A destination for lovers of good food and great wine, nestled in the rural hills of Waimauku, The Hunting Lodge offers an immersive experience. Only half an hour’s drive from central Auckland, its expansive offering includes a winery, cellar door, lawn bar, restaurant — as well as special-occasion spaces like an events bar and glamping tent. It's this innovative approach that has seen The Hunting Lodge weather the events of recent years, earning the support of a loyal local following, and providing surprise and delight for visitors from further afield.
This support is something being celebrated by American Express, with the return of its annual Shop Small campaign — back for its third year. During Shop Small New Zealanders are encouraged to spend at small businesses, with American Express rewarding eligible card members when they do. The goal is an important one: to see small businesses thrive. To discuss why supporting local is so important, Viva talks to The Hunting Lodge winemaker James Pritchard.
James, could you tell us a little about your role — what do you do at The Hunting Lodge?
My role is to oversee the winery team and to look after our Home Block Vineyards. It is very hands on, which allows me and the team to make wines from the vines and terroir, all the way to bottle. We’re a small but very passionate team, which is composed of another winemaker and a group of experienced cellar hands, some of whom started with me on day one too.
You’ve been with The Hunting Lodge since it opened, could you tell us how it has changed over the years?
The Hunting Lodge has evolved a lot in size and scale from when we first started. The evolution of the site has been immense, creating a destination winery for Aucklanders and tourists, with three separate areas for customers to enjoy.
The growth in our wines has been driven by customer demand and the desire to showcase great wines from across New Zealand. Our wines started with the Seasonal range, which featured the best grapes from popular varietals and are a must-have on restaurant wine lists. After a few years of carefully restoring the grapes on site, we launched our Home Block series, which has received global accolades for their exceptional taste and quality. More recently we’ve added the Expressions range, which provides our retail customers a high-quality wine at a great price.
Why is it so important to have a mix of wine and food, and how does The Hunting Lodge team work to create synergy between these parts of its offering?
It’s important to have food and wine options that suit a range of customers’ tastes, and delights with the different seasons. At The Hunting Lodge, we love to introduce newer wine varietals such as Albarino and Lagrein, which are featured in our seasonal wine collections. It’s important that both food and wine work in harmony, allowing us to showcase the best we have to offer. Our winemakers and chefs work closely together to create a menu that reflects and pays respect to the great seasonal food and wine available.
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Advertise with NZME.How is the menu at the restaurant created — who is involved, what influence does seasonal produce and wine have?
We are lucky to have a great team in-house, led by Head Chef Pascal Bedel. Pascal creates a menu based on what is available seasonally, using the best possible ingredients available. We have all our Home Block and Seasonal wines on the menu, with some surprise small parcel or alternate style wines making an occasional appearance.
The last few years have been challenging in a lot of ways, but they’ve also giving New Zealanders motivation to connect with and support local businesses. Not to mention people are relishing real-life experiences again, like frequenting restaurants. How has it been for The Hunting Lodge and its staff during this time?
Clearly, it's been challenging for everyone in their own way. I think the one thing that hasn’t changed though is the importance of connection. Whether that’s our teams connecting with each other or those who come to the winery. The Hunting Lodge provides everyone with the chance to connect, whether that’s a couple having dinner in the restaurant, families coming together to share special moments, or simply pizza with friends. We’re lucky to be somewhere to create those moments for everyone.
What have you learned from this, adapted to, or innovated?
As a family run business, we’ve appreciated just how important our staff are to the success of our business. Over the last couple of years our team has all had to work harder at everything we do, ensuring it exceeds the expectations of our customers. For our restaurant and events, that’s meant finding new ways to bring people onsite, adapting our offer and the way in which we operate that still delivers enjoyment to those who visit.
On the vines we’ve added two new ranges for bottling this year, Albarino and Tannat, both from grapes grown onsite. These wines cater to emerging trends and tastes with all the quality you’d expect from our Home Block wines.
How has the support of your patrons and customers helped The Hunting Lodge?
It’s only because of the support of our local community and patrons that we’re where we are today. We love being able to have people onsite experiencing what we have to offer, then seeing them visit our retail partners, buying our wines.
Why should New Zealanders be supporting small businesses?
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Advertise with NZME.There’s no better time to be supporting local business. We all know it’s tough for lots of businesses right now and having the support of your community helps keep the passion burning.
How does American Express Shop Small encourage this, and what does it mean to have such a big global company throwing its weight and influence behind supporting small local businesses in Aotearoa?
Having the support of American Express is amazing for our business, and indeed the whole industry. Over the last two years, Kiwis have changed the way they entertain and get together, so it’s important to remind them about the many unique experiences that exist outside of the comfort of home.
To be able to share what makes The Hunting Lodge so special, through the Shop Small campaign, will no doubt encourage more people to visit us over summer.
What might visitors be surprised to find at The Hunting Lodge?
We have a glamping tent onsite providing the perfect overnight or weekend getaway from the city. The tent is positioned overlooking the Spence Block, which features some of New Zealand’s oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines, alongside newer plantings of Chardonnay, which are carefully grown and used in our Home Block range.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu right now, and what wine would you pair it with?
Hawke’s Bay Lamb Rump with the Seasonal 2020 Hawkes Bay Syrah, which is drinking very well right now.
Shop Small has returned to New Zealand for its third year. Founded by American Express, Shop Small aims to celebrate small businesses, highlight their importance within our communities and rally consumers to support them. There’s a win for shoppers too.
Get up to $50 back for supporting the places you love. Simply save the Shop Small offer to your eligible American Express Card, spend $10 or more in one transaction, at participating small businesses online or instore, and get $5 back, up to 10 times.*
Visit amexshopsmallmap.co.nz to find a great range of small businesses for you to visit, like The Hunting Lodge, and information on how to redeem the Shop Small Card Member offer.
*Ends 30 November 2022. Redeemable up to 10 times, in-store or online at participating small business. Offer must be saved to your eligible American Express(r) Card first. Limited to the first 40,000 Cards to save the offer. Exclusions, Terms and Conditions apply.
