New Zealand in pictures: North Canterbury

My NZ adventure began at Pegasus Bay on a gorgeous summer day that showed off the estate’s lush Japanese-inspired landscaped gardens to full effect. Planted by the Donaldson family in 1985, Pegasus Bay’s Waipara Valley vineyard put North Canterbury on the New Zealand wine map.

During a tour and tasting we got to chat to winemaker Matthew Donaldson, one of four Donaldson brothers who run the estate, which, in addition to 40 hectares vines, boasts olive and fig trees. A third of the estate is planted with Pinot, a third with Riesling and a third with other varieties.

While Riesling is the great white focus at Pegasus bay, we also got to try the 2003 vintage of the estate’s Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc blend, which focuses on texture and palate weight rather than knockout aromatics. This pic of the 1992 vintage shows off Pegasus Bay’s first label, featuring Pegasus – the winged horse in Greek Mythology. This label was soon scrapped for the modern version still used to this day.

Our next stop took us to Black Estate, run by husband and wife duo Nick and Pen Naish. During the visit we were treated to a delicious lunch of small plates made from local ingredients at the estate’s stellar restaurant overlooking a patchwork quilt of vines. After lunch we were given a tour of the estate’s three hair-raisingly steep organic hillside vineyards planted on limestone soils, including one called ‘Damsteep’!

Sadly the tour didn’t involve a ride on this swish speedboat…

Over lunch, Nick and Pen explained more about their hands off philosophy at their estate, and their aim to make wines that are true to their site, with no additives or fining, and minimal sulphur at bottling. “There’s a lot of UV light in Canterbury and you can feel it in our wines,” says Nick.

One of the wines that most caught our eye was their whole bunch pressed Chenin Blanc pet nat, which has proved so popular it’s already sold out.

During lunch we spotted The Crater Rim’s winemaker Haydon Good sporting the first of many cheeky slogan t-shirts we snapped during our two-week tour, no doubt generously donated by Pegasus Bay.

Our final visit of the day took us to Greystone Wines, where the affable Nik Mavromatis drove us to a number of the estate’s stunning vineyard sites. During our vineyard tour, the Canterbury’s famous Nor’wester wind howled like a tormented beast, whipping up warm air and dust in our wake. “The wind can drive people mad – the murder rates go up when it’s in full flow,” Nik told us on the journey back to Christchurch.

The cheeky t-shirts continued at Greystone Wines – this irreverent Yoda number is sported by client winemaker and father of five Gav Tait, who is currently experimenting with amphora-aged whites and Pinot fermented outdoors, which, for some reason, lowers the alcohol level.