increase font size
Kate Lattey and Koldo Santamaria at No.287 Vineyard. Photo Credit: Florence Charvin
When Kate Lattey and Koldo Santamaria planted their dream vineyard in 2020, they knew they wanted to work with winemakers who shared their passion for wine “and expressing what the land can say”.
Six years later Kate had another dream: to ask three of those winemakers each to make a barrel of Chardonnay from No.287 Vineyard, in order to raise money for the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction and Cranford Hospice. “There was so much doom and gloom at the time, in the wine industry and in the world,” says Kate, who approached Chris Scott Wines, Radburnd Cellars and de la terre with her proposal: she and Koldo would donate more than three tonnes of premium Chardonnay fruit and ask each winemaker to create an auction-exclusive wine from the same harvest.
Penelope Radburnd was not surprised to see the generosity from Kate and Koldo, who are friends as well as suppliers. The project is about more than charity, she says. “Times are tough in the wine industry, so collaboration matters more than ever.” The event is a wonderful way to raise the profile of Hawke’s Bay wines, and showcase the calibre of its single vineyards at the same time, she says. “It’s a rare opportunity to have the exact same fruit interpreted three different ways.”
The support from the wider community was just as swift, says Kate. “There are so many people that are passionate about wine. As soon as we put this call out to come and help pick the grapes, we were overwhelmed.” School mums, past and present work colleagues, and Kate and Koldo’s bank manager showed up, along with vineyard teams from Greatvine Services.
After 180 volunteer hours spent harvesting the fruit, it was divided between three wineries, with Chris Scott Wines focused on creating a complex, finely textured Chardonnay, whole-bunch pressed directly to barrel and wild fermented, while Radburnd Cellars pursued concentration, structure and longevity, in a Chardonnay designed to reward long-term cellaring. De la terre took a different path, fermenting with indigenous yeast and avoiding oak entirely to create a pure expression of fruit and place.
The wines, which will remain in barrel until bottling in 2027, will be auctioned at the 2026 Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction on Saturday 12 September. For Kate, who has tasted the three Chardonnays in barrel, it is “beyond exciting” to see what No.287 Vineyard is capable of. “We really have to pinch ourselves that we stumbled across this land and made the dream happen.”
Relationships, provenance and premium positioning are helping New Zealand wineries with new customers in challenging global markets. Kat Pickford talks to wineries working hard to grow their global footprint.
One of Australia's most decorated winemakers will speak at the Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium in Hawke's Bay this September.
Central Wine Retreat
The 26th Great Wine Capitals International Annual Conference will be held in Hawke's Bay from 18 - 22 October, in a landmark moment for New Zealand's wine and tourism industries.
OPINION: Central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark Warren recently told the Hawke's Bay Times it's time for a conversation about allowing skilled and properly equipped locals to help councils clear debris and reopen roads after severe weather events.
