Vineyards

Henderson Valley Vineyard

Our Henderson Valley Vineyard is divided into 3 blocks known as Top, Middle and Bottom. The Bottom block (pictured top) was where our pioneers planted the very first grape vines using wood from the nearby forrests as trellising. Over the years the varieties in this block have changed and today its predominantly planted in Malbec, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc and of course Muscat, trained overhead and is the oldest commercially grown grape vines in New Zealand. The soil type is alluvial and is planted along the Opanuku Creek which flows down from the famous Waitakere Ranges and into the Waitemata Harbour. The Middle Block was the second block to be planted in-front of the winery and homestead and today this block is mainly Malbec and Cabernet and finally the Top Block which was last planted in the 1980's; is very heavy-clay and planted in Chambourcin and various rare Muscat which strive growing on the elevated and sloping land.

Hawkes Bay Vineyard

The Hawkes Bay is today the source of many of our wines, predominantly red grape varieties. While we grow grapes in various locations across the Hawkes Bay, two sub-regions stand out the most; Bridge Pa (pictured above) and Gimblett Gravels. The varieties grown in these districts are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. All fruit harvested from Hawkes Bay is transported and processed at our Auckland winery. Hawkes Bay is today vital to our wine business and the region is now famous world-wide for its quality wines.

Marlborough Vineyard, Awatere Valley

Marlborough is now world-famous for Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough is our companies southern most wine-growing region and today we grow all our Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough's Awatere Valley. Marlborough is an important source of cool-climate wines for our winery and will continue to be an important region for our winery in the future as worldwide demand for Sauvignon Blanc increases. All our fruit grown in Marlborough is crushed, pressed and fermented in Blenheim and transported to Auckland for finishing, bottling and warehousing.

A Beautiful Moment

When our founder, patriarch and industry pioneer Ivan Tvrdeic left his homeland in Croatia in search for a better life on the other side of the world he left his family behind and everything he had.

While he built his new life in New Zealand his father always wondered about this land of promise far away. One of his proudest moments was to have a chance to bring his very own father for a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand to show him our new home, the winery and the beautiful country he settled in that is New Zealand.

Pictured is our Great-Grand Father reunited with his Grandson in the 1970's driving the Massey Ferguson Tractor in the Henderson Valley Vineyard.