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My parents, David and Mary, first planted grapes in Matakana in 1987.
Each Friday evening after they finished work, Mum and Dad would bundle us into the car, so that we could make our weekly journey north to tend the grape vines. I can still remember sitting in the back seat of our cramped station wagon with my younger brother Gwynn, as our german shepherd happily dribbled all over the two of us from the boot of the car. We would spend the weekend running up and down the rows of vines, while Mum and Dad toiled away, checking that the young vines were healthy, and tying them to the wires with twisty bread ties, to train them upwards.
This weekend ritual went on for several years while Mary and David worked in Auckland city, before we all made the move north to Matakana permanently in the early 1990s. Matakana has changed a great deal since then, and things have not always been smooth sailing during our time here, but Mary and David’s love and enthusiasm for their very own piece of paradise – Heron’s Flight Vineyard – has never diminished…
Some of you may know me, my name is Luke and I am David and Mary’s eldest son. I have always been involved in the family business in one way or another, and I am now proud to have been given the responsibilty for overseeing the Grape Juice production for Heron’s Flight. Mary and David will continue to make wines and other products under the Heron’s Flight label, but due to its popularity we have undertaken a ‘re-branding’ of our Heron’s Flight Grape Juice – hence the new website!
This year we have made both Sangiovese and Merlot Grape Juice, and they have both turned out even more delicious than ever! As we require most of our grapes for wine, we needed to source some grapes from another vineyard, and I have formed a close relationship with Barry Hoy, who grows grapes in Esk Valley, Hawke’s Bay. Barry is a genuine ‘Salt of the Earth’ Kiwi bloke, who loves growing grapes, and has built up a solid reputation for producing some of the finest Merlot around. He wasn’t all that easy to locate, not having embraced the internet yet (though he has recently acquired a fax machine), but since eventually tracking him down, he has been a real pleasure to work with – and the juice we have made from his grapes is absolutely delicious!
We will also continue to make Heron’s Flight Sangiovese Grape Juice, from our own grapes grown at Heron’s Flight Vineyard – so keep an eye out for both of them! We sell the juices into restaurants and stockists around New Zealand, and we have a stall at the popular Matakana Market every Saturday morning, so come along and try some if you have not had it before. Both the Merlot and Sangiovese juices are made from 100% grapes. There are no additives or preservatives of any kind – just natural, unfermented, grape juice.
I’ve really enjoyed being more involved in the whole process, from selecting the grapes, to overseeing the production and the bottling.. it has been an adventure, and one that I look forward to sharing with you all in the future. Heron’s Flight Grape Juice is very versatile, so if you have any unique ideas on how to serve it, or just want to see how other people are enjoying theirs – pop along and visit us on our Facebook Page!
