Autumn marks wine harvest season for New Zealand, when the wines are ready for picking the season’s vintage. Not only is it one of the busiest times of year for wine producers, it’s also one of the most gorgeous – with the vines turning golden-orange and heavy with ripe fruit.
New Zealand has an abundance of wineries embracing innovative and sustainable winemaking, resulting in many unique wines to taste and winery experiences to discover.
Here are some of the most unique wineries forging their own path when it comes to winemaking in New Zealand, and producing stunning natural wines.
1. Cambridge Road Winery, Martinborough
Winemaker Lance Redgwell’s small slice of Martinborough is located just across the road from some of New Zealand’s most renowned traditional wineries – but his style is a little different to the usual. Using organic and biodynamic practices, Cambridge Road makes naturally fermented wines with minimal additives except for a small amount of sulphur. Some are aged in barrels, including a native totara wood barrel large enough to fit a small car inside - believed to be the only native timber being used to age wine in New Zealand. The result of this approach is beautiful natural wines, with gorgeous names such as ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’, ‘Cloudwalker’, and ‘Ebb’ and ‘Flow’, and unique bottle artwork designed by different local artists.The Martinborough winery has a decidedly relaxed and casual feel – grab a spot in the sunny courtyard or cosy dining room complete with roaring fireplace, and enjoy a tasting – likely with Lance himself – accompanied by a platter of local cheeses and meats.
2. Black Estate, North Canterbury
This picturesque organic and biodynamic vineyard offers a full immersive experience – whether you want to pop in for a quick tasting, stay for a long lunch at the winery restaurant, or make a night of it and stay amongst the vines at the Black Estate B&B. Black Estate’s three vineyard sites are farmed organically and biodynamically to produce fruit and wines that are expressive of the place and season. Fruit is handpicked and settled in natural oak, tank or clay amphora, with no other fining or filtration processes used - resulting in beautiful examples of natural wines including Pét Nat, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling and more. Book a seated wine tasting or enjoy wine by the glass alongside a lunch made with spray-free, organic produce gathered and fished by locals. During June and July, the restaurant menu comes alive with a celebration of truffles, sourced from a neighbouring property.
3. Greystone Winery, Waipara
With stunning organic wines, a seasonally-focused restaurant, and next-level PurePod accommodation, you don’t even need to leave the Greystone Winery property to enjoy a luxury escape. Greystone became New Zealand’s first net carbon zero certified winery in June last year, thanks to a number of sustainable initiatives to lower its carbon footprint. From using ducks as a form 
of pest control over pesticides and sheep as mowers and fertilisers; to planting cover crops that improve organic soil matter and decreasing the glass in their bottles to reduce emissions, the winery regards regenerative viticulture as the way of the future. Sample the fruits of their labour alongside Greystone’s famous long lunch, available from Thursday to Monday. The menu changes weekly according to what’s in season and available, but always celebrates fresh produce – think Clevedon oysters and 
Canterbury Wash Creek organic lamb, paired with Greystone Syrah.
4. Folium Winery, Marlborough
Another winery shaking up the winemaking game is Folium Winery, which implements ‘dry farming’ or winemaking without irrigation. Winemaker Takaki Okada began dry farming in 2011 for its wine-style and environmental benefits, including saving significant amounts of irrigation water. The lack of irrigation also allows the winery to create a different style of Sauvignon Blanc, due to lower levels of methoxypyrazines - a chemical compound that contributes to herbaceous flavour. A BioGro certified organic vineyard, Folium also employs the services of several team members including Ponsonby and Archie the sheep, who are responsible for weed control (and great at escaping), free range chickens, and bees to increase the biodiversity of the vineyard.
While this winery doesn’t have its own cellar door, you can taste its wines through many of New Zealand’s fine wine stores – we recommend grabbing a bottle to share once you arrive at your accommodation of choice.
5. Churton Wines, Marlborough
Churton Wines has truly gone back to basics when it comes to winemaking – employing the services of gentle giant Clydesdale horses to work between the vines rather than tractors in an effort to become more sustainable and reduce emissions. The 30-year-old vineyard is the first in New Zealand to employ horses for under-vine soil work, an idea sparked by employee Emma Rossignol, who witnessed the technique being used in France. The horses, Gordon and Xena, are much lighter on the earth than tractors, which reduces compaction of the soil, improves soil health, and helps with retaining water. Being smaller than tractors, it also increases access to the under-vine areas.
This autumn season, visit New Zealand and check out these innovative wineries producing amazing wines.