Pukeora Estate Ltd New Zealand Wineries Hawke's Bay Wineries Napier Wineries Welcome

Pukeora Estate Ltd

Welcome

The dramatic hillside setting at Pukeora is evolving into a vineyard.

The limestone soils contained within the north facing basin combined with the warm Hawke's Bay summer climate will provide an ideal site for growing a number of grape varieties especially pinot noir, chardonnay and merlot. Despite the altitude at 250m, being on a hillside promotes air drainage and reduces frost risk.

The first 3.5 acres of grape planting began in 2000. Another 9 acres were added in 2001. The planting now totals 12,000 vines on 4 Ha of planted area. The first commercial vintage is expected in 2004.

On a steeper part of the hillside, 28 terraces have been carved along the contours to enable the steep terrain to be more safely developed. These also face north and receive additional heat due to the steeper angle of the sun's rays. Trial plantings of cabernet sauvignon, malbec, syrah and semillon have been established on the mid terraces.

Pinot Gris is another variety being experimented with at Pukeora.

Row spacing is 2.4m apart.
Vine spacing varies from 2m to 1.3m apart.

The soil type is Matapiro Complex 28D -"lime bearing muddy sandstone inter-bedded with limestone".
The soil profile from the surface is generally:

30 cm of fertile loam at top, then a band of gritty clay 20cm to 2m thick, then tends to be weathered limestone followed by solid limestone rock as a base.

The acreage, once development is complete, is expected to be up to 40-50 acres.