Welcome to

Hawkes Bay

Located on the East Coast, Hawke’s Bay is the heart of Aotearoa New Zealand’s food and wine country. The region is one of the country’s oldest for grape growing and the second largest, with vineyards concentrated around the urban centres of Hastings and Napier.

Warm and fertile

Climate

Hawkes Bay’s long, hot summers and cool winters offer an ideal climate for grape growing. The region has around 2,198 hours of sunshine in an average year and the average annual rainfall is 803 mm.

Ancient riverbeds provide free-draining soil terraces perfect for low vigour vineyard sites that allow a diverse range of varieties to flourish.

Diverse

Grape Varietals

The region offers myriad soil types and a long, dry growing season ideal for ripening a wide range of grape varietals. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the major grape varietals planted across the region.

Discover one of the Great Wine Capitals of the World.

THIS IS HAWKE’S BAY

Our Icon wine

Ngakirikiri

Our icon wine Ngakirikiri is a presentation of the very best of Villa Maria’s holdings in the Gimblett Gravels appellation. Produced in only the most exceptional vintages with painstaking attention to detail, it is a highly aspirational project and the most comprehensive and focused wine Villa Maria has ever produced.

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Our Favourite

Hawkes Bay wines

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Ngakirikiri 2018
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Gimblett Gravels

Ngakirikiri 2018