In 1997 we came to Waiheke and saw a piece of land that we thought would be ideal for growing a Merlot/Cabernet Franc of some stature - a wine we loved in its french incarnation of St Emilion.
Merlot is supposed to love clay if the french are to be believed and that is certainly the case here.
Nearly 10 years later the money had been saved, the house and winery were being built and the time for planting was upon us. That was 2006.
We had help knocking in the poles but the rest has been done by us. 150 stays on 75 rows and over 32km of wire! Nearly 3000 planting holes (Ok - contractors helped us with some).
Then follows the nervous wait, will the grapes be up to scratch? Have we chosen the right clones? Should we have gone with Syrah as our winemaker suggested?
We think the choices have turned out pretty well!
