The Gibbston winery already stocks wine from four other wineries that don’t have their own cellar door — Coal Pit, Hawkshead, Valli and Wild Irishman — as well as its own Kinross label.
It’s now added High Garden, which sources 100% of its fruit from a small sloping site just above the Gibbston Back Rd.
At 420 to 490 metres above sea level, it’s Gibbston’s highest vineyard, meaning in the ripening month of April it’s exposed to up to 90 minutes more sunshine than any other site in the valley.
High Garden owner Robin Tedder, who’s been creating wine since 1993, became a Master of Wine in ’97, and is still the only one in Central Otago.
It’s a title bestowed on only 416 people in the world, and just 15 in New Zealand.
His viticulturist is Gibbston expert Gary Crabbe and his widely-regarded winemaker is Jen Parr, who’s also Valli’s winemaker.
