The Hay Paddock - Waiheke Island

by Gail
(Auckland)

The Hay Paddock in Onetangi on Waiheke Island had been opened to the public for a week (January 2011) and we were quick to get ourselves up there to sample their wines.

The first winery along Seaview Road, you drive down a short driveway to the parking lot, taking in the expansive vista over the grapevines stretching in immaculate lines into the distance. The rustic small shed has a wonderful red interior giving a sophisticated panache to what is essentially a removable cabin.

The vineyard was planted in 2002 by Brian Mogeridge and Chris Canning the wine maker. Syrah their chosen grape..after many years of discussion.

Syrah.....known as Shiraz in Australia, has been a relatively recent addition to New Zealand's star wines.

It was initially thought the climate was not hot enough for this grape. However, fortunately there are always those who will try something that has been declared a bad idea and the first Syrah grapes were planted in Hawkes Bay, producing some fine wines.

Waiheke with it's micro climate has proved to be another excellent area for this grape, several wineries having won international awards, including The Hay Paddock.

We started inside, first choosing which style of wine tasting we wanted to do! This was our first encounter with a vertical wine tasting. That is....tasting different vintages of the same wine.

There were also two other options. One choosing 4 wines from their two labels - The Hay Paddock or the Harvest Man , or from a wider range including from Nick Nobilo's Gewertztraminer Vinoptima. The other wines they include in their selection are from specialist winemakers for a specific wine variety.


Once we had read the information and decided which tastings we would do we sat outside under an umbrella soaking up the sun and views, and were joined by Chris Canning the winemaker. It was great to get the inside story of the winery, and what are already award winning wines.

Their very first Hay Paddock Syrah in 2006 won the Best Syrah/Shiraz award at the Cathay Pacific 2010 Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition, Silver Medal best in class at the 2008 London International Wine and Spirit Competition and another Silver Medal at the 2008 Decanter World Awards .

This seems to have paved the way for awards for the next years with the 2007 Harvest Man winning a Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge, and in London 2008 being selected as the Wine of the Year by the Best of the Best 2009 Wine Guide.

The vertical wine tasting was very interesting. Despite being the same grape....each year was quite different. The 2006 was a big, rich spicy, oaked wine while the 2007 was much lighter due to a poor growing season. 2008 was another excellent year and I loved the rich spicy, oaked tones. Not due for release until 2011 I fully expect this to also waltz off with some top international awards.

Being small runs these wines are in the higher price range. But they are already proving to be some of the finest syrahs anywhere in the world!