Boutique New Zealand winery’s grand plans for future

The Glover family in Marlborough are firmly making their mark as a small but mighty producer with an award-winning array of aromatics and Pinot Noir.

Lucky Jack Glover has been surrounded by wine all his life. After being inspired by other Marlborough pioneers, his parents, Owen and Wendy converted their dairy farm in Dillons Point to vine in 1985 and initially planted Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay before turning their hand to Gewürztraminer in 1991.

The Glover family’s passion for producing top-quality wines came into fruition in 2007 when they launched their own brand, Zephyr wines. With a focus on their Sauvignon, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, Zephyr quickly caught the attention of UK critics with Tim Atkin stating, “If I were to choose one Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at the moment it would be Zephyr” and Matthew Jukes including the Gewürztraminer in his Best 60 New Zealand wines of 2009.

Jack’s elder brother Ben is now the chief winemaker at the 30 hectare estate after 15 years at Wither Hills and due to his leadership, has ensured the wines have continued to be in the New Zealand spotlight. For Jack, his focus is on expanding Zephyr’s reach globally.

“I’m always going to be involved with wine but more on the business side,” says Jack who is currently global sales and marketing manager for Accolade Wines and sits on the Board for Wine Marlborough. “I have a degree in wine marketing and worked for Lion Nathan in Australia as well as doing a spell in California. I went back to New Zealand to work at Pernod Ricard in Auckland but found I wanted to get out of the city so I returned to Marlborough to work for the Mud House Wine Group which is now Accolade Wines. With Zephyr, I’m concentrating on our distribution and raising our profile around the world.”