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Article by Church Road Winery
It's triple success for our very own Chris Scott who has been named @wineestate New Zealand Winemaker of the Year for the third time. Why wouldn't you buy wine made by this man and his amazing team?
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Written by John & Kathryn Loughlin, proprietors of Askerne Winery
Dear wine friends
2021 is racing by. We started our harvest on 5th March which is the earliest for about 20 years. We have now completed about a third of our harvest, with our early varieties largely complete. The fruit so far has been outstanding with beautiful flavours and lovely acidity giving great freshness. This vintage is throwing up a new challenge as most of our previous 25 vintages have done. This year’s challenge has been the highly publicised labour shortage.
Our 2019 Tere Syrah is the second wine in our “icon range” alongside The Archer Chardonnay. The name Tere honours our site in Te Mata Mangateretere Road, and the fast-flowing Tuki Tuki river which laid down our site including the gravel bed on which we grow our Syrah.
At Askerne we hand-harvest Chardonnay and Viognier in search of the pure characters from whole bunch pressing. We have four blocks of Chardonnay on different soils with five clones planted (Mendoza in 3 blocks and Clone 15 in 2). These have matured differently which has been a blessing with lots of small picks being able to be handled by family, the cellar door team, and friends. We have a long way to go with vintage, but the tension eases slightly with every good parcel of fruit that we bring in.
The Tere Syrah was our auction wine at the 2020 Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction and attracted very strong bidding interest. It is a stylish wine and has a Northern Rhone style to it.
The second of our wines is a new rosé called Sérieux (French for serious) from the 2020 vintage. This is a dry, food-friendly wine that has been made from Carménère and Mourvèdre fruit grown on bony soils. This wine is reminiscent of the rosés from the South of France. We are planning the release of a sister wine from a subsequent vintage. Rosé is a growing category, and this wine is a serious contribution to that category. This wine is proving really popular at our cellar door.
We have the extensions to our cellar door. As with most construction projects, the work ran on and promised timelines were not met. However, the project was completed in time for Summer and has been worth waiting for. The expanded tasting room and large under-veranda spaces are working really well. They are giving us the ability to offer good tasting experiences to multiple groups simultaneously, without the cramping that was the case in the old cellar door. We have also expanded our cellar door team to lift our service offering and invested in tables and chairs made from recycled wine barrels.
These provide covered seating for our “do it yourself gourmet picnics”. Summer has been a little quieter without the usual visits from overseas tourists. However, we have seen a lot more New Zealanders. Our very strong ratings on Google and Trip Advisor have contributed to this. We thank all of you who have left on-line ratings.
We do have a new special offer on our 2018 Sauvignon Blanc / Sauvignon Gris / Semillon. We made this wine to spearhead an export endeavour. We felt we needed a point of difference from Sauvignon Blanc. We received great feedback on it. However, we have also been told that the world knows and loves NZ Sauvignon Blanc, and the trade will buy what it knows it can sell. So, we are now long on this wine and short on Sauvignon Blanc as our 2019 and 2020 vintages have raced out the door.
We have made the brave decision to remain open 7 days a week for the whole year and will offer the gourmet picnics year-round. Hawke’s Bay does have some good weather on some days outside the tourist seasons.
Early this year we welcomed Cairn Coghill to the Askerne team as winemaker. Cairn has previously worked in the Villa Maria group, Alpha Domus, Hatton Estate and most recently Sileni Estate. Cairn has also worked four vintages in Bordeaux and Oregon. Cairn is bringing leadership, passion and energy to our winery team.
Along with most primary sector employers we are facing significant cost increases. We have made a decision not to lower wine quality and are going to lift our prices to try to recover these. The price increase will take effect from the end of April. So, we are giving you a last opportunity to buy at the old prices.
Stay safe out there
John & Kathryn Loughlin Book now to Visit Askerne Winery with Tour Napier
Church Road Winery is one of the largest and best-known wineries in Hawkes Bay. Enjoying a convenient location just minutes from Napier City, the team creates highly acclaimed award-winning wines by using outstanding fruit from vineyards across Hawke’s Bay, and a combination of traditional and modern winemaking techniques.
One of the oldest wineries in New Zealand, our journey started with a young Tom McDonald whose passion for wine saw him forge both a remarkable legacy and enviable future for Hawke’s Bay winemaking and Church Road Winery. Today, our current Chief Winemaker Chris Scott continues this dedication to creating exceptional wines, combining traditional winemaking practices coupled with innovative techniques. Visit Church Road Winery with Tour Napier
Church Road Winery is available by request on the tours shown
Established by Tim Turvey and Helma van den Berg in 1988, Clearview Estate Winery continues as a successful family-owned and operated business situated in Te Awanga on the Cape Kidnappers coastline of Hawke's Bay.
Our winemaking philosophy is simple: we aim to craft enduring wines with great fruit intensity, wines which truly represent their terroir and varietal character. To accomplish this we nurture our own vineyards and carefully select grape grower partners who share our viticultural philosophy. 
Chief Winemaker Matt Kirby and Assistant Winemaker Rob Bregmen continue to achieve the recognition of awards and accolades for the renowned wines produced at Clearview Estate, a legacy that began with original winemaker Tim Turvey in the late 1980's. Planted varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Semillion & Syrah. Visit Clearview Estate Winery with Tour Napier
Clearview Estate Winery is available by request on any of these tours.
Purpose-built as a winery, Brookfields is built on tradition and sustainability combining the best techniques from the past and today, to produce exciting wines each year from their own or shared ownership Hawke's Bay vineyards.
The history of Brookfields is revealed in the handmade 25cm concrete blocks used to build the winery and the cellar in the 1930s. These handmade blocks create the perfect environment for ageing great wines and keeping the cellar cool during Hawke's Bay's hot summers.
Peter creates classic wines with grapes only grown in specific locations and to his strict growing policy - expressing the essence of place. The Brookfields reputation has been built on stunning red wines. The 1989 'Gold Label' Cabernet / Merlot amazed traditional wine critics and the trade on its release. Its sheer weight and flavour made it the wine of the vintage. Subsequent vintages have firmly placed Brookfields as one of Hawke's Bay's best red winemakers.
Brookfields produces between 8,000 and 10,000 cases of wine each year and even in a great vintage, that won't change a great deal. Peter says he has no desire to push up volumes and chase expansion when there's always the challenge of creating an even more dramatic wine.
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All the tours shown either include a visit to Brookfields in their standard itineraries or it can be included on request.
Askerne Estate winery was established in April 1993 when wine lovers John and Kathryn Loughlin purchased the original 11.6 hectares site in Te Mata Mangateretere Road. They called the property Askerne, being the olde English name of Kathryn’s birthplace - Askern in Yorkshire, England.
 Three generations of the Coughlin family
At Askerne, the majority of fruit is hand harvested and sorted. Winemaking techniques have been refined in search of elegance, structure and the aromatic qualities that we desire for each wine style. The winemaking approach is to gently coax the flavours and aromatics from the fruit and then to polish and showcase them in all their glory.
The aspiration is to produce wines which complement food, but are vibrant and exciting when standing alone. Visit Askerne with Tour Napier
All the tours shown either include a visit to Askerne in their standard itineraries or it can be included on request.
The story of Mission Estate begins with a group of French Missionaries who sailed to New Zealand in 1838 with little more than their faith and a few vines. Mission Estate was established by these Missionaries in Hawke’s Bay in 1851, where vines were planted to produce sacramental and table wine and so New Zealand’s first winery was born.
The winery is housed in an elegantly restored seminary building nestling in the Taradale hills and offers visitors sweeping views of the vineyards and coast beyond. The cellar door provides an opportunity to taste from an extensive range of wines in truly historic & beautiful surroundings.
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All of the tours shown either feature Mission Estate in their standard itinerary or can be included on request.
Napier is known as the Art Deco Capital of the world. Following a massive earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) on the morning of Tuesday 3 February 1931, fires destroyed most of the commercial heart of Napier. The city was rebuilt in the style of that era and by the end of the decade Napier was the newest city on the globe.
Nowhere else can you see such a variety of buildings in the styles of the 1930s - Stripped Classical, Spanish Mission, and above all Art Deco, the style of the 20th Century. Napier's Art Deco is unique, with Maori motifs and the buildings of Louis Hay, admirer of the great Frank Lloyd Wright.
Napier is enhanced by palms and the angular Norfolk Island pines and bounded by fertile fruit and grape growing plains, dramatic hills and the shores of the South Pacific. In Napier, you can enjoy the legacy of its brave rebuilding and savour the spirit of the optimistic Art Deco era.
The style we now call Art Deco originated in Europe in the early years of the 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920 to 1940. It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925 and from which its name was ultimately derived. By the late 1930s it was in its streamlined phase and after World War 2, the International Style, devoid of all decoration, held sway. Not until the late 1960s did people begin to rediscover it and take it seriously.
Art Deco expresses all the vigor and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties.
Its decorative themes are:
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All of these tours either include the Art Deco City in their standard itinerary or can include it on request.
Te Mata Park and its famous peak is one of the most loved and visited places in Hawke’s Bay. Gifted in perpetuity to the community in 1927 and managed by a small group of volunteer trustees, with appreciated help from local councils and the community, the Park is a cultural, historical and recreational treasure offering fabulous 360-degree views across the area.
Sunrise over Te Mata Peak & the Tuki Tuki river
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All the tours shown either include a visit to the Peak as standard or can include it on request
Key dates in history1300s - Early settlement
There is evidence of past settlement from this period, including pā sites and other earthworks. The Karaka groves in the upper Te Hau Valley area and Moa bones found on the slopes suggest intensive Māori settlement.
1769 - James Cook
Captain James Cook sighted New Zealand on 6 October 1769, and landed at Poverty Bay two days later. He drew detailed and accurate maps of the country, and wrote about the Māori people.
His first encounter with Māori was not successful – a fight broke out in which some Māori were killed. However, after this Cook and his men are reported to have had friendly contact with Māori. 1820 - Waikato Maori invasion
The Waikato Māori are said to have invaded the Te Mata area and the Ngāti Pare tribe, which lived along the range as far as Mt Erin, made its last stand at Pakake on the western spurs of Te Mata Peak. The women and children who were spared went to the top and held a funeral ceremony looking toward Cape Kidnappers and cutting their faces and bodies with sharp flints. They were then taken to Waikato.
Chiefteness Winipere was also captured and recited a lament as she said farewell to Heretaunga from Te Mata Peak; this song was well known by elders as a funeral chant. 1862 - John Chambers
1926 - Redwoods planted
The grove of 223 stunning California redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) was planted in 1926 and many are now over 40 metres tall. The Chambers family were great experimenters with tree planting and, having generally favoured eucalypts, decided to try a conifer species. Noting the similarities between the climates of Hawke’s Bay and coastal California, they decided to plant a large grove of redwoods. Native to America and the tallest of all trees, the redwood is an evergreen and extremely long-lived tree with a life span of 2,500 to 3,500 years.
1977 - QE2 National Trust
In 1977, Te Mata Park was placed under a Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII National Trust) covenant to ensure permanent protection of this iconic landscape. The purpose of this covenant is to promote the provision, protection and enhancement of open space, for the benefit and enjoyment of all people in New Zealand.
In 1944 Percy Berry bought nine acres in Arataki Road, Havelock North. With his son Ian, Percy registered 131 hives to Arataki Apiaries Ltd, and began a journey that resulted in the Arataki Honey we know and love.
Today, family-owned Arataki Honey has three manufacturing sites across the North and South Islands of New Zealand, employs over 100 people and is home to 1.5 billion bees.
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All the tours shown either include Arataki Honey on the standard itinerary or can include it on request.
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