Beautiful Hawke’s Bay Vineyards

A place as unique as the wine we make
With Hawke’s Bay’s superb climate and wide spectrum of soil types from ancient river terraces to alluvial gravels, there’s a reason that over 70% of New Zealand’s red wines come from this region. And we’re proud to be at the heart of it.

Hawke’s Bay Region

Facts

Hawke’s Bay wines have become world famous – and for good reason. The Hawke’s Bay wine region has an international reputation for producing beautiful red wines, thanks to
being blessed with a superb climate for viticulture – sufficiently cool to ripen grapes slowly, yet warm and sunny enough to promote optimum fruit ripening. With an extended growing season, this region produces some remarkably complex and drinkable wines.

On a latitude 39.4 ֯ south, this is a region characterised by its temperate, maritime influenced climate, and soil diversity with more than 20 different soil types in this region. Soil types range from river terraces, volcanic loess, alluvial silts to deep river gravels. As New Zealand’s largest red wine region, Hawkes’ Bay produces 71% of the country’s red wines, with almost half the region’s plantings dedicated to these varieties.

Grape Variety

Hawke’s Bay contributes the fruit used in many of Babich’s most-loved wines, including the iconic Irongate range, famous for its Chardonnay and red blend, and The Patriarch — our unparalleled flagship Hawke’s Bay red wine. This region is blessed with a superb climate for viticulture – sufficiently cool to ripen grapes slowly, yet warm and sunny enough to promote optimum fruit ripening. Hawke’s Bay vineyards have a tradition of quality winemaking which stretches back to the 19th century, its reputation evolving steadily as a source of deep-flavoured and slowly evolving Hawke’s Bay Chardonnays, robust and tropical Sauvignon Blancs and stylish, scented Cabernet and Merlot-based reds, more recently adding Gewurztraminer, Viognier and Syrah.

Climate

The colonial missionaries were first to plant vines in Hawke’s Bay back in 1851 – and today it’s known around the world for its exceptional red blends, Syrah and Chardonnay. With a long growing season and temperate climate, it’s the alluvial planes shaped by ancient rivers that make this terroir so unique and special.

Hawke’s Bay Vineyards & Wineries

We have 5 estate owned vineyards in the Hawke’s Bay region.

Hawke’s Bay

Irongate Vineyard – Gimblett Gravels

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Chardonnay – 36.8 hectares / 90.9 acres

Like the Omahu Vineyard, this vineyard can be found in one of the most renowned growing districts of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Wines produced from this region are determined by the gravelly soils laid down by the old Ngaruroro River.

Hawke’s Bay

Fernhill Vineyard – Fernhill

Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc – 16.6 hectares / 41 acres
Enjoying sheltered and warm conditions that are perfect for ripening grapes on the deeper river soils, our Fernhill vineyard produces Hawke’s Bay wines with elegant fruit flavours.

Hawke’s Bay

Highway 50 Vineyard – Gimblett Gravels

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah – 9.9 hectares / 24.5 acres

Again, wines produced from this special terroir in Hawke’s Bay are believed to be a first for winegrowers in the New World, making for a unique blend of traditional French concepts and modern thinking.

Hawke’s Bay

Omahu Vineyard – Gimblett Gravels

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah – 6 hectares / 14.8 acres

Located in the famous Gimblett Gravels sub region of Hawke’s Bay, this vineyard yields small crops of grapes from free draining shingle which harbour rich, concentrated flavours. Babich Wines was among the pioneers of the Gimblett Gravels appellation, helping position this as a premium sub-region.

Hawke’s Bay

St John Vineyard – Bridge Pa Triangle

Malbec, Syrah and Merlot – 9.7 hectares / 23.9 acres

The combination of free draining soils overlaying ‘red metal’ gravels with high sunshine hours and low rainfall, makes the Bridge Pa Triangle vineyard a unique viticultural area.

Marlborough
region

Welcome to Babich Wines


To enter this website, please confirm that you are aged 18 years or older and should you purchase any wine that the receiver of the wine purchased is also aged 18 years or older. Thank you.