SHERWOOD ESTATE, New Zealand

Together they have built the company from a small 20 acre block in north Canterbury to one of New Zealand’s largest family owned and independent wineries. Their customer built winery in the Waipara Valley may have seemed huge at the time, but now is bursting at the seams with epic wines, exuding great balance under the meticulous winemaking of Chief Winemaker, Petter Evans.

Viticulture

Being a family company, the Sherwood’s have always been conscious about what they are leaving behind for future generations, which is why they were one of the first wineries in the Waipara Valley to have all their vineyards and winery accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ). Sherwood Estate’s overriding philosophy is one of ‘balance’ and a continued commitment to continual improvement in environmental management practice and performance. With vineyards over three sites, Church Road, the home of the winery, but also two 15 acre Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards; Pilgrim, a close planted 60 acre vineyard of 70,000 vines on the north-eastern side of the valley, planted with Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris; and Glasnevin on the south-eastern side, a 23 acre planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Each site possessing contrasting aspects, soils and climates, offering welcome idiosyncrasies and stylistic difference to their wines, and showcasing Waipara.

Winemaking

Balance and sustainability are fundamental, with all wines made in their modern winemaking facility at their Church Road site under the incredibly experienced ‘veteran’ of the industry, Petter Evans and his team. A natural progression in minimising the impact on the environment follows through at every stage; all their packaging is made in NZ, from the cap to the label, and even the pallet. All packaging is recyclable, and in 2010 they moved to lighter weight bottles, which use less energy in the manufacturing process, fewer resources but also reduce the impact of shipping them across the world