Toast to Hurunui
Mike Yardleydrinks in the South Island’s winegrowing Waipara Valley
IF YOU’RE AUTUMN road-tripping in the South Island, make a date with Hurunui's wonderful wine region of the Waipara Valley. With several dozen wineries to explore, they are primarily super-boutique Ma and Pa enterprises in these parts, producing high-end, handcrafted wines.
The signature varietal is expressive, rich pinot noir. Then there are its vivid rieslings.
Waipara has the highest summer temperatures and lowest rainfall of any New
Zealand wine regions, while the sheltered, hilly valleys encourage distinctive flavours from a diverse range of wines including syrah, pinot gris, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
There's a great stretch of boutique wineries edging the south bank of the Waipara River, strung along George's Road.
My first stop was the eye-catching winery, Terrace Edge, a family owned business under the command of Jill and Bruce Chapman. Their tasting shed resembles a friend's lounge whose style you envy, as you drink in the panoramic views of the Waipara Valley, all the way to the Teviotdale Hills, cushioning the valley from the easterly winds. Sample awardwinning organic pinot noir, syrah and rose, enjoy home-grown olives and oils.
Peckish? Tuck into gourmet toasties of sticky pork, braised beef or a variety of other combos. A star feature is the block of “roasted slope” Syrah vines, that seemingly cling on to the precipitously steep slope of the terrace.
Jill remarked that in the height of summer, these vines are frequently bathed in 40C of heat. Terrace Edge Syrah is superb.
Just up the road, Kirk Bray treated me to his handcrafted delights at Georges Road Wines. His pinot noir, syrah and pinot gris wines are elegant, delicate, delicious and a reflection of the unique terroir.
His winemaking is intentional and smallscale, creating unique and unmissable wines.
They've got a fabulous function centre adjoining the cellar door, along with a frillsgalore wine pod, complete with wood-fired hot tub, if you fancy a night or two of restful indulgence among the vines, gazing at the Three Deans Mountain Range.
Wine pod stays also include the use of complimentary bikes to roam at leisure, luxury bedding, Bluetooth sound, wellequipped kitchen and breakfast is included.
Next stop was The Bone Line estate. The winery is named in reference to the nearby K-T Boundary line that is evidence of the cataclysmic asteroid impact on the earth. This is the layer of sedimentary rock laid down at the time of the dinosaur extinction.
The South Island has some of the world's best examples of this exposed boundary line. One of these can be found in the nearby Waipara River Gorge, where Canterbury Museum has been collecting fossil marine reptiles and birds for more than 150 years.
The K-T boundary shows as a dark line in the exposed sediments on the banks of the Waipara River Gorge, thrust up by tectonic forces. Each of the wines' labels features fossils discovered in the Waipara River dating back as far as 65 million years, creating a tangible connection with the land on which their fruit is grown.
One of the wine labels is Iridium, a reference to the metallic dust that the asteroid strike unleashed around the world and is highly present in the K-T boundary line's exposed layer of sedimentary rock at Waipara Gorge.
Iridium is a beautiful red wine, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Another personal favourite is The Bone Line's Waimanu Pinot Noir, a velvety, elegant and aromatic wine, bursting with berry and cherry flavours and an underlying smokiness. As an aside, Waimanu is the oldest known penguin, found in fossilised form in the Waipara River.
Finally, I ventured to one of the cradles of the wine region. Waipara Springs was the valley's original cellar door and cafe´ , opening in 1990, after the first plantings were made in 1982.
With some of the oldest vines in the valley, the depth and intensity of these estate grown wines is accentuated. The lunch menu is a beautifully executed affair with generous platters and exquisite dishes, paired with wines, like a Duo of Pork. I also highly recommend the Vietnamese chicken salad, with coriander, mint, carrot, cucumber, bean sprouts and crispy noodles, dressed with Nam Jim.
It's a wonderful oasis in the heart of the valley. Visit