In top gear

Ed Lamont doesn’t do things by halves. There’s no end to the projects he has in mind and he’s tackling them all at full speed. Words: Lyn barnes. Photos: Mike Heydon.

* See the end of this article for ways to spend a weekend in Arrowtown

SO MUCH FOR RETIRING at 45. Ed Lamont has been far too busy. The former racing-car driver and founder of motor retailing magazine Auto Trader could have cruised for the rest of his life when he sold his publishing business in 1993. But Ed’s a man who needs to have a project and a big one at that. And as with businesses in his past life, he means business; he likes to get a job done and done well. If that means upsetting someone, then so be it. “People say I’m a grumpy old bugger but it’s more about attention to detail, especially if something is being done wrong or can be improved,” says the immaculately groomed 60-year-old.

Mount Soho Winery, two kilometres from Arrowtown, is Ed’s latest venture. North-facing, the secluded 48.5-hectare valley farm has 180° views of the spectacular mountain range that starts with Coronet Peak on the left, places Mt Soho straight ahead and Cardrona to the right. The towering schist-columned main entrance way of the new winery building looks south to the Remarkable Range and Queenstown’s highest ski field. So it’s not hard to imagine how dramatic the winery courtyard looks when re-enactments of The Lord of the Rings are held there for private functions. Gandalf and Frodo look-alikes appear over a ridge to mingle with guests while three black stallions gallop around the courtyard decorated in gold, green and tartan.

The U-shaped winery, designed by Queenstown-based architect Michael Wyatt and completed in 2004, took four years to build. Ed and wife Carol opened it for business two and a half years ago, catering for the occasional private function or wedding. Now, through word of mouth, it’s become a popular spot. Last October an international company hired the entire site for a $300,000 extravaganza, beginning with a $60,000 fireworks display followed by a seven-course meal which included lobster. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was flown in for a week of rehearsals to ensure the acoustics worked well in the expansive halls before she sang for guests. “People like the privacy aspect,” explains Carol.

Evidence of Ed’s hard work and handiwork is everywhere. The bar in the 160sqm Little Antler Room is made from a boat’s teak duckboard which he’s inlaid with local stones and its upright stainless-steel columns are rollers salvaged from a linen mill. He also made the antler chandeliers and built the wood-fired pizza oven. Like most things Ed does, it has another purpose: the ducting from the oven heats the room. “You have to be resourceful in the south,” he jokes. Wheels from an old racing car form windows in his glasshouse and he’s currently installing a fire in the hothouse so he can grow exotic plants and mushrooms. “I’m a lateral thinker. I always like to do three things on the way to the shop,” he says as we fast-track it around the winery.

Ed knows about fires because he once owned Warmington Fires and Fires by Design in Auckland’s East Tamaki. In fact, he’s done everything from picking pineapples for a living to mechanics, boat building and working in the printing industry. It’s obvious this man’s mind works overtime. Everything in the winery is automated and moveable. The building itself is multi-purpose with self-draining polished concrete floors throughout and a freezer on forklift platforms so it can be moved out for cleaning or if more space is needed during vintage. Even the two identical accommodation units at the back of one of the two wings can be emptied to extend the winery.

Now he and Carol have another project or two – building a winemaker’s house and their own home which will be called The Observatory House; they currently live upstairs in an apartment in the winery’s east wing. The Observatory House will be suspended across a valley, like a bridge span, covering about 65 metres. “The top will be at ridge height on both sides and will blend into the landscape with an earth and gravel covering growing tussock and small mountain plants. You will be able to walk over it,” explains Ed. “The suspended floor below will include all the living areas plus the observatory hall and lounge featuring a state-of-the-art electronic telescope and a big wall screen. Ground level will have a wine cellar and boiler room carved out of the valley walls as well as undercover parking.” Designed by another group of Queenstown-based architects, Kerr Ritchie, the house will feature a full-length glass service hallway on the suspended floor. Heated glass walls and privacy glass will darken at the flick of a switch. The house will overlook a ridge of established grapevines.

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