Wine Enthusiast – October 2019

26 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | OCTOBER 2019

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BETTER NATURE

ROOT TO SIP

PROTECTION

Values of land, culture and family

guide New Zealand’s Māori wineries.

K

aitiakitanga: It’s a word the Māori, the

indigenous people of New Zealand, use

to describe their guardianship of the

land, its people and its culture. It’s also

the key value shared by a wave of Māori wineries

that’s recently begun to swell across the country.

“It’s sustainability on steroids,” says Lina

Stroud, business manager of Tiki Wine & Vineyards,

a Māori-owned winery in Christchurch. “We see

ourselves as caretakers of the land and try to keep

our footprint small to make sure that everyone gets

to experience the magic of New Zealand.”

With fewer than a dozen Māori wineries

established, numbers are still small. But last year’s

formation of Tuku, a Māori winemakers collective,

combined with increased interest from across the

country has proven these producers are poised for

their moment on the world stage. Here’s a look at

three of the most prominent. —Jake Emen

TOHU WINES

Though several New Zealand wine brands bear a Māori

name, this was the first truly Māori-owned winery. Today, it

has the farthest reach, and thousands of descendants

from tribes that inhabited what’s now recognized as the

Marlborough wine region serve as its shareholders. Bottles,

like entry- level Kono Sauvignon Blanc and premium offer-

ings in its Kaumātua Range, are available across the U.S.

STEVE BIRD WINES

Steve Bird Wines is rooted in manākitanga, “a generosity of

spirit toward the land and each other.” The producer traces

its Māori roots back more than 800 years and sources from

vineyards in Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and Marlborough. Two of

its ranges are available stateside, the signature Steve Bird

bottlings and Manu, which includes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot

Noir, Pinot Gris, a rosé and a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon

and Merlot.

TIKI WINE & VINEYARDS

Evan Ward is the winemaker at sustainably focused Tiki

Wine, where the principles of kaitiakitanga are applied in the

vineyard to ensure that quality comes first. “You can make up

a good story to promote a poor wine, but in the end, people

will see through [it],” says Ward. Two Tiki ranges are avail-

able in the states: the flagship Tiki Estate and Maui, named

for a Māori demigod.