Our remarkable wines define the extraordinary beauty of the Coromandel Peninsula's eastern coastline. Matured in new French Oak, the wines are sturdy and rich with a bouquet of blackcurrants, spice and concentrated ripe flavours.
We focus on making high quality Merlot in small quantities, with much of the work in the vineyard done by hand ensuring each vine gets the attention it deserves, all the way through to harvest where we hand pick to make sure the grapes reach the winery in the best possible condition, with the highest possible quality.
The area works well for the grapes – we are protected from the prevailing westerly weather by the ranges with soil well matched to growing Merlot. Our land is north facing, gently sloping towards the ocean and picks up great sun and heat through late summer for optimum ripening. We focus on producing a high quality Merlot – and we have certainly achieved that.
The wine is available through bottle stores and restaurants, or you can make an order by contacting us.
Shakespeare Cliff Vineyard has been established in the area for many years and certainly is a landmark.
The vineyard, of course, takes its name from one of the landmarks in the area, the stunning Shakespeare Cliff, named by Captain Cook when he visited the area in 1769 to watch the passage of the planet Mercury across the sun while his ship Endeavour took on fresh provisions. Other well known attractions such as Hot Water Beach, Hahei and Cathedral Cove are close by. There's also a well known marine reserve in the bay which attracts many divers.
My grandfather moved to Cooks Beach in the early 1950's from Tokoroa with his family where they were farming. They bought 2500 acres in behind Cooks Beach and Flaxmill Bay. Originally they cleared land in behind Flaxmill Bay where they farmed dairy cows. About 10 years later my father bought 1000 acres behind Cooks Beach from my grandfather and gradually broke it into productive farmland to run sheep, breeding cows and bulls. I bought 40 acres from my father in 1995 and started planting the vineyard. The land will always hold special meaning for me and my family and I hope to nurture and safeguard its exceptional beauty for all our generations to come.
