Discover Alana Wines
Locally owned, Alana are known to produce high-quality wines from their famed Martinborough site, award-winning wines from their Marlborough vineyard, Gisborne and soon to come Pinot Noir from the loved Central Otago region!
With the help of Glen and Karen's two kids, the Alana winery hand label 100% of their wines, this gives them the ability to add personable touches with allowing them to print and design any label a customer might want, perfect for a special gift, weddings or a corporate event, if this is of interest check out their website!
Alana has a lot of local support from the Wellington region and Alana is known to support several charitable causes. If you are ever in the beautiful Martinborough region, go check them out.
Scroll down to read our interview with Glen Molloy to get the inside scoop.
Glen and Karen Molloy
Owners of Alana Wines
Read our Interview with Glen Malloy
Glen and Karen Molloy, owners of Alana and true locals to the Martinborough region.
Growing up in wine loving families, we chat with Glen to dive a little deeper and understand a bit more of how he got to where he is now!
Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be a winemaker?
I have always loved wine, for me wine is the vehicle of celebration and the marking of special occasions. My father, loved wine too, he taught us how to pair foods with different wines from a young age. At 14, I remember he would send me down to the cellar to pick a wine for dinner, then he would quiz me about my choice in front of my brothers, and then get them to guess where it was from, it was great fun. So I have always wanted to produce wines that bring special moments into peoples homes.
In the world of wine, what's your secret weapon for staying calm during harvest seasons?
Well to be honest, I spend most of my time in the office, focusing on promoting and selling our wines now. We have a team of people who are much more experienced than me who know what they are doing with the grapes and dealing with the swings in our delicate weather patterns, I leave it to them.
Do you have any morning rituals before you head out to the vineyard?
My daily routine to keep me sane is an early morning walk with the dogs. This helps to keep me grounded before the onslaught of daily tasks emerge.
When it comes to food and wine, what is your guilty pleasure?
"Bubbles Darling!" To quote Jennifer Saunders from Absolutely Fabulous! This is my fav, I love to celebrate any occasion with a bottle of bubbles, not matter how small, for example, Yay the kids brought in the washing, Bubbles Darling!
As a winemaker, you must see some interesting things in the vineyards. Can you share a funny or quirky story that has happened in the past?
Well, my most recent embarrassment has been in my foray into social media! I was told we must raise our online profile to reach new customers. I jumped on Insta and started posting videos. Followers were slow to start with, but after a month numbers started to sky rocket. I thought I am a pro at this. Unbeknown to me, my kids were sharing my Insta videos to their friends at their schools and I was becoming a viral lunch time entertainment to high school students! Hmm not my target market, but on the upside maybe in the future...
What's one wine term that you secretly wish would disappear from all wine conversations and why?
Terroir, this is a snobby wine makers that means everything and anything you want it to. My frustration is that this type of speak distances us from our consumers. I think we should tone it down and say it how it is.
Has there been any new techniques or innovations that have caught your eye?
I am looking at packaging solutions, how do we reduce the waste in production and present our wines in sustainable vessels. This is tricky as the mass market still isn't ready for wine in a can, or a bladder. But there are small steps we can make on that path.
If grapes had personalities, which grape variety would be the class clown of the vineyard and why?
Has to be Gewürztraminer! This poor variety has a tough life, most people don't know how to pronounce it, and even worse what to do with it. It sits on the supermarket shelf and gets passed by! Its a shame as below the surface this is a great wine, especially paired with Asian foods.
What’s your go to cheeky Friday night wine from the Alana range?
Rosé, especially as the weather is getting warmer. Our Marlborough Rosé is stunning, the colour is interesting, a really light apricot colour, but don't be fooled it has depth and complex flavours, and thank goodness it's not sweet. Perfect for wine o'clock.
Lastly, is there any upcoming projects or new releases we should keep our eye out for?
Yes, I am developing a new charitable range of wines, where 100% of the profits go to a project in India (Joyya - we worked there many moons ago) that works to liberate women who have been trafficked and gets them back on their feet. I believe it is important to get involved with something bigger than ourselves and partner with people who don't have the privileges we have in the amazing country.
