Elephant Hill winery

Hawke’s bay – New Zealand

A pearl on the Te Awanga coast

The 25-hectare Elephant Hill vineyard is located on the idyllic Te Awanga coast in Hawke’s Bay. Founders Reydan and Roger Weiss fell madly in love with this spectacularly beautiful landscape when they came to visit New Zealand from Germany in 2001. Two years later, they founded their winery there, which has since become one of the leading producers of New Zealand wines in the region. At the heart of their philosophy of success is the combination of traditional winemaking skills with state-of-the-art cellar technology and a great willingness to innovate. The result of meticulous, manual vineyard work, precise vinification and sustainable management are great wines. The Estate wines as well as the Reserve and Icon wines impressively reflect the special terroir of Elephant Hill.

he place for the production of premium wines

With its many hours of sunshine and low rainfall, Hawke’s Bay is a perfect wine-growing region. Situated on the east side of the North Island, near the breathtaking Cape Kidnappers, it is one of the warmest areas in New Zealand. Elephant Hill has three vineyards in the renowned sub-regions of Hawke’s Bay: the coastal Te Awanga Vineyard, the inland Gimblett Vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers District and the Triangle Vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle region. The diversity of the vineyards, with very individual soil types and unique microclimates, produces very complex and characterful wines from New Zealand. The variety of soils ranges from gravel and clay to very old alluvial soils. Translating these different facets into impressive flavour profiles and bringing them to the bottle is the goal and passion of the entire winery team.

Close to nature, sustainability and aesthetics

Preserving nature and conserving natural resources are important concerns for the Weiss family. An innovative, biological water treatment plant converts the waste water from the New Zealand winery back into clean, precious water. And to protect insects and preserve biodiversity, wild flowers are planted in a targeted manner. All of Elephant Hill’s vineyards are certified by the Sustainable Winegrowers of New Zealand (SWNZ) association. The architecture and design of the winery also reflect the winemaking family’s closeness to nature. In terms of the location, emphasis was placed on ensuring that the buildings blend into their surroundings in relative silence and honour the surrounding natural elements such as the sea and the vines.