Schaafsma teams up with Ben Glover on ‘Mr Glover’ wine brand

Ex-Accolade CEO Paul Schaafsma has teamed up with New Zealand winemaker Ben Glover, a former group winemaker at Accolade, to launch a new personality-driven wine brand in the UK, which he describes as “the most exciting” to have come out of New Zealand in the past five years.

Winemaker Ben Glover

Glover has been producing wines under the Mr Glover wine brand on a small scale for the past four years, but not in the UK. Now, with the backing of Schaafsma’s own distribution company, Benchmark Drinks, the pair have “dialled up” the brand for the UK market, putting Glover centre stage, with the aim of also showing consumers a different style of Sauvignon from New Zealand in contrast to the fruit-forward, aromatic style that it’s known for.

“What we have tried to do is create confidence that there is a person behind this brand,” says Schaafsma. “The name Mr Glover is a bit of fun. It’s a bit tongue in cheek, but it’s intended to ensure that consumers know that there is a personality and a winemaker behind that brand and someone who cares about the wine. Ben has an enormous amount of experience and credibility. A lot people understand that, and realise that they are buying into someone who has a passion for New Zealand and is trying to do something different.”

The Mr Glover wine brand

Acknowledging the popularity of NZ Sauvignon Blanc, he added: “There’s almost a general style that some Sauvignon Blanc producers have stepped into, which means they are not as interesting as they could be.”

Initially, the brand will launch with a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which remains the “flag in the sand” for New Zealand, but importantly is not tied to a specific region or vineyard, unlike Glover’s Marlborough-based single vineyard brand Zephyr, allowing greater flexibility in grape sourcing and volumes.

In the future, Glover plans to extend the range to include a Sauvignon Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, potentially from Central Otago, but also Waipara and Hawke’s Bay. However Glover is keen to stress that the brand will be variety-led, rather than regional.

“I’m set up with my own family business with GFV, and that’s the Zephyr brand,” explains Glover. “But it’s restricted to our farm, so it’s always going to be a single vineyard proposition and more a story of who are are as a family. Mr Glover was born out of not having to have that one piece of land. It’s all about getting the best out of a parcel of land or region that I think works well in a style that speaks of where it’s from.”

“Essentially, it’s a way for me to explore other plots. Some will be picked from vineyards across Marlborough and maybe the Glover house, but there might be other plots that I pick up on by talking to farmers or at The Coterie.”

The Coterie is Glover’s most recent project, which has seen him purchase, together with his business partner Rhyan Wardman, Seresin’s Marlborough winery and turn it into a collaborative winemaking facility called The Coterie.

The sale of the winery included three hectares of organic vineyard, with the pair now working to create a winemaking hub that champions “small-batch, single-site wines”.

This philosophy of exploration will feed into the Mr Glover brand, with the intention of pushing the conversation surrounding New Zealand beyond Sauvignon Blanc to other varieties, and also highlighting less conventional styles of Sauvignon Blanc.

“A lot of the commentary surrounding New Zealand is on what else besides Pinot Noir and Sauvignon blanc?” says Schaafsma. “That’s something that Ben has been championing for some while. Mr Glover wines are not generic. They have a unique style.

“In an ideal world we would partner with someone that understands the demand for this kind of brand and the opportunities it creates, and retailers that are not just looking for generic Sauvignon Blanc, but those that are looking at other varieties and seeing how they can be developed with Ben, given the experience he’s had. We have already received a lot of interest. Ben is putting his name to it and people want to know more.”

While the pair are still scoping out retail partners, the wines are aimed at the off-trade and will sit at the £9-£10 mark, discounted to £7, which Schaafsma says is the “sweet spot” for New Zealand wines.

“It’s a privilege to work with one of the best wine makers in New Zealand on a brand that he’s prepared to out his name on,” added Schaafsma.

“To me it’s one of the most exciting New Zealand brands to come to the market in the last five years. No other brand is doing what we are about to do in a market that is looking for it. Consumers are looking for it. Buyers are looking for it, and now with [Ben’s] new winery he’s in a position to deliver it.”