Te Mata Estate sits comfortably among the top-ranking wine producers of New Zealand: it’s also the country’s oldest commercial winery with the estate established by Bernard Chambers in 1896. Several years earlier, Chambers had convinced his father to allow him to plant several vineyards on the family’s vast landholdings in the Havelock North subregion of Hawke’s Bay. This hilly area, overlooking the bay, proved an ideal location for grape cultivation. With its temperate climate and abundant sunshine, it remains a prized vineyard area for red wine varieties. Over the years, the estate has changed hands but always remained a family-run concern. Since 1974, Te Mata Estate has been stewarded by the Buck and Morris families. They are credited with bringing the wines into the modern era – and drawing the attention of esteemed global critics. The Wine Advocate deemed the estate “New Zealand’s greatest winery,” while Jancis Robinson considers it “a national treasure.” Te Mata Estate was one of the first vineyard owners to obtain the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand certification in the 1990s and has worked consistently since then to keep building on its commitments. Today, the estate exemplifies a very pure expression of New World winemaking with its top-quality range of red blends, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc,
Article from Opimian Celler 311 – New Zealand, Australlia, and Burgundy