Quality wine begins with quality grapes.
Kumeu River Wines encompasses 30 hectares of vineyards which are predominantly clay soils overlying a standstone base. These soil types retain sufficient water at depth, even during the summer months, to ensure the deep vine roots keeps the vine supplied with moisture without the vigour ever being excessive. This means that the vineyard doesn't require irrigation, a factor that is critical to the quality of Kumeu River's grapes.
Despite being situated well north of New Zealand's other viticultural regions, Kumeu's climate is kept cool thanks to its close proximity to the Tasman Sea, just 20km to the west and the Pacific Ocean 30km to the east. These two large water bodies generate cloud and help to moderate the climate, keeping peak summer temperatures below 30oC. These temperatures contribute to the conditions that enhance the fantastic aromas and flavours from early ripening varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.
The vineyards are trained on a 'Lyre' trellis to help optimise exposure to light and increase grape maturity and quality. One of the distinguishing factors of Kumeu River's wines is that all of the grapes are harvested by hand. Although it takes more time than machine harvesting, this allows the opportunity to remove sub-standard grapes by hand; the result is a net yield of purely high quality grapes.
With a history of well over half a century, the vineyards of Kumeu River are reflective of the hard work and commitment of three generations of the Brajkovich family and those who have worked alongside them for many decades. The wines that result truly represent the unique combination of environmental influences and the skill and dedication of the Brajkovich family of winemakers.
"In 1994, we established new plantings of Pinot Noir on our Kumeu River Estate. We chose only the best new planting material available from Burgundy and grafted onto extremely low vigour rootstocks to limit the yield and intensify the flavour of this wonderfully aristocratic grape variety."
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