Their philosophy centres on great terroir and traditional ways of working, the aim being to make all wines as naturally as possible. The use of indigenous yeast from their own vineyard for fermentation as well as ensuring that they add nothing to the wines other than a little sulphur prior to bottling results in wines of pure, vibrant character. The focus is on producing dry aromatic and skin-fermented white wines in a very clean and direct style. Their vineyard at Millar Road has proven pedigree being in proximity to and on similar soils, slope and aspect as Te Mata’s Coleraine vineyard, one of New Zealand’s most accoladed sites. Bearing in mind that more than 90% of New Zealand’s vineyards are on flat land with alluvial gravel soils, this soil and site produces very distinctive wines in a New Zealand context. The site is a standout location for viticulture being situated on a north-facing hillside with slopes up to 30 degrees. Soils are lime-rich clay with volcanic influence. In total the estate encompasses just under 20 hectares, with just 9 hectares planted to vines – 8 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc  and almost 1 hectare of Pinot Gris (approximately 1,800 vines only!). All were planted in 2004 and 2005. The company gained full organic certification with BioGro New Zealand in March 2015 and commenced biodynamic farming practices in 2015.