New Zealander Michael Seresin did not begin his career in wine. He was a PA at Pacific Films in New Zealand but, in 1966 inspired by his love of French and Italian films, he left for Europe to pursue a career as a freelance camera assistant. Two years later he was working with his future BFCS (the Brooks Fulford Cramer Seresin commercial film production company) partners, and from 1970 combined commercials work with shooting films. By the time he was 25 he had established himself as one of the industry's foremost cinematographers and has worked on films such as “Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, City Hall and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and, more recently, Gravity and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Michael continues his film-making career alongside his equally successful wine business, which came to fruition in the early 1990's. In Italy Michael loved the culture of food and wine - what wine embraced – and so Michael had a dream to make his own wine, and to make it in the most natural way possible with no compromise on quality. To this end he founded Seresin Estate in 1992 in the Marlborough region at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. Michael pioneered organic winemaking and traditional agriculture in the area, and this philosophy underpins everything they do at Seresin. The vineyards are certified organic by BioGro, (New Zealand's leading organic certification agency) and biodynamic by Demeter. 167 acres are under vine in three vineyards in the Marlborough Valley, cultivating Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Noir. In the fields you will see cow pat pits, for the formulation of biodynamic compost preparations which, along with the manure, include valerian, nettle, chamomile dandelion and oak bark. This is a new world winery with an old world approach. Everything is done very gently by hand. Seresin hand-pick and sort the grapes which are then whole-bunch pressed. Wild yeasts are utilized for fermentation with minimal intervention to allow the natural expression of the grapes to shine. The handprint logo, depicted on all of Seresin's labels, is an image of strength; gateway to the heart, tiller of the soil and the mark of the artisan. And these really are artisanal wines; crafted with passion, they express the essence of Marlborough in precise and complex wines with layers of flavour. T he Chiaroscuro blend befits the cinematographer to which the quality of light is paramount - Chiaroscuro is an Italian term which means light-dark, and refers to the balance and pattern of light and shade.