Ringed by mountains and interlaced with lakes and deep river gorges, Central Otago is one of the world’s most spectacular settings for vineyards. It is one of the hottest, coldest and driest regions in New Zealand. The climate and unique terroir combined make this area one of the best for producing premium Pinot Noir.

In 2008, we bought a small patch (20 acres / 9 hectares) of paddock on the Bendigo Loop Road in Central Otago. Bendigo is the warmest of the Central Otago winegrowing areas and our little vineyard is the warmest one in Bendigo ensuring consistent ripening year on year. This vineyard is dedicated solely to Pinot Noir.

The soil is free-draining sand over schist. Due to its Southern latitude the days are long – sometimes up to 18 hours of daylight during the summer months. The hottest part of the day is usually around 4pm, so the rows are planted and oriented to take full advantage of these conditions.

A variety of clones were selected for this site to deliver a wide range of flavours in the wine and to produce elegant, yet complex and clean fruit-driven wines.

We named the block “Someone’s Darling” as legend holds the following: in the mid-1800s, a local farmer found the body of a young man on a nearby property. He buried him and for the lack of name, identity or kin, he simply engraved on the coarse wooden cross “Someone’s Darling”.

This vineyard is Sustainable Winegrowing (SWNZ) accredited.