The Writer’s Block is the personal project of Brendan Seal who is making tiny volumes of single vineyard wines from Central Otago. A winemaker with extensive experience in the region making wine there since 1999, including roles at Chard Farm, Mt Difficulty and Mount Edward, Brendan has made Pinot Noir in Oregon and California, in addition to work in Alsace, Cyprus and the U.K. In 2013, Brendan set up the Packspur Wine Studio, a small-scale contract facility to produce wines for himself and small-volume premium clients such as Georgetown Vineyard and Kalex.
His Writer’s Block label is a vehicle to produce distinctive wines from unique vineyard sites and often involve some experimentation with winemaking techniques. Like an author, Brendan only intends to release when he feels the vineyard and winemaking has "something worthwhile to say”. The analogy continues "authors write all the time, but they don’t release everything they write”.
Two barrels of Pinot Noir were produced from a Bannockburn vineyard in both 2009 and 2010 to start the project. No wine was made in 2011 and 2012. Brendan will have 70 cases of a Bendigo Terraces Pinot Noir and 100 cases of an Alexandra Pinot from the 2013 vintage. Brendan vinified a total of 28 tonnes at the Wine Studio in 2013 for himself and his clients, a size which allows him to do all the work himself and focus on optimum quality. www.thewritersblock.co.nz
In 2016, Brendan established URBN VINO, an urban winery in a heritage building in Dunedin where her transported fruit from Central Otago to vinify. This is a concept that has proven very successful overseas, and can also be seen in the proliferation of craft breweries in cities. He has continued to expand the venture with the assistance of crowd funding. He plans to move his base of operation to Dunedin for the 2018 vintage and will offer an interactive wine experience in winemaking for groups visiting his urban winery. The wines made will be under the Urbn Vino Dunedin label. www.urbnvino.nz
Archived tasting notes on wines no longer commercially available can be seen by clicking here
