More success for Waitapu

SWEET SUCCESS: Sandra and Eric Shackleton with the wines that have added to their medal collection.

It might be one of the smallest wineries in the North, or indeed the country, but what Sandra and Eric Shackleton's Waitapu Estate lacks in size it makes up for with quality.

Perched high in the hills above Pukepoto, with sweeping views of 90 Mile Beach and as far east as Hihi, the winery added to its collection of medals with two bronze awards at this year's New Zealand International Wine Show, the biggest event of its kind in the country.

Cabernet Franc Syrah and Syrah Tempranillo were this year's medallists, following the bronze awarded at the same event to its Pinotage 2010 two years ago.

"Next year we'll be looking for silver, but a wine has to be very good to be awarded any medal,"

Mr Shackleton said.

Waitapu is very much a boutique operation, founded by the Shackletons and their sons in 2000. And while the wines are gaining a national reputation, they are still exploring a range of options, including plantings to produce the Spanish red Tempranillo, the Italian red Sangiovese, the re-planting of Chambourcin and new plantings of the Spanish white Alberinho.

It had all been something of a learning curve, Mr Shackleton added. A pharmacist by trade, he had prepared his entry into what financially was fundamentally a hobby by acquiring a diploma in viticulture and wine-making at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hastings, but the real learning had begun with the planting and tending of vines and the production of wine.

With just five acres in vines the estate was too small to be financially independent - "It would have been, and might be in the future, but the global financial crisis hasn't done much for us in terms of people's discretionary spending," he added.

Waitapu had more than one string to its bow, however. The property is now producing olive oil, pressed on the estate, and consideration was being given to adding red wine vinegar to its repertoire, while the property is gaining a reputation as a very pleasant location for functions, with a little tasting as an added attraction.