I visited Rod McDonald in his beautifully situated winery in Te Awanga. This is a cool, coastal part of Hawke’s Bay that’s getting quite a reputation for its Chardonnay. Rod…
The 2016 vintage selection from the Gimblett Gravels, in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay
The 2016 vintage was a good one in the Gimblett Gravels. It was just a touch cooler than average (GDDs 1430 as opposed to an LTA of 1500), but it…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (9) Trinity Hill’s Homage Syrah
Trinity Hill planted their first Syrah in the Gimblett Gravels in 1995, using cuttings from Stonecroft, a clone known as Mass Selection. The first vintage was 1997. The current releases…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (8) De La Terre
De La Terre is a Hawke’s Bay gem, and it’s the project of Tony and Kaye Prichard. Both started their careers as food technologists. For a long time, Tony was…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (7) Clearview Estate
Matt Kirby is an Aussie winemaker who previously worked in the Clare Valley. But he migrated to New Zealand is now the winemaker at Clearview Estate in Hawke’s Bay. His…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (6) Paritua
Paritua is an impressive property, with a state-of-the-art winery and a sizeable 54 hectares of vineyards surrounding it, based in the Bridge Pa district of Hawke’s Bay. The vineyard…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (5) Sileni and their Pinot Noirs
It’s all change at Sileni, which has just been bought by New Zealand financial service company Booster. Booster have also recently purchased Waimea Estate (Nelson) and Bannockbrae (Central Otago), and…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (4) Collaboration Wines
Julianne Brogden is only 40, but she’s already been making wines for 23 years now. She’s Hawke’s Bay born and bred, and worked briefly in the region, before heading out…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (3) Ash Ridge
In 2000, Chris Wilcock bought a peach orchard in the Bridge Pa district of Hawke’s Bay. At the time, he was working as a banker (he had spells in Switzerland,…