The Donaldson Family traces its Kiwi roots back about 1000 years. In keeping with this we have chosen to honour this special New Zealand wine with an ancestral name.

The fruit came from an elevated vineyard on clay, limestone slopes looking north-west over the Waipara Valley. This was an ideal growing season for pinot gris with an early bud-burst, a warm summer and a long, lingering autumn. We were able to leave the fruit on the vines until long after the leaves had turned golden and fallen. The bronze coloured berries gradually dehydrated and shrivelled into little raisins and the fruit was harvested very late in the season.

Gentle pressing of the grapes produced a small amount of very sweet juice (28 brix). This was then slowly fermented at a low temperature to help retain its vibrant fruitiness. Because of the concentration of the juice, the wine eventually stopped fermenting leaving some natural grape sugars in the wine. It was bottled under screw cap shortly after this to help preserve its zesty aromas and flavours.

This wine is bursting with ripe fruit characters suggestive of pears, yellow-fleshed peaches and fresh raw figs, supported by hints of honey and tropical spices. It is concentrated, mouth-filling and luscious, but yet has a spine of tingling minerality, keeping it focussed and providing perfect balance to its underlying natural sweetness.

Wine in moderation is a natural health food