A couple of years ago I attended a wine tasting here in New Plymouth, with Terry Horn, one of the owners of the Unison Vineyard, situated in the Gimblett Gravels in the Hawke’s Bay wine region. Terry was both very knowledgeable & entertaining and the wines tasted on the night were just excellent. This month I re-visit Unison Vineyard to share a little more of their story.
THE PEOPLE
The current owners of the Unison Vineyard are Terry & Philip Horn. Their journey began when they first purchased the business after coming out from the UK. They have applied their wine-making knowledge & philosophy to producing the very best wines possible from their vineyards.
High fliers in England, Terry and Philip Horn had to overcome rigorous immigration entry hurdles to pull off their move to New Zealand. At the time of his resignation from ASDA Stores, Philip had been 16 years with the subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mart and filled a very senior role as head of resources. Terry could point to her expertise in local government and human resources management. Having done her first degree in business with hotel and catering management, she had gone on to postgraduate studies in human resources management.
Busy working lives in the UK saw the couple “running round like headless chickens”. They barely saw each other, and Philip felt he wasn’t spending enough time with sons Luke, and Oliver. The family holidayed in Australia and New Zealand in 2005, giving Philip the opportunity to look at what Down Under had to offer. In any case, says Philip, “I thought New Zealand was so much better for our boys. The schooling is good, the climate is nice and you can have an outdoor life. I love the way kids walk around supermarkets with no shoes on.”
Keen to use his science degree and wanting a new challenge, he zeroed in on EIT Hawke’s Bay’s comprehensive range of viticulture and wine science study programmes. The plan to take a year out for full-time study was derailed, however, when the family was persuaded to look at a Hawke’s Bay wine venture that had only just come on the market. Terry and Philip immediately saw potential in Unison Vineyard, a red wine specialist growing Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah on six hectares west of Hastings. And they loved the property’s location on Gimblett Gravels, the former course of a major Hawke’s Bay river.
The name Unison was inspired by the lessons of traditional wine making working in harmony with best of the new world techniques. Its ethos and plantings, mirror European premium handcrafted regions where the vines are densely planted to produce low yields per vine and concentrated flavours.
THE PLACE
Unison began to grow from the harsh dry river stone soils of the Gimblett Gravels. In 1992, a small family owned property was planted with the vision of a low yield vineyard, from densely planted vines that mirrored premium European producers. The founders of the vineyard, had worked in Tuscany for many years prior to establishing their own estate in Hawke’s Bay. For them it was only a question of where to start up in New Zealand. They were keen to find an area with “poor soil” that is found in the best wine growing regions in the world. They were one of the first to risk their entire livelihood in this area of “poor soil”.
They decided to establish themselves in the as yet “undesignated” area of what today is known as the Gimblett Gravels Wine-growing District in Hawke’s Bay. Hawke’s Bay was already a leading wine-growing district in New Zealand, but the 800 hectares pocket of this particular free-draining gravel soil (Gimblett Gravels) was still largely unused wasteland. Recognizing the great potential of the favourable combination of climate and site for the production of super-premium red wines, they decided to establish Unison Vineyard in this location.
Unison is now in its second ownership with Terry and Philip Horn taking the reigns; it remains a family owned winery, continuing today as a small-yield, handcrafted property.
Once the former path of the Ngaruroro River , the Gimblett Gravels is now a special place. After a flood in 1867 the River now takes an alternative path but it left behind an area of dry alluvial river stone soil. The water remains the lifeblood of the region, without the water from the Aquifer below to irrigate the vines they would wilt and die. The river stone terrior retains the heat of the sun and warms to a much higher temperature than other soil types in the Hawke’s Bay making it especially good for Red varieties.
VISIT UNISON
Unison Vineyard warmly welcomes all visitors to the Cellar Door. Enjoy tasting their handcrafted wines, hosted by their friendly and knowledgeable staff. Renowned hospitality, personable and informal. Experience our wine, seated in a relaxed indoor or outdoor environment.
Their Mediterranean style The Gravels Eatery caters for everyone. Fresh local produce in a Mediterranean courtyard. Their famous platters and cheeseboards, along with a seasonal vegan special, all matched with their handcrafted fine wines enable you to linger for a long lunch. They also have local craft beer and artisan soft drinks to cater for all tastes.
Hold your next functions & events at Unison Vineyard too. They can cater for all types of events and functions from special birthdays, Christmas function and weddings to kids parties, corporate days and exclusive Wine Maker dinners.
Stay & Relax in their private boutique self-contained accommodation on the vineyard. Sip, stay and play in the Hawke’s Bay, with stunning views of the vines. Make life easy and pre-order platters and wine to be ready and waiting on your arrival. All guests enjoy complimentary tasting (over 18s) whenever the cellar door is open and extra discount off wine purchased during the visit.
THE WINES
All Unison Red & Rosé wines are grown, crafted and bottled onsite. Unison grows all of its red grapes on the Gimblett Gravels home-block, mainly Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah.
White Varieties are sourced from other soils & cooler sites within the Hawke’s Bay such as the Bridge Pa Triangle, inland and central Hawke’s Bay.
The Unison Core Range consists of ‘Snazzy’ Sauvignon Blanc, ‘Bumble Bee’ Pinot Gris, ‘Aluvius & Celebrut’ Rosés, ‘Excaliber’ Red blend, ‘Merlin’s Reserve’ Merlot and ‘Syrah Rocks’. The Rocky range has a rosé, and a red blend.
The Icon Range consists of ‘Armonía’ Reserve Chardonnay, ‘Two Barrels’ Sauvignon Blanc, “Symphony’ Syrah and ‘Selection’ Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
There is also selection of older Unison vintages from 2007 to 2014 available under the Library Range.
Unison have a three tier Membership offer too – The Family Member, The Gravels Member and The Iconic Club Member with a six pack sent out each quarter plus other member benefits.
JB’s notes on three Unison wines he’s tasted
Unison ‘Merlin’s Reserve’ Merlot 2016 – Inky purple to black cherry in colour, opaque full bodied wine, lighter at the rim. On the Nose aromas of dark juicy plums, a whiff of leather, earth & subtle warm spice notes. On the palate, dark ‘fruitcake’ flavours, stewed plums & spices all supported by a softer acidity & silky tannins. Very smooth, long, dry finish.
Unison ‘Syrah Rocks’ Syrah 2019 – Deep purple with a lighter violet rim, medium bodied. Plum, raspberry, blueberry & spices in the nose, a hint of pepper & savoury earth notes. Bone dry on the palate, fine grippy tannins, tight acidity, dark berry fruit flavours, subtle nutty oak & spice all in ‘unison’ – Well balanced wine with a dry very lengthy finish.
Unison Vineyard, Icon Series, Maestro Chardonnay 2020 – Bright & shiny deep golden-yellow in colour, great legs / oily viscosity. Very aromatic nose with ripe stone-fruit, nutty oak & warm spice notes. On the palate, medium bodied with flavours of ripe peaches & nectarines, a juicy lemon citrus acidity, subtle nutty spiced oak influence, it’s complex & nicely textured with a persistent long dry finish.
BOTTLING AND OTHER WINE-MAKING SERVICES
In 2012 they built a new warehouse and sourced a state of the art bottling line which is perfect for smaller parcels of wine or those high end wines that need extra special treatment. Apart from bottling their own wines they also offer a bottling service to other wineries or “virtual wineries.”
They can also supply dry goods, transportation, warehousing, logistics, distribution and more.
More details about the services provided here: https://www.unisonvineyard.co.nz/bottling/
