Mission Estate Winery

Last updated

Mission Estate Winery
Mission Estate Winery 55.JPG
La Grande Maison, former mission seminary building, built 1880.
Location Taradale, New Zealand
Coordinates 39°31′06″S176°50′34″E / 39.5184699°S 176.8426571°E / -39.5184699; 176.8426571
Wine region Hawke's Bay
Founded1851;172 years ago (1851)
Known forJewelstone
Varietals Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot , Syrah , Pinot Noir , Chardonnay , Sauvignon Blanc , Viognier , Sémillon
Tasting Open to the public
Website Official website

Mission Estate Winery is New Zealand's oldest surviving winemaking concern, first established in the Hawke's Bay in 1851 by French Catholic Marist missionaries for producing sacramental wine. [1] It is one of the largest wineries in the Hawke's Bay and remains wholly New Zealand owned.

Contents

History

St Mary's Church, built 1863, Meeanee St Marys Church, Taradale. Now a restaurant called The Church, Meeanee.JPG
St Mary's Church, built 1863, Meeanee

Marist missionaries, in order to make sacramental wine, were the first to introduce viticulture to the Hawke's Bay Region, planting the first vineyards in 1851 at the original mission station in Pakowhai. [1] The mission moved 5 kilometres (3 miles) north to Meeanee in 1858, taking its cottage with it using steam-powered traction engines, and subsequently building residence halls, a school, and St Mary's Church (built 1863). [2] [3] More vineyards were planted at Meeanee, and the mission recorded its first commercial sale of wines in 1870. [2] In 1880 the mission built its seminary building at Meeanee, the two-storey La Grande Maison (French, "the grand house"), and purchased a large 325-hectare (800-acre) plot of land nearby in Taradale in 1897, where more vineyards were planted. The vines were tended by travelling from Meeanee, however disastrous flooding in 1909 prompted the mission to move its operations to the Taradale location. [2]  In 1911 the wooden La Grande Maison building was sawn into 11 separate pieces and transported 5 kilometres (3 miles) to its current location over two days, using traction engines. [4] The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake caused extensive damage to the region and the mission estate, including the loss of nine lives when the stone chapel was destroyed. [2]

The early 21st century saw Mission Estate undergo considerable expansion, mirroring the overall expansion of the New Zealand wine industry. New buildings and facilities at Mission Estate were opened in 2007, greatly increasing its wine production capacity. [2] In 2012, Mission Estate purchased 100 hectares (245 acres) of Marlborough vineyards after the 2008 Financial Crisis forced Cape Campbell Wines, the former owner of the land, into receivership. [5] In 2017, Mission Estate took over ownership of founding Bridge Pa Triangle winery Ngatarawa Wines when its owners, Alwyn and Brian Corban (whose family established the Corbans winery), reached retirement age. [6]

Concerts

Following the death of Michael Jackson in 2009, Mission Estate Winery announced their hosting of The Motown Event; a concert featuring various artists of the Motown music era, to take place on February 13, 2010. Featuring various artists such as Jimmy Barnes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Joan Osborne and Martha Reeves, the concert sold out and was a critical and financial success. [7]

Following this concert, Mission Estate has garnered a positive reputation as a hosting venue, and has since hosted many other high profile musicians. These include Sting (2011), Sir Rod Stewart (2012/2019/2022), Ben Harper (2016), Dixie Chicks (2017), Avalanche City (2017), Phil Collins (2019), Michael Buble (2020), and Sir Elton John (2020).

Robbie Williams is scheduled to headline at Mission Estate on November 11, 2023. [8]

Related Research Articles

Hawke's Bay is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is governed by Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napier, New Zealand</span> City in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Napier is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lined with Norfolk Pines and extensive Art Deco architecture. Napier is sometimes referred to as the "Nice of the Pacific".

Taradale is a suburb of the City of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a predominantly middle-upper class residential suburb, located 10 kilometres southwest of the centre of Napier. The Taradale ward, which includes Greenmeadows, Meeanee, and Poraiti, had a population of 22,809 in the 2018 New Zealand census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corbans</span>

Corbans Wines is one of New Zealand's oldest wineries. It was established in 1902 by Assid Abraham Corban, a Lebanese immigrant who had arrived in New Zealand ten years earlier. Corbans Wines grew to become the second largest producer of wine in New Zealand until they were purchased by Montana Wines in 2000. Following several takeovers of Montana by Allied Domecq and then Pernod Ricard, Corbans was spun off in 2011 and is now owned by Lion.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers is the wholly owned wine subsidiary of French wine and spirits producer Pernod Ricard, which is one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in the world. It arose from the Australian and New Zealand companies formerly known as Premium Wine Brands and Pernod Ricard Pacific, and was then extended to become Pernod Ricard's umbrella organisation for its wine operations in other countries. Amongst its large portfolio, its major wineries are Jacob's Creek from Australia, Campo Viejo from Spain, Kenwood Vineyards from the United States, and Brancott Estate from New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand wine</span> Wine produced in New Zealand

New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Like many other New World wines, New Zealand wine is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended, winemakers list the varietal components on the label. New Zealand is best known for its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently its dense, concentrated Pinot Noir from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloudy Bay Vineyards</span>

Cloudy Bay Vineyards is a winery based in the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand, with vineyards in both Marlborough and Central Otago. Established in 1985 as one of the earliest wineries founded in Marlborough, Cloudy Bay attracted international acclaim for its first Sauvignon Blanc wines in the 1980s and was instrumental in establishing New Zealand's international reputation for white wine. It was acquired by Champagne house Veuve Clicquot in 2003 and is now a LVMH brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brancott Estate</span>

Brancott Estate is the brand adopted since 2010 by Pernod Ricard for New Zealand's largest wine producer, formerly Montana Wines, which now operates as the New Zealand division of Pernod Ricard Winemakers. The name comes from its Brancott winery in Blenheim, and was chosen to reduce confusion in the United States market with wines from the state of Montana.

The Hawke's Bay Expressway, known also as the Napier-Hastings Expressway, runs from Hawke's Bay Airport, through Napier and Hastings, and ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings, a total length of 24 km. It is part of State Highway 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pukeora Sanatorium</span> Hospital in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Pukeora Sanatorium or Pukeora Tuberculosis Sanatorium was a tuberculosis (TB) hospital in the Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Buck (winemaker)</span>

John Kenneth Buck is chairman of Te Mata Estate winery and is widely recognised for his contributions to fine wine and the New Zealand wine industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yealands Estate</span> New Zealand winery based in Marlborough

Yealands Estate is a winery based in the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand, originally established in 2008 by entrepreneur Peter Yealands. In 2018 it was taken over by Marlborough Lines, a community-owned power company. Yealands also produces the labels Crossroads, Babydoll and The Crossings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Mata Estate</span> Winery in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Te Mata Estate is an independent, family-owned Hawke's Bay winery and New Zealand's oldest, in continuous operation since 1895. The winery produces everything on-premises at their Havelock Hills site near Havelock North, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Napier. Established in the late 19th century by the Chambers family, the winery and original vineyards were the first to be heritage-protected, and is one of New Zealand's most highly regarded wineries.

Soakimi Gatafahefa, also known as simply Soakimi Gata, a Polynesian transliteration of Joachim Gata, was the first Roman Catholic priest from Polynesia. He worked in several Oceanic countries including Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and later Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawke's Bay wine region</span> Wine region in New Zealand

The Hawke's Bay wine region is New Zealand's oldest and second-largest wine-production region, on the east coast of the North Island. Production reached 41,000 tonnes in 2018 from 4,681 hectares of planted vines, representing 10.2% of total national production. Some of the oldest wineries still operating in New Zealand, including Te Mata Estate, Church Road, and Mission Estate, were established in the Hawke's Bay area in the late 19th century. Despite this, it was only established as a geographical indication (GI) in 2018. The GI protects any wine produced within the boundaries of the entire Hawke's Bay Region, but in practice the vineyards are chiefly concentrated in the plains and low hills surrounding the cities of Napier and Hastings.

Pakowhai is a small settlement in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is a located between Napier and Hastings, north of the Ngaruroro River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meeanee, New Zealand</span> Suburb of Napier in Napier City, Hawkes Bay Region, New Zealand

Meeanee is a locality south of the city of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay Region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It was named after the Battle of Meeanee in India, won by Sir Charles Napier, the city's namesake. Along with such locations as Clive and Havelock North, it is one of several places within Hawke's Bay to be named after events or people in Colonial India.

State Highway 51 is a New Zealand state highway that runs between Napier and Hastings via Clive. Known locally as the Coastal Route, it was the main route between the two cities prior to the completion of the Hawke's Bay Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlborough wine region</span> New Zealands largest wine region

The Marlborough wine region is by far New Zealand's largest, accounting for three quarters of the country's wine production, 70% of its vineyard area and 85% of its wine exports. A Geographical Indication in the north-east of the South Island, it covers the entire Marlborough District and the Kaikōura District of the Canterbury Region, but in practice the vineyards are concentrated around the Blenheim and Seddon townships. Internationally, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is recognised as world class; wine writers such as Oz Clarke and George Taber have described it as the best in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seifried Estate Winery</span>

Seifried Estate Winery is a family owned winery and vineyard based in Nelson, New Zealand. The winery was founded by Hermann Seifried and his wife Agnes in 1973 as a part time business, and is now the South Island's oldest commercial vineyard.

References

  1. 1 2 Dalley, Bronwyn (24 November 2008). "Wine – Page 1. 19th-century origins". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mission Estate Winery, established in 1851 by pioneering French Missionaries". Mission Estate Winery. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  3. "St Mary's Church". Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. "Greenmeadows and Taradale". Hastings Standard. Vol. I, no. 22. 9 January 1911. Retrieved 9 December 2019 via Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand).
  5. Berry, Michael (14 May 2012). "Mission Estate Winery buys Marlborough vineyard". The Press . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 9 December 2019 via stuff.co.nz.
  6. Smith, Aneke (21 June 2017). "Corbans hand over reins of Hawke's Bay business". Hawke's Bay Today . Retrieved 9 December 2019 via The New Zealand Herald.
  7. Catherall, Sarah (15 February 2010). "Gig Review: The Mission Estate Winery Concert". Stuff. Retrieved 22 September 2022 via Stuff.
  8. Schwanecke, Gianina (21 September 2022). "Let him entertain you: Robbie Williams to headline Mission Concert next year". Stuff. Retrieved 22 September 2022 via Stuff.