Red Bank Farm and Vineyard

At the other end of the Alexandra Basin is our largest vineyard, our home farm (H.Q.) and our Private Paddock Club House. We grow Pinot and Riesling here and we have orchards, organic vegetables, lavender, cows, pigs, duck, chickens, sheep...

This lovely, sheltered and warm site in the Earnscleugh Valley was purchased in 2000. Formerly a small farm, and a Crop + Food Research Station, it is now primarily a vineyard and our main vineyard at that. Now some 60 hectares in all (perhaps 130 acres), 5.56 hectares are under grape, mostly Pinot Noir. But we also grow cherries, nectarines, saffron, lavender, truffles vegetables, sheep, cumquats, walnuts, olives and chickens (for eggs only) and so on. A bounteous little farm.

At Red Bank (H.Q.) we have our office and our beautiful Private Paddock Club House. We have Club House tours for wine club members by prior appointment -  this includes a guided tour of the organic farm and vineyard, access to The Club House and our NZ art collection plus a taste of three wines. 

For the statistically minded – the Pinot here was planted in 2000 and 2001, and the clones are 115, 10/5, 667, 777 and 114 dominated by 115 and 667. Rootstocks include 3309, 3366, 101.14 and Shwarzmann. They are closely planted at 5500 vines / ha, 1.8m rows, 1m vine spacing and one block 1.5m rows and 1.2m vine spacing.

We also grow our Riesling here (198, and “Felton Road” clone). Generally speaking, the soils are river deposited gravelly loams with the exception of a clay seam in the southern corner which consists of  20 million year old sediments from Lake Manuherikia

A word of caution – the lavender oil produced at Red Bank Farm, if worn, will enliven your day, promotes healing of wounds and helps sleep, repels mosquitos but also makes you curiously irresistible to the opposite sex. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!