Church Road Winery. Hawkes Bay. New Zealand. - Wineries on Waymarking.com

The winery, one of the oldest in Hawke's Bay, was founded in 1897, and then totally renovated in 1989.
Dating from 1897, when Bartholomew Steinmetz planted his vineyard next to Church Road, this is one of the oldest wineries in the country. Steinmetz returned to his native Luxembourg in the 1920s, leaving his winery in the hands of the 19-year-old Tom McDonald, who had been working for him since his early teens.

McDonald later bought the winery and set to making the first quality red wines in New Zealand, releasing the country's first commercial Cabernet Sauvignon in 1949.
Tom McDonald retired in 1976 and the winery carried on winemaking up until 1981 when a change of ownership saw the winery slowly shut down.

The Church Road Winery was renovated and reopened in 1989 with the express purpose to re-establishing it as the heart of quality red winemaking in New Zealand.

You can take a guided tour through the working winery (where you may see the winemakers in action) and New Zealand's first wine museum, and then enjoy a tasting of their wines.
Winery and museum tours include a tasting and costs $12 per person. Tours take place at 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm daily. Please wear covered footwear.

Winery manager: Barrie Browne
Winemakers: Tony Prichard & Chris Scott
Wine sales: Cellar door, mail order
Price range: $15-$135
Winery tastings: 7 days 9am-5pm
Winery tours: Winery tours and museum tours daily at 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm
Winery restaurant: Lunch 7 days 11.30am indoors or alfresco; ph: 06-845 9140
Private functions, conferences and
concerts; ph: 06-845 9146

Winery Size: Boutique < 500 Cases Attached vineyard?: yes Tasting Room Available?: yes Days and hours of operation: 9am to 5pm in summer, 10am to 5pm in winter Charge for tasting?: 12.00 (listed in local currency) Tours Available: yes Cost of Tour: 12.00 (listed in local currency) Phone #: Tel 06-844-2053 Address: 150 Church Road, Taradale, Hawke's Bay. Winery, Wine Cooperative, or Tasting Center's Website: [Web Link] Types of wines: Latest vintages of Church Road Cuve series, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Limited Releases available at the winery: Marzemino, Syrah, Viognier, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc. Best Wine Tasted: Tom 2002 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Rate the Best Wine Tasted: Price per Bottle: 110.00 (listed in local currency) 2nd Best Wine Tasted: Church Road Cuve Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Rate the 2nd Best Wine Tasted: Price per Bottle #2: 25.00 (listed in local currency) Overall Comments:: "Tom" a very special wine from Church Road. "Our pinnacle wine, a blended red made only in exceptional vintages, is so special that we simply named it Tom." Wine: Tom Vintage: 2002 Release Date: October 2006 Winemaker: Tony Prichard Variety: Merlot 47%, Cabernet Sauvignon 44%, Malbec 9% Region: Hawke’s Bay Alcohol: 14% by volume pH: 3.68 Total acidity: 6 g/L as tartaric Residual sugar: Dry Brix at harvest: Average 23.8° Harvest notes: The hallmark of the 2002 vintage was the warm, dry autumn which ensured excellent fruit ripeness and concentration. This wine was harvested off low-vigour soils in the Gimblet Gravels district and in the Tuki Tuki Valley. The lowest vigour, lowest cropping vines in each block were identified for selective hand picking. Fermentation notes: Each parcel of grapes was crushed into small fermenters and fermented at around 30° C. To extract colour, tannin and flavour from the skins, the juice was pumped over the cap three times a day. Aeration was used during pumpovers to stabilise colour, develop the structure of the wine and to increase the complexity of the aroma and flavour. The wines were tasted daily to determine the optimum drain-off time, and most parcels were drained off skins after three to four weeks. Maturation notes: Individual parcels were aged in French oak (of which 50% was new), for 12 months before the blend was put together. The wine was then returned to barrel for a further 6 months maturation. Winery Club: Not listed Wine Club Description:: Not listed

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All logs must be the result of an actual visit to the winery, wine cooperative, or wine tasting center. Any logs posted otherwise will be deleted. After your tasting list the top 2 wines you liked and rate them on a scale of 1-5 (5 is great) and the price per bottle (see winery listing for an example). Original winery lister is exempt as they listed this information on the original winery listing.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/12/2008 Punga and Paua visited it

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