Vicarage Lane Winery

Situated in the heart of the Marlborough wine country in incredible New Zealand, Vicarage Lane Wines is a family owned home of exceptional wines.

Founded in 2002 by UK-based New Zealander John Kennard purchased 4 hectares of land on St Leonards Road, Marlborough, the winery began with the partly planted 2 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc vines

Then in 2003, half the new company was sold to established Christchurch winemakers Brent and Shirley Rawstron, which gave the fledgling business greater knowledge of the winemaking tradition and industry; further, an equity as well to allow vineyard expansion. Then, John, with partner Satu Lappalainen, returned to New Zealand in order to run the business and develop a further 4 hectares of vines on adjacent land.

Only best quality grapes are processed

Today, vines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are cultivated here, and a range of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines produced. All vines are grown on a standard upright canopy trellis, with the use of four cane vertical shoot positioning (VSP) training system, which produces the best quality of fruit and allows for an easier management of ground areas between and under the rows.

The winery follows sustainable principles

Sustainable and environment-friendly methods are employed for the cultivation to ensure that the products are full-bodied, unique and taste of the terroir. Judicious irrigation is also applied to ensure the health of the vine while allowing the best fruit flavour development. And then in Autumn, once the fruit has developed to near ripe, samples are taken. The juice from the berries are analysed to ensure that the harvesting has been carried out at optimal sugar and acid levels. The fruit is then machine-harvested and trucked to the winery to begin the winemaking process.

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