The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Sea creatures connect wine and land

By Linda Hall
Hawkes Bay Today·
22 Oct, 2020 02:59 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Moana Park Estate co-owners Grant Humphrey (L) and Ross Burney

Moana Park Estate co-owners Grant Humphrey (L) and Ross Burney

It was a comment from a wine critic about labels looking like 1980s bedspreads that was the catalyst for Moana Park Estate brand new bottle design.

And the new look on their Growers Series is stunning.

Featuring nautical creatures and tales of the sea, the new-look bottles draw on the history of Moana Park Estate's heritage 3ha Puketapu block, home to one of Hawke's Bay's best wineries and cellar doors.

Co-owner Grant Humphrey says the new-look labels for their growers series tell the story of Hawke's Bay's connection to the land and sea.

The land was, for thousands of years, nutrient dense seabed, but was raised from the ocean during the Napier Earthquake in 1931.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It a classic look and will tell our story when we take it offshore," Humphrey said.

Moana Park Estate wine maker Dan Barker said they have a hands-off approach to winemaking believing that the less they put into their wines the better they are.

"I learned early on in my winemaking career that I suffer from allergies to preservative sulphites, which are added to a vast majority of wines in New Zealand," Barker said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"As a winemaker who couldn't enjoy the fruits of my labour, I set about fixing the problem. I wanted to take the winemaking process back to basics, with a hands-off approach that requires no preservatives. At Moana Park we call it Lo-Fi winemaking.

"Our Lo-Fi approach allows our wine to speak for itself, to tell its own stories of the land it comes from, with no need for additives.

"We honour nature. We want to leave a better legacy so we make organic wine with no nasty stuff. We take careful care of our fruit on the vine and carry that right through to the bottle."

Producing additive-free wines is nothing new to Barker.

"We first started creating wine this way more than15 years ago. At the time, there was little interest or demand from consumers for this type of wine.

"But now, it's clear we've led the way for other wineries to produce additive-free, plant-based, vegan-friendly wines.

"The approach has experienced a huge rise in demand over the past few years. We are thrilled to have been a part of this story in New Zealand."

The relaunch is being held this weekend and Humphrey says it will also give people a chance to have a look around after the successful change of ownership.

Humphrey and co-owner Ross Burney of Taiga Group Limited are excited to reveal their new look after

a rise in offshore sales

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

following their acquisition last August.

"For Moana Park Estate, it's about showcasing the heritage of the brand.

We would love to see you at our cellar door for an unpretentious, warm and welcoming atmosphere and a magical tasting experience," Humphrey said.

"We are planning a series of events and have some good acts booked for early next year. Moana Park Estate is the perfect spot to sit have a picnic and listen to some great music."

Moana Park Estate was first planted with vines in 1981 with some of New Zealand's oldest sauvignon blanc. Since opening the winery and cellar door in 2000, its portfolio of vineyards has expanded beyond the heritage block in Puketapu to draw from other iconic Hawke's Bay sub-regions, including the prized Gimblett Gravels.

You can find the new look Moana Park Estate Lo-Fi wines exclusively at the Moana Park Estate Cellar Door, and at select liquor stores later this year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Germany and New Zealand trade on the up as Fieldays provides important business platform

Premium
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Germany and New Zealand trade on the up as Fieldays provides important business platform
The Country

Germany and New Zealand trade on the up as Fieldays provides important business platform

xx

17 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast
The Country

'They just keep coming': Illegal hunting causes frustration and fear on East Coast

17 Jul 06:00 AM
Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes
The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

17 Jul 03:49 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP