Now that New Zealand wines are getting really high scores from international critics, all of a sudden they’re of tremendous interest to the fine wine community, British wine merchants and top New York restaurants. The market has been created by those global critic scores.” Rather than Indevin doing the brand building and holding the sales expertise in-house we’ll partner with someone who has that, and we’ll focus on the parts of the supply chain where we have expertise and can create value,” he explains. Villa Maria single vineyard Taylors Pass sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, part of a range of 10 it’s releasing globally. Sidebar; The Villa Maria Single Vineyards

What happened last year was huge shift in awareness of, and demand for, New Zealand wine and Brand New Zealand was on fire last year. The insights I have from the US is that a significant part of that is our sustainability story. The idea is to create a series of bespoke wines that Deller says are chosen for their elegance and as “the greatest expression of a particular vineyard”. Marlborough is surrounded by the inland Kaikoura Ranges to the south and the Richmond Ranges to the north. These rugged mountains are responsible for New Zealand’s driest and sunniest climate with an average of 2435 hours of sunshine, regulated by the cooling ocean influence, elongating the ripening period. Marlborough is composed of three sub-regions, each with their own distinctive characteristics and nuances, which are experienced in every taste.Chief executive Duncan McFarlane says Indevin had been on the lookout for a quality New Zealand global brand for some time. Indevin’s model is to grow grapes and make wine. It leaves the sales and marketing to third parties including brewing giant Lion – for whom Indevin produces the Lindauer range, among others – as well as Waitrose and Tesco supermarkets in the UK. with over 50 years ago: the pursuit of quality, innovation and passion for a particular style that is New Zealand. Above all, we want to make wines that everyone can enjoy, everywhere." He noted that one of the world’s leading wine commentator, Jancis Robinson, wrote a glowing report on New Zealand wine, focusing on sauvignon blanc and pinot noir which helped push Marlborough sauvignon blanc from a supermarket staple to standing proudly alongside the best France could offer.

And that maturation of the industry, in terms of quality, has dove-tailed with Covid-19 to create a perfect storm of desire for New Zealand-made wines. But it stayed in New Zealand thanks to Indevin, a giant wine-maker that most people have never heard of. Deller said it was the right time to make a global push as New Zealand wine – particularly Marlborough sauvignon blanc – was at a “tipping point” in terms of appreciation by critics and collectors.

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Apart from red, white and rose wines, Villa Maria also offers other categories of wines, such as sparkling wines, dessert wines, aged wines, open the cellar wines and organic wines. All of these are highly popular among wine lovers in New Zealand and across the globe. The vineyards are carefully chosen for growing different varietals that reflect the nature of the rich terroirs. But that meant there was a significant part of the New Zealand category that we weren’t participating in – that wasn’t a problem as such as we’d been successful with our model – but we believed that as the New Zealand wine industry matured, with the right brand, the right proposition, there was a lot of additional value to be created.

Our long-term strategy has been if the right opportunity came along to acquire a genuine global New Zealand brand then that would be a very interesting, exciting and rewarding acquisition. Deller says not only are people in love with the flavours of New Zealand wine but they are “buying an experience they can’t get from anywhere else” and part of that is a story of sustainability, ethical employers, and a focus on quality. McFarlane says Indevin and Villa Maria will continue to walk their own paths when it comes to sales and marketing, with Indevin remaining a business-to-business model and Villa Maria being a business-to-consumer operation. Home to expansive fertile plains framed by forested hills on one side and 200km of coastline on the other, the province has an abundance of natural resources. Gisborne’s climate is characterised by warm summers and mild winters. McDiarmid Hill is positioned on an elevated north facing hillside slope in Patutahi. Taking full advantage of sunlight, drying wind conditions, slightly cooler temperatures and natural water drainage, the additional elevation provides a wonderful advantage for producing this consistently outstanding wine. Indevin had been on the lookout for a quality New Zealand global brand for some time, says chief executive Duncan McFarlane.McFarlane couldn’t have hoped for a better opportunity than the unexpected sale of Villa Maria after 60 years of family ownership. “We felt that not only was it an amazing opportunity it was an unparalleled opportunity.” Marlborough sauvignon blanc had already surpassed France in terms of mass awareness but the more conservative critics have always considered the fine wines of Sancerre as superior to Marlborough sauvignon blanc but that seems to have changed and Marlborough sauvignon blanc is now a fine wine benchmark as well as reliable benchmark.”