Heron’s Flight is a small family owned vineyard overlooking New Zealand’s Matakana valley- famous for its fertile soils and boutique wineries. Heron’s Flight is the only vineyard in New Zealand specialising solely in Italian grapes, currently having 15 acres of vineyard planted to the Italian grape varieties Sangiovese and Dolcetto which they have successfully grown since 1993.

The grape variety Sangiovese means ‘Blood of Jupiter’ and can be traced back 3000 years. Dolcetto means ‘little sweet one’ and refers to the berries. As a wine it can be traced back to the 16th century.

Grapes were first planted at Heron’s Flight Vineyard and Winery in 1987, by David Hoskins – a chemist and philosopher turned winemaker, and Mary Evans – a scholar and teacher with a love of history, art and literature. Together they have made wine, raised a family, and run a successful business from the land for over 20 years – it has become their turangawaewae.

Over the years they have adjusted many aspects of the business, including the grapes grown in the vineyard and the nature of the original vineyard café. They have also lived on the vineyard land since the early 1990 which has also been their own residence since the early 1990s.

Their Cellar door is at Plume Restaurant – open 6 days for meals and wine tastings; there’s always something happening at Heron’s Flight Matakana. David and Mary run special events, tastings and Fill Your Own Bottle Days too. To find out more, visit their website or like their facebook page

To find out more, click the banner above to visit their Website or like them on Facebook.