Makipai Wines is a partnership between two good friends who needed an ongoing excuse to get together and chat about music (mainly punk-think Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash) and football (mainly about the five minutes when Newcastle United were good). The two friends are Andrew Hedley (ex-winemaker at Framingham) and a Sydney wine merchant. The wines are made by Andrew with love and care and these first releases are aimed at giving brilliant quality at extremely reasonable prices.

From a single vineyard called Ward Farm, down south from the Awatere valley. Soils are argillic-sodic-fragic pallic (we know!) - basically loess (ie calcarious) formed from Greywacke over gravels. 15 to 20 yr old vines. All stainless ferment, at warm temp with cultured yeast, with natural malolactic fermentation. No sulphur added at all until bottling. Gentle fining with isinglass (so non vegan friendly), and with filtration of course.