Wine Style

The vineyard team work hard to produce fruit of the highest quality, and the winemaker's mission is to preserve the flavour and concentration in the wine with the minimum of intervention during the winemaking process.

Pinot Noir - our flagship variety - is ideally suited to the clay soils of the Moutere area. Modern Burgundian clones have been matched to microclimate in small blocks, individually managed to maintain vine balance. The results so far have been a Pinot Noir with the concentration of flavour that one searches for in this variety – a wine that is rich and supple, yet well structured, with moderate use of French oak, complementing the fruit but not dominating it.

Sauvignon Blanc is produced on our Burke's Bank vineyard on the Waimea Plains. It displays the union of the subtle herbaceous notes, typical of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with ripe melon, tropical fruit aromas and a fine minerality typical of the Nelson region.

Our Riesling vines, planted in vineyards on the Moutere clays and the Waimea gravels, are just babies – so we currently produce a single Riesling. As the vines mature we anticipate making two distinctive styles of Riesling reflective of the soils; a weightier, more complex wine from the Moutere clays, contrasting with the aromatic, fragrant style from the stony soils of the Burke's Bank vineyard.

Pinot Gris is grown on both the Moutere clay vineyards and the gravels at Burke's Bank vineyard. We planted Pinot Gris on the clay soils as we expect the marriage of variety and soil to produce concentrated wines with, silky texture and complex characters. The vines planted on the gravels we expect to produce more fruit driven aromatic wines. To date we are excited by the early wines from both soils.

Our Pinot Rosé is made from Pinot Noir grapes grown expressly for this wine. The grapes are picked earlier than those for Pinot Noir, then gently crushed and held for a few hours of skin contact before pressing, to give the wine its attractive colour. Perfect for a summer's day this wine is reminiscent of crushed strawberries and creaming soda.

For detailed information about current releases and to purchase award-winning New Zealand wines on-line please browse our Online Wine Shop.