Leith Ashworth, from Havelock North, winemaker at Junction wines, won the first gold medal for Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir at this year's Air NZ wine awards. 24 November 2015 Hawke's Bay Today Photograph b
Leith Ashworth, from Havelock North, winemaker at Junction wines, won the first gold medal for Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir at this year's Air NZ wine awards. 24 November 2015 Hawke's Bay Today Photograph b
Ash Ridge Wines will remain in local hands after a Hawke's Bay winemaker decided to take a punt on it, beating outsiders to the punch.
Winemaker Leith and his wife Tracy Ashworth, who run Junction Wines in Central Hawke's Bay, have purchased the property.
"It's all gone pretty smoothly sincetaking over 12 days ago, everything seems to be going well, heaps of good feedback about the fact that we've taken it on, so that's always good," Leith Ashworth said.
Junction Wines was started by his father, former All Black John Ashworth, in 1994, and Leith Ashworth has now been involved in the region's winemaking industry for 15 years.
Ash Ridge Wines, located in the Bridge Pa Triangle wine district, was run by fellow local winemakers Chris and Sonya Wilcock for 16 years before the sale to the Ashworths on November 1.
Bayleys business broker Rodger Howie said there was interest from more than 20 out-of-town buyers.
Leith Ashworth said he is happy to have kept the vineyard locally owned.
Leith Ashworth, from Havelock North, winemaker at Junction wines, won the first gold medal for Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir at this year's Air NZ wine awards. 24 November 2015 Hawke's Bay Today Photograph b
"It's always a little bit of a shame I think when wineries get purchased by people outside of the region, we need to make sure there's still locally owned wineries so that locals can support each other," he said.
He is confident in his decision to buy another vineyard despite Covid uncertainty, saying wine remains extremely popular.
"There's definitely a risk with the uncertainty of what's going on in the world. No one really knows what's around the corner, do they?"
The location of Ash Ridge Wine's vineyard will allow Ashworth to make a greater variety of wines, such as reds like syrah and merlot.
"Bridge Pa is 50m above sea level while Junction is 250m above sea level, basically the equivalent of a South Island vineyard. I'm a believer that Hawke's Bay can grow all varieties, they just need to be planted in the right place. It's awesome as a winemaker to be able to make such a large range of wines and wine styles."
He said Ash Ridge Wines will be certified organic this year, joining five other fully certified organic vineyards in the region.
"I had experience with organic winemaking, but not a lot of experience with organic vineyard management, so it's awesome to see that side of things. If we can prove it to be successful at Ash Ridge, then we'll more than likely look to convert the Junction vineyards to organic as well."
