sort of serious and interesting wines."

Fermenting success

Mooney thinks he may have been the first winemaker in New Zealand to make a whole-bunch pressed, barrel-fermented chardonnay - in 1983, though he acknowledges others have also made the same claim.

He's had great vintages and terrible ones.

His first vintage was terrible. Seminary students ankle-deep in mud had to pick the grapes.

"We even worked on Good Friday. But this was tremendous fun ... heightened by making friends with many of the students."

His favourite vintage was 2009 he says.

"That was a vintage where all the fruits were fantastic. We have still got wines in the cellar in the wine library and they are just really fabulous still."

Mooney thinks this year's vintage is close to the quality of the 2009 one.

It's a high note for him to finish on and a positive start for head winemaker Alex Roper who will take over Mooney's role.

"He is very, very competent and I thought it is probably time to let him have a crack at it, do his thing and make the wine" Mooney says.

In 2019, Mooney was honoured by Hawke's Bay Winegrowers with a life membership in recognition of his services to the region.

Source

• NZ Herald

Promoters said the tickets have all sold bar a "small allocation" of extra tickets that will go on sale next week. continue reading

Ahead of its time Mooney says "Mission is also being sustainable because it's the right thing to do".

"The Mission's focus is very much in line with Pope Francis' commitment to sustainability", he says.

Mooney says that sustainability is just as much at the heart The Mission Estate's core values, as are Mission's roots, and maintaining its commitment to being an authentic artisan wine producer.

Quietly, he also admits that when it comes to sustainability, he is "wired that way ... it's like an obsession".

Sustainability pays off

The Mission Estate now says they use a third of the energy of the average winery of their size.

Mooney however is reluctant to claim Mission Estate is an industry leader.

Rather, he feels The Mission's approach to producing fine wines is to authentically and quietly work away on sustainability, and to take seriously Mission's commitment to ensuring it leaves a small energy, water and resource-use operational footprint.

"Those who know Paul know it is not a marketing or PR strategy, but a genuine commitment to Mission's values and beliefs", says former assistant winemaker Br Matthew Morris SM who has known Mooney for 40 years.

Environmentally certified for 20 years

The Mission is one of the five wineries who ini­tially set up an Environmental Management System.

In 1998 it obtained ISO Certification recognising its ongoing commitment to sustainable viticulture and wine-making practices; two elements that are now common practice.

1998 also saw Mission Estate starting to run some of its vineyard blocks organically.

Further sustainability steps, including additional capital investment for a new winery, delivered even greater benefits.

Mission Estate CEO Peter Holley says the sustainability focus is also financially rewarding, and ensures a positive return on invest­ment for shareholders in their support of charitable works in New Zealand.

Quality award-winning wine

The success of these environmental initiatives are not only environmental and financial; Mission is consistently producing better wine.

For example, at Easter this year, Mission Estate won gold medals for the 2015 Jewelstone Syrah and 2017 Estate Pinot Gris picked up gold medals at the prestigious Royal Easter Show Wine Awards.

For the Jewelstone Syrah this award further cements Mission Estate as one of New Zealand's top Syrah producers and it comes off the back of the 2014 vintage also winning gold at Royal Easter Show and Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

In addition, the 2013 vintage won both gold and then went on to pick up the coveted trophy and the International Wine Challenge considered by many to be the world's finest and most meticulously judged wine competitions.

Mission Estate's approach to sustainability

Key in Mission Estate's approach to sustainability is the Society of Mary, (Mission's owners) who established astute governance, with a Board and CEO who are genuinely supportive of the sustainability focus and initiatives.

Outlining the move to sustainability, Mooney said Mission Estate started small and without modern technology.

It set small projects to begin monitoring and measuring key components of their opera­tion from soil testing to energy use.

"While these metrics are now common practice in the industry, they weren't 17 years ago", he said.

With a degree of satisfaction Mooney notes that Mission's modern technology means Mission constantly moni­tors the winery's energy usage, including finding the "coefficient of per­formance" (COP) of their plant.

Other steps Mission Estate Winery have taken to improve it environmental sustainability include

• installing new lighting
• removing all diesel machinery
• installing an inverter on the condensing heat exchanger
• installing a separate glycol system
• combining the use of compressors and running these as close to capacity as possible for high energy efficiency
• using self-­generated nitrogen which does not contribute to climate change (instead of CO2)
• operating on-site bottling
• operating on-site warehousing
• regular main­tenance of equipment,
• regular checks for any leaks in refrig­eration and air compressor systems

Over the years, leading edge viti­culture techniques have been introduced including

• precision Viticulture which identifies the variation in the vineyards using different sensors that link to a global positioning system; enabling produce maps to optimise the vineyard's performance and help produces better quality wine
• use of thermal mass construction.

"We have clear benchmarks in place across a number of measures and sustainability is now an part of the Board's business plan", Mooney says.

Mooney graduated from University with a physics degree. Before joining Mission Estate as a trainee winemaker he was a DSIR technican on Campbell Island and then a trainee Field Engineer role for a French American Oil exploration company.

He became Head Winemaker at Mission in 1982.

Sources

• Society of Mary
• Mission Estate
• Image: Mission Estate

It sort of still does.

In 1995 the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference decided that, "Given the more frequent practice of Holy Communion under both kinds, it seems opportune to assure priests that it is no longer necessary always to use 'ecclesiastically approved' wine".

A widespread practice developed using table wines purchased in supermarkets and liquor outlets for use in the Eucharist.

The Bishops did not say that all wines can be used.

Caulton urged

After seeking advice from the New Zealand Wine Institute, in 1993 Canon Lawyer Fr Michael O'Dea concluded that in general, most New Zealand table wines fitted the canonical criteria.

However, Fr O'Dea warned, because of possible additives there is a need to be cautious, especially about the use of cask wine.

He noted, altar wine must be the pure fermented juice of the grape, and, for example, Port and Sherry, cannot be used.

Today, Mission Estate's winemaker Paul Mooney broadens the caution.

He says a wide variety of additives may be used during the process of winemaking in New Zealand; concluding some wines possibly do not fit the canonical criteria.

Letter from Rome

A recent letter to Bishops from the Vatican department responsible for the sacraments asked all bishops to "watch over the quality of the bread and wine to be used at the Eucharist and also those who prepare these materials."

The letter was simply a reminder to bishops; a call to vigilance.

It established no new criteria.

For many years in New Zealand much of the wine used for sacramental purposes was made by Mission Vineyards in Hawkes Bay.

Established in the 1850's the Mission produced table wine for the French fathers and brothers, and altar wine for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Some 170 years on Mission Estate Winery now sells its table wine, but still provides a reasonably priced altar wine which is somewhat sweet through the presence of residual sugar and 'stable' for at least a week after opening.

Mooney says the Mission's altar wine sales suffered as a result of the change in policy made in the 1990's.

However in a statement to CathNews, he said Mission has checked its processes with the Vatican and obtained approval for any additives used in its winemaking.

He says that if people want to be sure about the validity of the wine they use for the Eucharist they can confidently use Mission Altar wine.

Source

• Supplied: NZCBC. Paul Mooney
• Image: Te Ara

Approaching the extensive property, the first thing to steal your attention is an avenue of plane trees, the solid trunks, 57 in total, have stood sentry here alongside fields of vines since 1911, chaperoning visitors up to La Grande Maison in all its opulence.

The location is undeniably magnificent. Views to the countryside and the distant sea will take your breath away but the Mission's history most took my fancy.

The walls are covered with photos and artefacts, clues that help to unlock the mysteries of the estate's rich history and, with the help of Trevor, the cellar door manager, we were taken on a trip back in time.

Starting in France in 1838, the seeds of this fruity tale were sown when a group of French missionaries were granted Papal permission to head for the godless isles of New Zealand.

The brothers, unafraid of adventure, packed up their monastery and sallied forth to the Antipodes.

All aboard the good ship Dauphine, the brothers took with them everything they'd need to offer Holy Communion to the savage souls they hoped to convert along the way.

Of course holy water wouldn't suffice - they'd need wine, and plenty of it, sacramental and for drinking with meals. No need to rough it completely just because you're headed to the very end of the earth.

And around the globe the brothers sailed, tending their beloved vines as they went.

Arriving in Russell, the Hellhole of the Pacific, the first Mass was said alongside the Anglicans and then off to Hawkes Bay they went to start their own patch - only the brothers got quite lost.

Arriving in Poverty Bay thinking they were in Hawkes Bay, the men started to put down roots. Two years later, a search party found them and told them they'd got the wrong bay. Oops.

Maps weren't as detailed back then. In fact, few had even been drawn. So they upped sticks and set off again, walking for six weeks until eventually they arrived at their correct destination, Hawkes Bay. Continue reading

Sources

• Elisabeth Easther, writing in The New Zealand Herald. Elisabeth travelled to Hawkes Bay courtesy of Mission Estate.
• Image: supplied