Stonecroft has two vineyards in the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District. The vineyards are around 3km apart. One of the vineyards is on Mere Road, west of Hastings and the other is at the base of Roy’s Hill. In total approximately 7 ha are planted with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Viognier. Both vineyards are hot and dry, with peak summer temperatures consistently between 35˚C and 40˚C. Soils (known as the Omahu Gravels) are very stony and free draining.
We take great care to ensure the grapes harvested from our vineyards are of a high quality. Pruning, picking and most of the canopy management is carried out by hand. As we are organic, a lot of attention is paid to canopy management with de-budding, leaf picking and green harvesting. Yields are kept very low to ensure top quality fruit and good ripeness levels; typically around 2kg per vine. Both vineyards are certified organic.