WINE BY TAKAPOTO ESTATE

Learn more about our Wines & Wine Tasting

We are a boutique, family owned winery located on the shores of Lake Karapiro. We focus our energy on Chardonnay and Bordeaux varieties to suit the Waikato climate, however our flagship wines are our Pinot Noirs that come from two vineyards in Central Otago. One in Bannockburn and the other in Gibbston Valley.

WINE TASTINGS

A wine tasting offers an opportunity to experience our unique selection of wines that can't be found in mainstream shops. The Estate provides an ideal setting! Simply contact us to enquire about a wine tasting (by appointment only). Food pairing options are available for larger groups and wine clubs for an unforgettable day out.

About our Wines

Since its establishment in 2012, Takapoto Estate’s accomplishments are monumental, taking out the Pinot Noir trophy and New Zealand producer of the year at the prestigious IWSC awards in 2017 & 2018. Alex Coldicutt took on the role as Winemaker in 2019. Producing single vineyard wines with minimalist intervention and natural fermentation to display the magnificent terroir these vineyard sites have to offer.

Alex walks through the world-renowned vineyards in Central Otago, tasting the grapes and selecting the different rows and clones of Pinot Noir to harvest to create these wines. The bunches of grapes are left to hang on the vines until they are completely developed and bursting with flavour. They are then transported up to the winery in the Waikato where they are de-stemmed and nurtured through fermentation with wild yeasts. The grapes spend several weeks extracting colour, flavour and texture from the skins before being gently pressed into French oak barrels. After 11-15 months, the oak characters have integrated, and secondary fermentation is complete.

The individual barrels are tasted thoroughly and blended into Single Vineyard wines and a blend of the two Central Otago vineyards. The wines are left to further develop in the bottle and are released when the tannins have softened and integrated and are drinking brilliantly. You may find some sediment in the bottle, this is because the wine is then bottled unfined and with minimal filtration to preserve its texture and purity.

“Just wanted to send a quick email to let you know what a lovely time we had at the wine tasting on Sunday. We were so impressed with the wine, the service (Harriet was a wonderful host),  the beautiful property and the grazing platter was perfect, the whole experience was just exceptional. We will definitely be back soon for a garden tour or showjumping event.”

- Emily J