Boutique wineries share tastes of Hawke's Bay

Numbers may have been down at Sunday's Meet The Makers wine tasting event, but winemakers were happy with the crowd of more than 100 who turned up to Triangle Cellars for a day of wine, food and musical entertainment.

Hawkes Ridge Wine Ridge winemaker Douglas Haynes said the Meet The Makers sessions were a chance for locals to discover and learn more about boutique wines from all over the Bay.

"Our winery is pretty new and people don't know we exist. [The sessions] are about getting a fanbase quickly," he said.

Lime Rock Wines winemaker Rosie Butler said the regular sessions, which combined up to 17 boutique wineries in one spot, allowed samplers to taste the difference between areas in the Bay.

"The wonderful thing about Hawke's Bay is we have got such a lot of niches to grow grapes and we can make so many different styles.

"For us, because of our climate, we're at a higher altitude and on limerock, that makes us quite different.

"Each winery has got their own story about what makes them special," she said.

Twelve of the 17 wineries from Hawke's Bay Boutique Winemakers showcased their varieties, and tasters could cleanse their palate with gourmet pizzas, paella or sandwiches made by Maraekakaho School students.

The Kawekas were on hand to provide, what Mr Haynes described as "nice Sunday music".

"It was a fabulous atmosphere," Ms Butler said, "It was really, really relaxed."