The spring and early summer were generally mild and warm leading to a good, but not excessive number of berries “setting” on the vines.  The weather throughout the rest of the summer was excellent.  Autumn rain caused some initial anxieties but cleared without causing a problem.  We were thus able to pick beautifully ripened,

Cool weather in late spring, during the flowering period of the vines, interfered with pollination and lead to a natural reduction in the crop level. In spite of this we rigorously hand thinned and removed any fruit which was lagging behind the rest when the grapes were ripening. Hence we reduced our crop even further. The summer and autumn were excellent and we were able to pick grapes that were perfectly physiologically ripe.

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.

Waipara was buffeted by frequent strong winds in late spring and early summer which coincided with the period when the grapes were in flower. It impaired pollination and thus quite markedly reduced the crop level.

The growing season was excellent for riesling, with an early spring, a warm summer and a long, lingering autumn. The grapes came from three climatically different Canterbury sub regions and we timed the harvest with each to take advantage of their distinctive but complimentary flavours. The Waipara Valley component was picked first, followed by that from Burnham and lastly the fruit from Swannanoa.

Mild spring weather resulted in an early budburst and warmth during the vines flowering period led to a reasonable, but not excessive, crop of grapes “setting” on the vines. Good but not too hot summer temperatures produced even ripening while allowing the grapes to retain just the right level of natural acidity. Lingering sunny days in autumn allowed us to harvest beautifully, physiologically ripe fruit.

The growing season was a little longer than usual as mild spring weather resulted in early bud burst. Although this was followed by warm days the nights were cool preventing excessively rapid growth and development. There was good accumulation of summer heat and the autumn was long and dry. Harvest was as usual in late March and April. The extra time on the vines without excessive heat resulted in fruit that was beautifully physiologically ripe when picked, but yet had good levels of natural acidity.

Cool weather in late spring and early summer, when the vines were in bloom, meant that many flowers did not become fertilised and the crop was thus small. The rest of the summer, however, was long, lingering and dry. We were thus able to harvest fully ripe fruit with beautifully concentrated flavours.