The Australian Actor talks discusses the mysterious Otago Pinot, bizarre vineyard tomfoolery and his marvelous sheepdog.

Whether it be outrunning a Tyrannosaurus Rex Jurassic Park or playing the concerned parent in The Horse Whisperer, Sam Neil's diversity can also be seen in his wine. The Pinot Noir maker began his endeavors in 1993, picking the New Zealand’s Pinot paradise—Central Otago, in the country’s South Island, the southernmost wine-growing region in the world. Today his Two Paddocks produces 5,000 cases of wine annually, including two premium single-vineyard Pinot Noirs (The Last Chance and First Paddock) plus the lower-priced Picnic brand. Wine Enthusiast caught up with Neil between blue-ribbon judging at the WINPAC wine festival in Hong Kong and red-carpet-treading at the Berlin Film Festival for his latest release, Angel, directed by François Ozon.

Sam Neill: First of all I very much approve of your magazine’s name. Enthusiasm is the first thing that comes to mind when I talk about wine.
Wine Enthusiast: I understand that wine was “bred into you” from your father, a wine importer.

SN: It’s not only my father’s influence—I come from generation after generation that has been hopelessly enthralled by wine. Neill & Company, which was founded 1859 by my great-great grandfather, imported wines from Bordeaux. It’s amazing how many Irish families are in the wine business when you can’t grow wine grapes in Ireland—Lynch-Bages, Hennessy...all these Irish names.

WE: You grew up in Dunedin on the coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Describe your early visits to Central Otago.

SN: My family went to Central whenever we could—in the winter to ski, in the summer to camp. In those days, the trip took six to seven hours down dusty roads. Central always has been and remains my ideal, the place where I feel most at home. I get giddy with exhilaration at the power and beauty of its landscapes. The fact that it’s also an extraordinary place to grow wine is a happy coincidence.

WE: On the Two Paddocks Web site, you refer to yourself as “The Proprietor.” How involved do you get in the vineyard and the winemaking?

SN: I’m active in every part of the process. Dean Shaw [winemaker] and Richard Flatman [vineyard manager] pretend to defer to me. I have my own John Deere tractor I ride on. I put on earmuffs, sing to myself, and fortunately the tractor drowns out the noise of my singing—I’m not a very good singer. I also insist that every part of the winemaking has to be enjoyable. If it weren’t fun, it wouldn’t be worth the effort—the same as my acting career.

WE: What makes the Pinot Noirs from Central Otago unique?