From a single parcel of late ripened Pinot Gris, planted to a steep half hectare block on Prophet's Home Vineyard. The recipe for making Vin de Paille dates back to 800BC, grapes are selectively hand picked onto racks and dried in the loft of a barn for several weeks, slowly whole bunch pressed and treated to thirteen months of ferment through the action of wild indigenous yeasts. A beguilingly layered and complex wine of extraordinary freshness and imposing structure, only sixty dozen bottles are made with each vintage.

Prophet's Rock were established in 1999, with a view to finding sites like no other. Rocky Point Vineyard is such a place, planted to some of the steepest blocks in Central Otago, at the rugged southern extremes of Bendigo. The challenging slopes are drenched in the daytime sunshine, as the rough and stony, free draining soils store the invaluable heat, warming the vines overnight. The Pinot Noir ripens earlier on Rocky Point Vineyard, realizing minimal yields of beautifully perfumed, structured yet supple wines which drink brilliantly in their youth.

The Home block at Prophet's Rock hosts a rare mix of soils, schist and quartz clays over a lens of alkaline chalk, all serving to stimulate the auspicious vines. Grapes are all fully destemmed and treated to a minimalist, hands off style of vinification, aimed at permiting the wine to make itself, uninfluenced and unperturbed. A succulent expression of Central Otago at its most exquisite, a jubilee of cherries, mineral and mace, seamless of tannin, graceful and intense. An extremely limited release from a tiny parcel of the most superlative vines, a mere sixty dozen bottles of vintage.

An assemblage of parcels Pinot Gris from the Home and Rocky Point vineyards, two warmer sites of Central Otago which yield a magnificently aromatic Pinot Gris. Hand picked grapes are whole bunch pressed and treated to an Alsace style of vinification, wild yeast ferments in small vessels followed by an extended term of age on sedimentery lees for texture and palate richness. Listed on Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck winelist and Winner Air New Zealand Fine Wine, Prophets Rock Pinot Gris is defined by its wonderful quince perfumes, mineral structure and remarkable freshness.

Prophet Rock's Home Vineyard was planted to a north facing terrac, high above the Bendigo Station homestead, to panoramic vistas across river terraces of Cromwell Basin and stoic mountains of Pisa Range. An opportune confluence of soils, aspect and clime translate into harvests of intensely flavoured Pinot Noir. Vinification to a regimen of minimalist handling techniques, a gentle ferment through the action of wild, indigenous yeasts, followed by eighteen months in oak, encourages the wine to make itself and to fulfill the promise of Central Otago's most remarkable terroir.

Prophet's Rock are a member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, the aim is to make the most articulate Central Otago wines in the most natural way, from fruit grown to an environmentally balanced vineyard. There's a single hectare of Riesling at Rocky Point vineyard, planted to opportune schist rock soils, it receives a lot of attention from the devout vineyard team. Yields are extremely low, averaging only 300 cases per vintage. A wild yeast ferment in small vessels and a term of age on sedimentery lees makes a structured Riesling style of vibrant floral citrus over strong underlying minerality.

A joint effort by Prophet Rock's Paul Pujol and Bonnes Mares Musigny maestro François Millet. The most superior parcels of Pinot Noir were selected by Millet from the Prophet's Home Vineyard, a magnificent site on a high elevation, steep glacial terrace at Bendigo. Ferments are plunged only once and moved without any pumps into a sellection of Rémond Allier for a judicious term of maturation. The traditional old world handling techniques meet the excellence of new world fruit, in a pas de deux which defines the sublime elegance of Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Waipara River passes through a town of the same name on its course to Pegasus Bay, thirty minutes north of Christchurch. The vines enjoy a sheltered position near the sea, where warm days, cool nights and a dry autumn, result in a very prolonged ripening period. Pegasus Bay believe that patience and attention to detail are central to growing the most powerful fruit and vinifying the most compelling wines. Concentrated and rich, a backbone of tangy mineral and acid helps to dry out the palate all the way across to the zippy finish, lingering, spicey and dry.

The enthusiastic maritime climes of Martinborough are heaven sent for a style and quality of Sauvignon Blanc to rival the world's finest. Mother nature sets the stage, but ultimately it is the thoughtful viticultural practices of the Palliser Estate team, which ensures a harvest of ripe and intensely flavoured Sauvignon Blanc at every vintage. Appealing and approachable, packed with delicious flavours, previous vintages have claimed Gold Medals Air New Zealand Wine Awards & Liquorland Top 1OO.

Palliser Estate make some of the finest and most consistent New Zealand Pinot Noir, a perennial winner and always a favourite, representing peerless quality every year. The label depicts a conspicuous lighthouse at Pencarrow Heads, situated to the east of Palliser Bay at the entrance to Wellington harbour. Martinborough is well known for making the New Zealand's most elegant and compelling Pinot wines, Palliser's fruit is acknowledged by many of her local peers to be Martinborough's finest.

This wholly seductive wine is one of the best received Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, with a distinguished history of amassing the nation's most coveted winemaking awards to prove it. Palliser has been named NZ Trade & Enterprise's New Zealand Food & Beverage Exporter of the Year, for displaying leadership in developing systems which identify environmental impacts. Year in and year out, Palliser is counted on to deliver an immaculately classy and clean, stylish Sauvignon Blanc, fresh and lively, simply overflowing with flavour.

Palliser Estate's vineyards were first planted in 1984 and the wines now produced are starting to show characters from these older vines. Riesling planted over a relatively small area, gains complexity from differences in slight variations of soil types and microclimates. Palliser have consistently outgunned rivals in all but the most uncooperative vintages, producing a North Island Riesling like a Riquewehr, but more generous and refined. Fermented cool to retain varietal bouquets and rested on sediments for palate texture, it's sensationally rich with balanced acidity and just a little residual sugar.

A sold backbone of Wharekauhau vineyard clones 115, 667, 777 and Abel, assembled with choice parcels East Base and Clouston vineyard clones 667, 777 and Abel. Fourteen months in a selection of seasoned and new French oak barriques, a portion of whole bunches are included in the ferments for complexity. Elegant and refined, its ethereal dark berry fruits, fragrant herbaceousness and bright red florals, yield to a magnificent palate of opaque strawberry complexities, country compote, stalkyness and cherry ripe, winegum and lip pursing frais de bois.

The philosophy at Oyster Bay is to produce fine, distinctly regional wines that are elegant and assertive with glorious fruit flavours. Cuvee Brut is an exclusively Chardonnay sparkler in fragrant Blancs de blancs styling, crafted through the best of new world winemaking techniques to capture and showcase New Zealand's unique cool climate character. It all starts in the vineyard with select clones of Chardonnay characterised by small, intensely flavoured grapes. A rejuvenating wine with a clean, fresh palate, New Zealand at its sparkling best.

With each passing vintage, Oyster Bay work alongside more established Pinot Noir vines grown to smaller and smaller sites. Each unique block is harvested as a separate parcel and treated individually at each stage of the winemaking. Burgundy clones which can provide ripe flavour and tannins, good colour and structure are selected. Clones 115,667,777 and Abel provide intensity and diversity of flavour, to be aged in a mix of Alliers, Jupilles and Troncais French oak, coopered by renowned artisans Dargaud & Jaegle, Francois Freres and Mercurey.

A staple on fine wine lists everywhere, one of Marlborough's most palatable exponents, having claimed top gold at the Washington International Wines for Oysters Competition! The philosophy of Oyster Bay is to produce the finest, articulate New Zealand wines, assertive yet elegant, laden with glamorous fruit flavours. It all begins in the vineyard, significantly, each vine is treated as an individual. All that remains for the winemaking team is to preserve the expression of the vineyard and splendid quality of fruit.

Oyster Bay truly captures the unique character of Marlborough Chardonnay, endowed with pure, incisive, ripe fruit flavours. A combination of oak barrel ferments and lees stirring battonage achieves maximum softness, integration and texture. Clonal influences in the vineyard are very important, providing smaller berries and enhanced flavour intensity. The achievement is a delicious Chardonnay wine with a concentration of fine, clean aromas and delightfully piquant flavours.

Enjoying a temperate maritime climate, Oyster Bay's Hawkes Bay vines are warmed by strong clear sunlight during the day and cooled at night by the sea breezes of the Pacific Ocean. This is the idyllic environment for Merlot to grow it's vibrant, fully ripened varietal flavours. Oyster Bay is about elegance and intensity of fruit, a Pinot Noir of freshness, sweet spice and soft tannins. The glorious fruit ripeness provides a burst of rich juicy black plum flavours, whilst a touch of subtle oak contributes complexity, softness and warmth.

Captain Cook's first step ashore anywhere in New Zealand was at Poverty Bay. Today it is the site of the world's easternmost vineyard, the first vines to see the sun each day. It remains a highly specialised white wine growing region and the Chardonnay capital of New Zealand. In the warmer and more humid climes of the North Island's east coast, the vines sprout plump berries of outstanding quality Chardonnay, encouraged by the drying breezes in a way that translates into the most vigorous, fruit driven Chardonnay wines.

Nobilo is crafted from the pick of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, fashioned to a zesty, refreshingly fruit driven style, brimming with luscious gooseberry, lime and lemongrass flavours that linger long and languid on the satisfyingly, mineral textured finish. Another exquisite offering from the venerable house of Nobilo, pioneers of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, they continue to achieve remarkable international success with their stylish and irresistible white wines.

Marlborough enjoys conditions that are perfect for fruit ripening and flavour development. It is the world's most essential Sauvignon Blanc winegrowing region. Good vineyards in the Awatere and Wairau sub-districts are selected and monitored throughout the growing season. Canopy training systems are utilised to produce a complex array of aromas and flavours. Nobilo isolates the most vibrant Sauvignon Blanc grapes for the Icon, a vigorous wine with seductive fragrances of passionfruit with lychee, an opulent palate and endless finish.

Icon is the culmination of years of research into specific viticultural techniques, with particular attention to vineyard sites and a winemaking strategy focused on fruit structure with balance. A Chardonnay of excellent weight and length, the natural fruit flavours fuse with the complexities of toasted bread, vanillin and warm, soft malo. Aged on full fermentation yeast lees and treated to a regular battonage. The choice accompaniment to the finest cuisine, serve close to room temperature to fully appreciate the complexity of the wine.

The vineyards of Te Ika a Maui yield a quality of Merlot that's world class. Nobilo take the pick of crop from the finest sites in Hawkes Bay, to create a wine that's endowed with generosity of fruit, velvet textural flavours and the most hospitable tannins. The team at Nobilo have put so much effort into formulating the country's finest Merlot, that they have set aside half the company's resources at the state of the art Corner 50 development for the advancement of Merlot as a pure varietal wine.

Steeped in national history for their significant contribution to viticulture, Nobilo are one of New Zealand's most distinguished winemaking estates. Their vineyard team have taken an initiative to develop the most suitable terrains and to retain the most expressive parcels of fruit. The first choice in Pinot Gris, from harvests grown to splendid sites within the salubrious growing climes of Hawkes Bay, grapes with the brightest flavours and most vibrant aromas have been fashioned into a deliciously fruit driven, complex, off dry style.

Nautilus have been focused on delivering nothing but the finest Marlborough Pinot Noir since inaugural release. Fruit is sourced from five special sites, each of which bring their own level of interest and complexity. Clay Hills in the Southern Valleys provides the backbone, harvests from the Awatere and Kaituna, Renwick and Yarrum vineyards, contribute to the structure and add layers of flavour. A tightly wound and regionally articulate Pinot Noir, to match alongside venison or veal, salmon steaks or duck.

A superior, single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, fermented in the traditional old world way, on pressings at warmer temperatures in a large, well seasoned oak cuve. Gentler and rounder in styling, textural and refined, its mineral rich palate is filled with the maritime complexities of paper thin shelled sea creatures which lie amongst the auspicious soils. Redolent of lemon peels, tradewinds and hazelnut, mango and pith, unravelling delicate layers of nuance and complexity as it moves towards a gently drying, resonating, lingering finish.

Nautilus have earned much praise from reviewers the world over for their salient countenance of Sauvignon Blanc. Since inaugural release, the viticultural focus has been on Marlborough where five choice estate vineyards complement a small coterie of the most highly dedicated, expert growers. Sustainable land management is a core consideration, healthy land will deliver a harvest of good fruit, Nautilus are passionate in their endeavours to yield a quality of Sauvignon Blanc which sings about the environment whence it originates.

Nautilus retain some of the finest Pinot Gris vines in Marlborough. Their award winning team are highly specialized at handling small batches of this esoteric old world varietal and are well versed at crafting a recognizably Marlborough expression of Pinot Gris. Drawing inspiration from the great growths of Alsace, Nautilus take aim at creating a generously complex yet refreshingly dry style, expressing fully the effusive aromaticness of Marlborough, while exhibiting the textural sensuality that's so essential of truly fine Pinot Gris.

One of New Zealand's most consistent Chardonnay, a label that will not disappoint, Nautilus has received great recognition at international competitions. Whole bunches are treated to an indigenous fermentation in a mix of seasoned and new French oak barriques, followed by a course of lees battonage for richness. A highly demanding viticultural focus, combined with the best of old and new world winemaking techniques, translates into a wine of balance and poise, as mesmerisingly aesthetic as the spiral on a nautilus shell.

When Nautilus wins another award, that's all very well, but the aim is to ensure that the wines are always crafted from outstanding fruit and fashioned to deliver a peerless experience. There are very few parcels of Alabarino vine in the new world, Nautilus husband the finest in all Aotearoa. Only ever vintaged in limited amounts, grapes are all hand picked at complete ripeness without any excessive sweetness. A beautiful bouquet of honeysuckle and fresh apricots, mandarin, melons and quince, followed by a well fleshed and gingerly complexed palate, textural with fruit, all the way to a refreshing zingy finish.

Three choice sites, delivering a palette of subtle complexities, are closely managed to yield a special quality of fruit for Nautilus Cuvee. Dominated by the aromaticness and masculine red fruit complex of the larger component Pinot Noir, the style is one of elegance and finesse, at the same time exhibiting real fullness of flavour. A wine that marries the old world gracefulness of Methode traditionelle with the new world charm of Marlborough.

The Clay Hills are six unique blocks of varied sloping clay aspects, planted to a ridge which divides Brancott and Omaka Valleys in southern Marlborough. A mixture of stemmed and whole bunch fruit are treated to eighteen days of cold soak and a spontaneous, wild indigenous yeast ferment, pressed and settled into a high proportion of new French oak barriques for eleven months maturation. This very special site sets the benchmark which inspires the dedicated Nautilus vineyard teams to emulate the excellence of Clay Hills Pinot Noir.

The precious Pinot yielding Nanny Goat vines are planted to haggard aspects along Central Otago's austere valley floor. This is a region of climatic extremes, very hot summers, short autumns and bitterly cold days throughout the winter. Soils are rocky and offer poor fertility, growing conditions which are heaven sent for making world class Pinot Noir. The inhospitable climes deliver a harvest of the smallest berries, bursting with flavours, concentrated with intense varietal characters, endowed with stalky tannins and fruit laden acids.

An intriguing cépage of black and white varietals from a single superior site in Gibbston Valley. A half of early picked Gewurztraminer, destemmed into seasoned oak puncheons for ten days maceration before the inclusion of Pinot Gris, vinified by wild yeasts on skins over the course of a fortnight, until complete dryness. A tenth of carbonic ferment Pinot Noir is introduced for richness and complexity, tannin structure and rakish pink hues. Juicy bouquet of guava, gingers and quince, brimming with a bevy of south sea fruits, nutmeg and allspice on the exhileratingly bright refreshing finish.