Home Vineyard

Our Home Vineyard is a special place. When my father first purchased this block of land, we explored a section of forest, within which was an abandoned house. The house had been occupied last in the 1940’s, and this was evident by the newspaper clippings referencing World War 2. Surrounding the house was a garden which had also been abandoned. Peach, Pear and Plum trees all thriving after 70 years of neglect. Amongst these trees, was a grapevine, which in reverting to its primal state, had climbed to the top of a canopy of Totara trees, and hanging amongst these totara trees was a stand of perfectly juicy, ripe grapes. Later that evening, my father and I set a plan, that one day we would plant more vines, and let the land be what it was crying out to be. A vineyard.

First planted in 2015, our vineyard consists of a myriad of grape varieties and clones we have selected which we believe have the potential to convey a sense of place in our wines. As of 2020, we have planted Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Sauvignon Gris, Muscat de petit grains,  Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Marsanne, Roussanne, Albarino and Petit Manseng among the white varieties, as well as Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Petit Verdot and Pinot Noir among the reds.

Situated 20 kilometres inland from the Bay of Islands at 300 metres of altitude, we overlook all the land between Russell and the Purerua Peninsula and out toward Motu Kokako, the island which adorns our label.

Working atop beautiful volcanic gravelly loam soils, derived from a complex plain of ironstone and basalt mother rock, we’re extremely fortunate to have been gifted the custodianship of soils that play a role as an extremely generous medium for beautifully structured and complex wines. Wines from our site are noted for their firm, yet silken tannin structure, profound aromatic potential, and balanced weight and body.

Exposed, elevated and unirrigated, most of our vineyard is planted at a relatively high density of 5600 vines per hectare, and we farm our vineyard by foregoing the use of synthetic chemicals or fertilisers, given we raise our children in our cottage amongst the vines.

We are not currently open to public, but if you contact us and make an appointment, we would be delighted to show you around our Home.