Boutique Winery

Text Box: Pukeora Estate has been very fortunate to have Michael Bennett as our previous winemaker. Michael has done a brilliant job of establishing the winery in the bathroom basement of the original sanatorium buildings (see our History page). After many days of jack hammering stall walls out the winery shell was prepared. The original floor was already designed with wash down floors and walls complete with drains. Stainless steel wine fermentation and storage tanks with overall capacity of 23,000 litres are located around the winery periphery. Open plunge tanks are moved in during vintage for pinot noir fermentation. Various other tanks are located outside holding up to another 22,000 l. Numerous oak barriques are used to make up additional capacity for aging the wine. A barrel hall is planned to be located in another adjacent basement. The primary equipment for vintage is a Rauke crusher/destemmer capable of 4t/hour, a Vaslin PHP130 horizontal screw press for quantities of up to 1 tonne and a Willmes 2300 bag press for bigger volumes. Maximum planned capacity is for 50 tonnes per year. Max Annabell with much initial guidance from Michael has taken on the role as winemaker since the 2005 vintage. 2002 Vintage In 2002, the winery was put to the test with bought in grapes consisting of 3 tonnes of Riesling and 4t of chardonnay. 2004 Vintage (Estate grown) The 1st commercial harvest produced 9 tonnes of grapes. The weather was generally kind this season with very warm days around the festive season (up to 360C). A cool, wet January and February led to a nice warm, dry March, April to finish off the vintage. The wines still available from 2004 include: A few of the 290 cases of Pinot Noir Some of the 220 cases of The Benches Red (90 % Merlot/10% Cab.Sauv) 2005 Vintage The season was influenced by unusually strong winds in Dec followed by a cool flowering period. This resulted in a much reduced yield. Early 2005 was hot and dry, March was damp but in April there was sufficient heat for picking in April with the fruit generally in good shape. It’s a pity the quantity was so low—only 3 tonnes were picked. Of this only the reds are to be released. The wines available are: 100 cases Pinot Noir • 45 cases The Benches Red 2006 Vintage A steady build of heat through spring with no major weather events set us up with a fine fruit set to enter into summer. A warm dry period in 2006 was broken by a little rain in March and a warm finish to Autumn with about 90% harvested before heavy rain in late April. A very satisfying vintage, good quality fruit and 20 tonnes picked. Wine available to Dec 2006 is some of following production: •50 cases pinot Gris • 40 cases sauvignon blanc (from nearby Gravel Mill vineyard) •25 cases semillon • 500 cases chardonnay Wine still in barriques until autumn 2007 are: • Approx 500 cases pinot noir • Approx 130 cases The Benches

Text Box: Michael Bennett, toiled away for months fitting out the boutique winery in the basement of the old sanatorium …

FILM LOCATION │ LINKS │ WINE │ WEDDINGS │ UP-COMING EVENTS │ FEEDBACK & COMMENTS

Home Page | Pukeora History | Hillside Vineyard | Boutique Winery | Convention Venue | Accommodation | Cafe | Activities @ Pukeora | Cottage / B & B | Contact Us