Esk Valley sources the grapes it uses to produce its fine wines from two main wine regions in New Zealand - Hawkes Bay and Marlborough. All the fruit that goes to make Esk Valley wines comes either from their own vineyards or from long-term contracts with local growers who are all supported by a dedicated viticultural team. This combination enables Esk Valley to maintain a consistent, high quality.
Just behind the old winery lies Esk's famous terraced vineyard, believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand, with its stunning views over the bay and out to sea; home of the renowned ‘Heipipi The Terraces' wine.

Sourced from sites on clay soils in the Wairau Valley, the area is often referred to as the Southern Clays displaying robust, dark brambly fruit. The vines are trained on an upright vertical shoot positioned trellis and managed intensively to produce low yields of excellent quality fruit. Shoot thinning, bunch thinning and leaf plucking are all undertaken in the pursuit of quality.

The fruit was destemmed and soaked before fermentation with wild yeast in opentopped fermenters. Hand plunging employed to gently extract tannin and colour. When dry the wine was pressed to both tank and barrel for malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged in French oak barriques of which were 4% new.

Enjoy with a wide range of meat and game dishes including duck, salmon and tuna.