Information
Landmark: Church Road WineryCity: Napier Hastings
Country: New Zealand
Continent: Australia
Church Road Winery, Napier Hastings, New Zealand, Australia
Overview
Church Road Winery, nestled in Taradale just outside Napier, is among the oldest and most celebrated in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay, where rows of vines catch the late afternoon sun.Founded in 1897, it’s spent more than a century crafting wines and playing a key role in shaping New Zealand’s wine industry, from the first oak barrels to today’s award-winning vintages.These days, Church Road Winery draws praise for its premium wines, the sweep of vines against a blue Hawke’s Bay sky, and wine-tasting sessions that linger in memory.History and heritage run deep here-the winery began with Peter Yerex, a trailblazer in New Zealand’s wine world, planting his first vines in the rocky soil.The name comes from historic Church Road, a narrow lane that winds straight through the heart of the property.The winery began in the late 19th century, when wooden barrels lined its cool stone cellar, and over time it’s become one of New Zealand’s most respected names in winemaking.For years, Church Road Winery has poured its energy into crafting exceptional wines that capture Hawke’s Bay’s unique character-the sun-warmed soil, the salt-tinged breeze, and all.It’s best known for its bold red wines-like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon-and for crisp, golden Chardonnay.The winery’s changed a lot over the years, adding gleaming, state-of-the-art winemaking rooms and shifting its focus toward sustainable practices.Vineyard and Terroir Church Road Winery sits in Hawke’s Bay, a region with crisp sea breezes and warm, sunny days that make it perfect for growing grapes.Warm, dry weather shapes the region, bringing long stretches of golden sunlight and crisp, cool nights-ideal conditions for crafting exceptional wines.Hawke’s Bay boasts a patchwork of soils, from gritty gravel to loose, free-draining earth, giving grapevine roots the perfect place to dig deep and flourish.The winery tends vineyards scattered across the region, from sunlit hillsides to cooler valley floors, giving it the freedom to craft wines from an array of grape varieties.Church Road crafts wines that capture the region’s true character, drawing on the deep roots of old vines and the precision of modern vineyard care.Signature Wines’ Church Road Winery offers a broad variety, but it’s the bold reds and smooth, golden Chardonnay that truly make its name.Among its standout wines is the Church Road Grand Reserve, a flagship label that captures the winery’s finest work-rich, layered, and crafted with the care you can taste in every sip.The Grand Reserve line features Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay, each made from the finest local grapes-plump and sun-warmed on the vine.These wines carry deep, layered flavors and the kind of richness that only grows with time, like dark cherries mellowing in an old oak cask.The Church Road McDonald Series honors the winery’s founder, Peter Yerex, with premium wines crafted from hand-picked grapes, each chosen with care, still warm from the afternoon sun.The McDonald Series features Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay, capturing the richness of Hawke’s Bay vineyards where warm days and cool nights shape each grape.Church Road’s Signature Range features some of the winery’s best-loved wines, including a crisp Chardonnay, a rich Merlot, and a bold, peppery Syrah.Wine lovers flock to these bottles for their top-notch craftsmanship and easygoing charm, the kind you notice in a smooth sip that lingers just right.Church Road’s Syrah has drawn plenty of attention, thanks to Hawke’s Bay’s warm, dry days-perfect ripening weather for the variety.The wine bursts with deep, velvety flavors, its aroma layered like dried figs and warm spice, and it’s prized for the way it matures beautifully over time.At Church Road Winery, the winemaking philosophy is simple: craft wines that capture the essence of Hawke’s Bay-its sun-warmed soil, sea-kissed air, and unique character.The winery blends time-honored methods with cutting-edge tools, crafting wines that are balanced, full of character, and layered with complexity-like a glass that opens with bright cherry and finishes with a whisper of spice.The winemaking team stays committed to sustainability, tending the vines with gentle, eco-friendly care and crafting each bottle in the winery with the same respect for the earth.The winery picks some grapes by hand, others with machines, choosing the method based on the grape variety and the vineyard’s conditions-like a steep hillside or soft, damp soil.The grapes are carefully sorted, then fermented before resting in oak barrels, where the wood’s faint vanilla scent deepens the wine’s flavor and character.At Church Road Winery, you can step into a warm, light-filled cellar door and sample everything from crisp whites to bold reds, making for an unforgettable wine-tasting experience.The cellar door sits against a sweep of the winery’s vineyards, green rows stretching into the sun, offering wine lovers a beautiful spot to linger and sip.In the tasting room, you can sip a flight of the winery’s signature reds at a sunny counter or settle in for a deeper experience that brings Church Road’s history and heritage to life.Visitors can explore how the wine is made, hear the winery’s story, and get a feel for the local terroir-right down to the scent of sun-warmed soil in the vineyards.If you’re after a fuller experience, Church Road Winery also runs a restaurant where you can savor dishes-like slow-roasted lamb-that are crafted to complement their wines.The restaurant offers a relaxed, upscale atmosphere where you can linger over locally sourced dishes and sip a glass of rich, velvety wine.Whether you’re nibbling on a crisp salad at noon or settling in for a hearty evening meal, the menu showcases the freshest local flavors and pairs them perfectly with each glass you taste.Church Road Winery regularly brings people together for wine and food pairing dinners, private tastings, and special evenings with the winemaker-imagine lifting a glass as the scent of oak drifts through the room.At these events, you can shake hands with the winemakers, savor rich, velvety wines alongside perfectly paired dishes, and walk away with a true insider’s view of how each bottle comes to life.The winery also hosts guided tours, taking guests through sunlit rows of vines and into the cellar, where they hear the story of Church Road, watch grapes being transformed, and see firsthand how each bottle comes to life.These tours let you step right into the heart of the winery, where you can smell the oak barrels and see the care and craftsmanship poured into every bottle.At Church Road Winery, sustainability goes hand in hand with innovation-they craft each bottle with care, from hand-harvesting grapes to reducing waste at every stage.The winery’s gone all in on green practices, from careful water conservation to tending its vines with sustainable methods that keep the soil rich and alive.They’re working to shrink the winery’s environmental footprint, all while keeping the land and vineyards healthy for decades-right down to the rich, dark soil between the rows.In the end, Church Road Winery stands as a proud landmark in New Zealand’s wine scene, known for vintages that carry the rich scent of Hawke’s Bay grapes.Rooted in tradition and driven by a passion for excellence, it thrives in a vineyard where rows of sunlit grapes stretch toward the hills, remaining one of Hawke’s Bay’s premier wine producers.Whether you’re a wine lover or just looking for a stunning spot to savor great food and a glass of pinot in the afternoon sun, Church Road Winery delivers an unforgettable experience in one of New Zealand’s most celebrated wine regions.
