Derived from the traditional name for pear cider 'perry', it is perhaps better known overseas as 'babycham', and in 1996, Graeme Murray of Tullybarden thought he'd start producing perry and selling it under the name 'perrywinkle'. "It's a lovely drink," he enthused, "and I thought I'd make a go of it."
Marketing it was tough however. When in business on your own you need to be many things; entrepreneur, manager and sales marketing manager. "I'm just a technician. I set out to make things I knew I could make and made a pretty good job of them," Graeme said, master of understatement.
Two of his first vintage of fruit wines won gold medals in the 1996 NZ Fruit Wine Competition. A Feijoa Medium which won the Printpac UEB Trophy for best still white fruit wine, and Cider Medium Dry wine, which was awarded the ENZA Trophy for the best in competition. But ultimately, it has been his fruit juices that have become the toast of the town. Fruit juices that came about, almost by accident.
There were pears left over from making pear wine, and his longtime friend and compatriot Randal McMurtry of Upper Moutere suggested a man with some blackcurrants, and how the two fruit might go well together. "So I made some pear and blackcurrant juice, and I still had some pears left over and some lemons lying around, so I made a pear and lemon juice. Those were the first two juices I made."
As the popularity of the juices increased year after year, Graeme could afford to buy boysenberries. Psychologically the most difficult, as it involved fronting up with thousands of dollars every summer and keeping the fruit frozen until the apple and pear harvest matured months later.
Graeme does not grow any fruit himself, explaining that if growing your own fruit you would never get a better quality than what the fruit would let you. This way he can be selective.
"And I'm fussy. Because I am in a small way (business wise) I can pick and choose the apples I use. So I have protected my recipe, looked after it, and concentrated hard on getting just the right types of apples. There are new varieties coming through all the time, I try them out and see how they go."
Graeme has accepted this has trapped him in his niche because he cannot mass produce an item, to manufacture container loads he would have to take whatever apples were going. "One thing I can't do is double in size, but you have to decide if you are in a business or a lifestyle."
Most of the regions top cafes now serve Tullybarden juices, from Mapua's Smokehouse, Chez Eelco and Lambrettas, to the ever-popular Jesterhouse Café in Tasman, who also collaborated in the naming of Giggling Jester Scrumpy.
As the juice trade to cafes picked up, orchardists soon began approaching Graeme with their crops to process into juice for their gate sales, and the two have grown up together. "I have been so busy I struggle to find time for the wine now. The return of the shop is something to force me back into that side of the business. The winemaking is the fun bit, and its got kudos with it."
Last Labour weekend Graeme opened a new shop on the Inland Highway, Redwoods Valley, Nelson, a property he has been developing for two years, with the aim of having everything on one site. The distinctive name Tullybarden originates from the genealogy of the Murray name. The earliest known place associated with the name is the town of Tullibardine, Perthshire, Scotland, which coincidentally is the site of Scotland's first commercial brewery, and now a whiskey distillery. "But locals pronounce it 'tullybarden' and I love that. Trust the Scots to make it sound undignified, Tullybarden is much more earthy - and I like that."
