Winegrowing
Established in 1998, Wild Earth Wines owns 35 hectares of vineyards in two of Central Otago's finest locations - at the end of Felton Road overlooking the Kawarau River and the north Lowburn district beneath the imposing Pisa Range. Our sole objective is to create the finest pinot noir, riesling and pinot gris wines possible from our two vineyard sites.
Viticulture and Winemaking
From the vineyard through to harvest and winemaking our philosophy is careful, gentle handling of the fruit and the developing wine blends to allow a true expression of terroir. Our sole objective is to create the finest pinot noir, riesling and pinot gris our two vineyard sites can produce. The vines are nurtured on a low input, environmentally friendly basis, under the exacting care of Pip Wither and the vineyard crew. Picking is all by hand in our own vineyards, with yields maintained at an extremely low level after intensive canopy and crop management. Vine density is around 2,500 per hectare, with yields ranging from 1kg to 2.5kg per vine.
Our two sites have dramatic and very advantageous differences. The Bannockburn Estate is 22 hectares of north-west facing land, in a long, slim configuration, rising gradually in altitude over 75 metres from the bluff above the Kawarau River to its highest point next to the Long Gully stream. Planted predominantly in Pinot Noir (Dijon clones), this site includes two hectares of Riesling and one hectare of Pinot Gris. Two long terraces are divided by a steep incline along much of the length of the site.
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Our Lowburn Estate is a complete contrast: a flat, rectangular 13 hectare block in north Lowburn, planted entirely in UCD Pinot Noir clones. It is one of the hottest, earliest ripening sites in the entire district, consistently cropping two weeks ahead of Bannockburn.
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The mix of Dijon and UCD clones from two very different sites provides a superb range of flavours for our wines. Our Bannockburn vineyard has a range of Lochar soil types that have a high proportion of gravels, while Lowburn is an essentially level site with a base of glacial and alluvial shingles.
From 2005 to 2007 Michelle Richardson acted as the consultant to our winemaker and cellar team guiding the style for Wild Earth wines. Over the 2008 vintage Grant Taylor joined us in a consultant role. From 2009 onwards we are delighted to be working with Steve Davies, one of Central Otago's longest serving and most impressive winemakers.