The Bannockburn-based winery has just completed a deal which added a 26ha vineyard block on Felton Rd, Bannockburn, and a 15ha vineyard block at Lowburn to its existing vineyard.
Akarua was established in 1996 by Sir Clifford Skeggs and is believed to be the largest family-owned Central Otago vineyard.
The price of the two new blocks would remain undisclosed but it was ''a reasonable sum of money, so it underlines Akarua's confidence in the wine industry here and in the importance of Central Otago as a wine-producing area'', general manager and winemaker Matt Connell said this week.
''The story of Central Otago wines is a very strong one and it's nice to have the vineyard owned by a Southern family, too.''
The bulk of plantings on the new blocks were pinot noir. Akarua had been ''keeping our ear to the ground'' for several years, looking for developed vineyards to buy, he said.
''As well as finding the right places, they need to be in the right location as well.''
The purchase would also secure the supply of ''quality'' grapes for Akarua and it needed the extra fruit to meet growing demand for its product, Mr Connell said.
''There's been a lot of grapes purchased by growers outside the region so that competition makes it harder to buy quality fruit from within the region.''
Keeping the integrity of the regional brand was important, he said. Bannockburn-grown grapes had ''richer and denser'' flavours than in other sub-areas, while Lowburn growing conditions resulted in more ''floral subtleties''.
''We're looking forward to exploring the subtleties and nuances of sub-regional blends and development of further single-vineyard wines,'' Mr Connell said. He was optimistic the coming grape season would be an excellent one.
