From a marketing point of view, the best is often the earliest, and it is usually the boss of the industry. For example, Zhang Yu, who serves as an integrated supplier of wineries, is the earliest and current largest vintner in China. This is also true abroad, such as the MingSheng Winery in New Zealand.
Located in the Hawkes Bay wine region of New Zealand, Mission Estate is the oldest winery in New Zealand. Since its establishment in 1851, the winery has been run by the same owner to this day, and its high-quality wines have always been renowned.
Château Minsant has a long history of winemaking for more than 170 years. In 1897, missionaries acquired the 800-acre Ming Saint Winery from the Tiffen family. The faithful traveled back and forth from Meeanee every day, working hard, setting up a small orchard and planting grapes. The first grapes were planted on the gentle slopes to the south, and the area created along the hillside is now home to the annual MingSheng Winery Concert.
In 1909, the founder, Mr. Smythe, decided to relocate the original community and mansion. In 1910, the Mingsheng winery mansion was cut into 11 parts and moved to the Mingsheng winery with logs and tractors, and the whole process was completed in only two days.
In 1930, a three-story concrete-built accommodation apartment was built here. On February 2 of the following year, the students moved into the brand-new apartment. However, the very next morning, at 10:47 a.m. on February 3, 1931, an earthquake of 7.9 on the Richter scale in Hawke's Bay nearly destroyed the entire Ming Saint Winery. Two priests and seven students in the chapel were killed, and the newly built apartment was damaged by the earthquake and partially collapsed. The students were forced to temporarily move out, but in 1932 they returned to rebuild their homes. A wooden church was built at that time and remains to this day. By 1935, there were a total of 80 students. Today, as the oldest winery in New Zealand, the winery has earned an excellent reputation for its stable and excellent quality wines.
There was a major expansion in 2007, doubling the pressing capacity of grapes to 2,000 tonnes per year. The new production facilities maximize the use of energy and water resources, which is an important part of the winery's ongoing commitment to environmental protection. The multi-million dollar expansion project is based on the needs of development and, more importantly, it is designed to maximize the use of energy. The winery's ISO 14001 certification in 1998 demonstrates the winery's ongoing commitment to sustainable viticulture and winemaking.
Minson Winery vineyard cultivation specialist Kane Thompson manages the vineyard with a sustainable and innovative production management system to produce exceptionally high-quality grapes. Precise cultivation methods are also implemented to grow grapes in the park, which are grown by using different sensors to connect GPS to determine differences within the vineyard, including differences in soil and grape growth. Kane can draw a map based on the measurements and mark the blocks where there are significant differences in the vineyard. These differences affect the ripeness, yield and quality of the grapes. This technology enables selective harvesting by the winery, ensuring that all harvested grapes are ripe to meet specific vinification requirements, allowing the winery to produce more exceptional wines. This cultivation method is applied to all of our vineyards in the Gimblett Gravels region, where grapes are used to make Jewelstone and Reserve wines.
In 2012, the winery vineyards extended to the Marlborough Awatere appellation, with 100 hectares of gardens planted with grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. In addition, there are also some garden blocks in the park that implement organic cultivation methods.
This ancient seminary mansion, which elegantly overlooks the whole of Napier, is the heart of the Mission Estate winery, with a restored traditional building. It offers visitors an extraordinary wine experience throughout the year.
Mission Estate is New Zealand's most visited winery. At The Wine Club in Minseng you can taste different collections of fine wines, and if you are interested in history, the twice-daily winery tour is not to be missed.
The Mission Estate restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, and the adjacent chapel is ideal for wedding receptions or conferences.
Paul Mooney spent 35 years as a winemaker at mission estates, making him one of New Zealand's most experienced winemakers. Paul's philosophy of winemaking was heavily influenced by his mentor Brother John, who trained in Bordeaux.
It can be simply translated as terroir, that is, land and climate. To grow good grapes, it is necessary to plant the right grapes on the right land. Growers can only do "maintenance" such as pruning and leaf pruning, weeding and pest control during their growth and development, and cannot do "contrary to Providence" actions such as watering and irrigation. Adapt to local conditions, and then resign yourself to fate. In each year of planting, the most important decision made by the winemaker in place of God is to decide when the harvest of grapes will begin.
The winemaker is one of the key factors in the formation of wine, and without a good winemaker, the other conditions are useless no matter how good the conditions are. Only winemakers can give the soul of wine, and the wines made by different winemakers are different.
As one of New Zealand's most historic and sustainable wineries, Château Mystique has created an award-winning and outstanding wine collection, including estate, VS, Reserve, Jewelstone and Huchet. Attracting more than 130,000 visitors a year, the winery's classic and elegant winery architecture exudes charm and offers views of Napier.
The oldest wineries in a country usually have a certain benchmarking role. In the process of serving the winery, Lanyu Culture usually helps the winery to find the right marketing entry point, so that the winery can find its own positioning and become a leader in a certain field.