The outcrop of land on which these grapes were grown consists largely of weathered stones.  Millions of years ago these were torn off New Zealand’s mighty Southern Alps and deposited in selected valleys.  This individual terroir has shaped this wine.

The grapes from which this wine was made came from the oldest gewürztraminer vines in the Waipara Valley and were planted by the pioneer vigneron John McCaskey in the 1970’s.  With an early budburst, a warm summer and a lingering, dry autumn, the season was ideal for this variety.  We waited until the fruit was ultra-ripe (28 brix) late in the season before picking a small crop.