We operate from our own vineyard plus a family of boutique heritage sites we farm in the local area.
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The wines we present convey the character of each site - place, people, history, terroir ... Each is connected with early New Zealand and Wairarapa history in some way. And each has a story to tell.
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The Home Fields vineyards are small by industrial winegrowing standards, the largest being 2.4 hectares. These vineyards were the passion projects of the original families & they are an important part of our region's character. And crucially! they are capable of producing special wines.
We’re determined to do our part to steward these special spots & share the exceptional wines they continue to produce.
Vineyard Stats
Making Aspiration
Vineyards
Home Fields operates from our original vineyard, planted in 1993, plus additional lease vineyards. Our yield potential is approximately 50 tonnes, the majority of which being Pinot Noir, with several tonnes each of Chardonnay, Syrah & Pinot Gris.
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Pinot Noir
Clones 5, 10/5, 115, 667, 828, 777 & Abel planted in north-south orientation. Most vines are 30+ years old. Age, vineyard conditions & clones afford excellent options in winemaking with a blend of structure, phenolic & flavour characteristics.
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Root stock
Kober 125AA & SO4
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Aspiring to be as balanced, regenerative & low impact as possible in our plant husbandry, land & resource management.
Our aim is to pursue the optimal expression of the vineyard, the region & the season. Our winemaking style respects traditions, varietal integrity & product quality to present wines to be savoured & enjoyed.
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We are both fascinated by the accumulated knowledge of winegrowing & making & the part wine plays in history & modern life.
We have each been enamoured with Wairarapa wines for a long time - Winslow, Walnut Ridge, Murdoch James, Muirlea Rise, Fairmont Estate, Gladstone & Martinborough Vineyards some of the early influences.
There's no doubting that clonal expressions are unique here. Sauvignon Blancs are mellow & rich. Pinot Noirs have a regal complexity & subdued fruit flavour.
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We love the wines from here. It's our greatest hope that you will too.
Home Fields Heritage Vineyards
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HOME FIELDS
LANSDOWNE ESTATE
WAIPIPI VINEYARD
MOSS OAKS
BIJOU
ESTATE
Home Fields Terroir - people
Digging further into this history, we discovered
an ancestor, George William Jackson. George grew up
in Mauriceville in the 1890s. Corporal Jackson joined the
Canterbury Mounted Rifles attached to the New Zealand
Expeditionary Force, en route to Egypt. Like too many,
he was never to return.
We located George’s war records and found a way to
assemble his war medals, only one original medal
remaining. A sad memorial.
Interestingly, as we researched the Moss Oaks vineyard, located 300m from our
Home Fields vineyard, we came to learn that the eponymous 4 oak trees on the property
formed part of a greater avenue of trees planted following WWI. A memorial to those
who sacrificed so much.
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The Moss Oaks avenue follows the railway line between Double Bridges and Wingate
Lane, where there was once a rail platform. This platform was in all likelihood the
embarking point for George as he left for war.
It is only a gathering of stones now. And there are no records of the day of departure. Living
memory has passed. Only imagination remains.
In summer, the Moss Oak trees are refuge from the baking sun & serve as "smoko" spots
as we rest up from fighting the vines in the midday heat. Refuge & sentinel. Constant
markers of the ever-growing distance to these men from the moment & place that a
train bore them away. These trees are a gift. Moss Oaks is our small thanks.
When we moved here, we serendipitously discovered a family history of our own going back to the 1870s Scandinavian settlement in what was to become Mauriceville. An incredible piece of early NZ history. Worth a few moments of your time to learn about.
Terroir / turangawaewae - place
The label graphic is a stylised representation of the
Home Fields vineyard & surrounding properties.
Home Fields vineyard was part of the Waipipi Estate vineyard, which has since been broken into smaller parcels. From 1909, three generations of the Bunny family lived in the Waipipi homestead including twin brothers, who farmed the land upon their return from WWII. The story of the brothers' war is extremely moving. It is not our story to tell.
The planting of the Waipipi Estate vineyards occurred in the early 1990's & originally included chardonanny, riesling, merlot, sauvignon blanc & pinot noir.
The home and associated lease vineyards are situated on the alluvial plain between the Waipoua and Ruamahanga Rivers. These lifeblood rivers, are watersheds for the Tararua ranges to the west, forming a system running downstream through the region’s wine-growing districts of Gladstone and Martinborough and on to Lakes Wairarapa and Onoke and to the sea. These waters are the genesis of Wairarapa’s name, translating to “glistening or sparkling or bubbling waters”.
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Our vineyards are 152m above sea-level. The land falls as it travels south, with Martinborough terraces at approximately 89m. The ÅŒpaki micro-climate is influenced by its elevation and by the Tararua Ranges. Locals with a weather-eye will tell you that rain from the north or west is often stopped or dissipated by Mt Bruce to the north and the Tararuas to the west; a Foehn wind effect that very much reminds me of Canterbury.
Wairarapa climate is well known for cold winters and long hot, bone-dry summers with significant overnight cooling. This diurnal range and long ripening season allows complex flavours to develop and provides perfect growing conditions for Pinot Noir. The presence of strong winds throughout the year can influence soil and atmospheric moisture and humidity and can play both positive and negative parts in vineyard conditions e.g., wind can affect flowering. As a result, Wairarapa vineyards are famously low cropping – contributing to concentration of flavours but also conniptions among winery accountants!
Terroir / taurangawaewae - recent history
Terroir / turangawaewae - an ancient place
The soils of Wairarapa are a fascinating story. To start at the beginning … NZ is lifted from the submerged eastern edges of Gondwanaland, as part of the ancestral Zealandia continent. In geological terms, New Zealand is young and active land.
Present day Wairarapa is comprised of terraces, basins and flows of Holocene-era marine and glacial sediments, riddled with North-South fault-lines splintering in rows fanning east into the Pacific Ocean. The topland flows south into Cook Strait and rides the meeting place of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.
https://www.gns.cri.nz/news/new-hidden-continent-mostly-underwater-scientists-say/
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This epic drama results in soils comprised of silt loams, stony silt loams and hill soils; moderately well-drained to well-drained. Soil organic levels are not high naturally. Lean soils force both vines and viticulturalists to work hard, searching for nourishment.
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The elements, conditions and seasons which interplay with the land demand resilience and wisdom from those working it. Winegrowing and making here takes on much of this drama. The results are their own reward.
