the not serious Ashleigh Barrowman

Ashleigh Barrowman and I first met in Marlborough — Waterfall Bay to be precise. We were hosting hospo folk and wine retailers for a few days foray into MANA Winegrowers — a Marlborough collective of like-minded producers hell bent on sharing the love of the region through the lens of organic farming. At that time, Seresin was still a MANA member, which meant we had the very good fortune of kicking back in the bach of winery owner and Hollywood famous DOP, Michael Seresin (If you’ve watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, then you know his work). The pad, a piece of perfection by Architect Pete Bossley, set the scene for an extremely memorable few days talking shitski with people from the booze biz. Ashleigh and I clicked. I really enjoyed her company and we threatened each other with keeping in touch after that gig was over. We didn’t. 

But – I did watch on with deep admiration when she resurfaced a few years later visibly determined to dedicate herself to the craft of making jolly good wine. 

Ashleigh’s pathway into making her own gear was not known to me at all. She had been working with industry stalwarts, Therese and Hans Herzog, when we met.
But it was a chance encounter with a leather-pant clad, pony-tail sporting Frenchman called JJ, also known as Jean-Jacque Morel, who is perhaps most to blame for Ashleigh’s descent into the dark arts of making love potions that transcend the ethereal realms of heavenly nectars to a damn fine daily drop you just want to scoff with a slice of cheese. 

Burgundian gangsters aside, Ashleigh has made wine in Sicily, Jura and Australia all alongside equally notable makers. Her world had opened up and it was all about to lead to the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough, where she sources the fruit for her Siren wine label — a label of provocative and absolutely pitch-perfect design that colourfully references Tarot cards, eluding to the science and sorcery that is behind winemaking. 

So, pour yourself a glass of some ethereal elixir, burn a little energy-cleansing sage and get ready to shuffle your cards, this is the Not Serious Ashleigh Barrowman chat. 

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Special thanks to my pal, Benj Brooking of Popular.nz for his help with the editing. An expert filmmaker, editing these chats is being done as one mate helping another. Thanks Benj. You're a legend.

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