Church Road Winery

A winery was established in 1897 by Bartholomew Steinmetz, a Luxembourg émigré who came to New Zealand to make wine for the Marist Brothers Catholic Mission, known today as the Mission Estate Winery. Tom McDonald OBE began at the winery washing recycled bottles at age 14; within five years he was leasing and running the business, and a decade later he purchased the winery outright. The Drinks Business credits Church Road with being the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in New Zealand, in 1949, a step it attributes to the late Tom McDonald. Church Road's TOM wines are named in his honour, and the Gwen wines are named in honour of Gwen, his wife. On the same site that Steinmetz established, the first wine under the Church Road label was produced in the 1989 to 1991 period, informed by traditional French techniques from Bordeaux winemakers. A link-up with the Bordeaux négociant Cordier brought the winery the expertise of Georges Pauli, oenologist and manager of Château Gruaud-Larose. Church Road was part of Pernod Ricard until Pernod Ricard sold its international wine portfolio to Australian Wine Holdco Limited, the consortium behind Accolade Wines, now renamed Vinarchy; the sale was first announced in July 2024 and closed on 30 April 2025.

• 1897: a winery was established on the site by Bartholomew Steinmetz, a Luxembourg émigré who came to make wine for the Marist Brothers Catholic Mission (today's Mission Estate Winery).
• Tom McDonald OBE went from washing recycled bottles at 14 to leasing and running the business within five years, and bought the winery outright a decade later.
• 1989 to 1991: the first wine under the Church Road label, informed by traditional French techniques from Bordeaux winemakers.
• A link-up with the Bordeaux négociant Cordier brought in the expertise of Georges Pauli, oenologist and manager of Château Gruaud-Larose.
• Ownership: formerly part of Pernod Ricard; part of Vinarchy since the sale of Pernod Ricard's international wine portfolio closed on 30 April 2025.

Chris Scott moved to Hawke's Bay to study at the Eastern Institute of Technology and took a casual summer job in Church Road's vineyards in 1995; while studying for a degree in wine science he also worked summer months at Fernhill and McDonald vineyards. He was offered a cellar job for the 1998 vintage and, apart from a two-year stint at Montana in Gisborne, has been at Church Road since, becoming Assistant Winemaker in 2002 and Chief Winemaker in 2005. Chris Scott is Chief Winemaker, Craig Thomas is Operations Winemaker, Tetsuaki Ishibashi is Assistant Winemaker, Aileen Luo is Winemaking Ambassador, Graham Bartleet is Viticulture Area Manager and Brent Pilcher is Precinct Manager. Tetsuaki Ishibashi joined the winemaking team for vintage 2015 and is responsible for grape intake, fermentation and winemaking trials. Chris Scott and Craig Thomas are the winemakers of the TOM Syrah 2021 and the 1 Chardonnay 2022, with Graham Bartleet and Claire Pinker as viticulturalists.

• Chris Scott: summer vineyard job 1995; cellar job for the 1998 vintage; Assistant Winemaker 2002; Chief Winemaker since 2005.
• Team: Craig Thomas (Operations Winemaker), Tetsuaki Ishibashi (Assistant Winemaker, since vintage 2015), Aileen Luo (Winemaking Ambassador), Graham Bartleet (Viticulture Area Manager), Brent Pilcher (Precinct Manager).
• Winemakers on the TOM Syrah 2021 and 1 Chardonnay 2022: Chris Scott and Craig Thomas; viticulturalists: Graham Bartleet and Claire Pinker.

Church Road's Tuki Tuki Vineyard was planted on the eastern banks of the Tuki Tuki River by Tom McDonald in the 1960s; its dense clay soils and cooling sea breezes suit Chardonnay, the sole variety grown there. The Tuki Tuki Valley has limestone soils and a strong maritime influence and is the main source of Chardonnay for Church Road's wines. The Redstone Vineyard, in the Bridge Pa Triangle Winegrowing District, is one of the warmest vineyards in Hawke's Bay; its soils are known as red metals, a free-draining alluvial greywacke gravel riverbed covered by a shallow layer of wind-blown loess that includes iron-rich volcanic ash. The Gimblett Vineyard, a three-minute drive from Redstone, has very free-draining alluvial gravels, the lowest vigour, lowest nutrient soil in Hawke's Bay. The Matapiro Vineyard, in the cooler Crownthorpe Terraces sub-region at approximately 200 metres above sea level, is Church Road's most elevated and inland vineyard and supplies Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. Beyond Hawke's Bay, the Grand Reserve Pinot Noir comes from a small block of Pinot Noir in Lowburn, Central Otago, first sourced in the summer of 2019.

• Tuki Tuki Vineyard: planted by Tom McDonald in the 1960s on the eastern banks of the Tuki Tuki River; dense clay soils; Chardonnay only.
• Redstone Vineyard: Bridge Pa Triangle; red metals soils; one of the warmest vineyards in Hawke's Bay; Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
• Gimblett Vineyard: very free-draining alluvial gravels; the lowest vigour, lowest nutrient soil in Hawke's Bay; a component of the TOM Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.
• Matapiro Vineyard: Crownthorpe Terraces, approximately 200 metres above sea level; the most elevated and inland vineyard; Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris.
• Central Otago: a small block of Pinot Noir in Lowburn for the Grand Reserve Pinot Noir, first sourced in 2019.

TOM wines are produced only in outstanding vintages under the supervision of Chief Winemaker Chris Scott; the current releases are the TOM Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2020 and the TOM Syrah 2021, from the Gimblett and Redstone vineyards. Scott calls TOM a barrel selection of the very best wines, and the 2019 vintage of the range-topping red blend of Cabernet and Merlot included 0.5% Malbec. Church Road 1, launched in 2019 with the 2016 vintage, is a range of single-vineyard wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay from the Tuki Tuki Vineyard, Malbec from the Gimblett Gravels, Merlot, and Syrah from the Redstone Vineyard. Church Road's single-vineyard Malbec from the Gimblett Gravels is made in a quantity of 200 cases a year and sold only in New Zealand and China. Grand Reserve wines come from vineyards across Hawke's Bay and Central Otago: Chardonnay, Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. The McDonald Series covers Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. The Gwen collection offers Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and a Syrah-based rosé, and the Church Road range offers Chardonnay, Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Editions wines, in less common varieties and alternative styles made in small batches, are exclusive to the cellar door.

• TOM: Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and Syrah; produced only in outstanding vintages.
• Church Road 1: single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah; first released in 2019 with the 2016 vintage.
• Grand Reserve: Chardonnay, Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir (Central Otago), Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
• McDonald Series: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
• Gwen: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Rosé; Church Road range: Chardonnay, Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
• Editions: small-batch wines exclusive to the cellar door.

Church Road calls its Church Road range 'textural and complex, marrying the ripe fruit flavours of Hawke's Bay grapes with the subtle nuances obtained from traditional winemaking techniques.' Chris Scott's philosophy, in the winery's words, is 'executing traditional techniques to add depth of flavour and layers of texture' to Hawke's Bay fruit. Chardonnay is hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed, and the juice goes straight to barrel without settling or clarification and with no added yeast, for 100% wild fermentation. Syrah gets long macerations, around four weeks in total on the skins. On Chardonnay, Scott calls his approach 'unintentional laziness', adding: 'the less you do to it, the better it gets.'

• Chardonnay: hand harvested, whole-bunch pressed, run straight to barrel without settling or clarification, 100% wild fermentation.
• Syrah: long macerations of around four weeks on skins.
• TOM: a barrel selection of the very best wines.

Church Road Winery was shortlisted for the IWSC Red Wine Producer Trophy in 2022 and again in 2023. Chris Scott has won Winestate New Zealand Winemaker of the Year five times between 2013 and 2022. The Drinks Business lists Scott as a top 100 Master Winemaker on the strength of Church Road's results in its Global Wine Masters blind tastings.

• IWSC Red Wine Producer Trophy: shortlisted 2022 and 2023.
• Winestate New Zealand Winemaker of the Year (Chris Scott): five times between 2013 and 2022.

The cellar door is at 150 Church Road, Taradale, within the Taradale township near Napier. Visits take in the barrel halls, caves and an historical underground museum, and the TOM Experience is a guided flight of current and back-vintage TOM wines in the underground museum. Tastings are built around the collections: the Icon Tasting for TOM, the Flavour of Place Tasting for Church Road 1, the Inspired By The Bay Tasting for Grand Reserve, and the Editions Tasting for the cellar-door exclusives. Orton's is the on-site restaurant partner, and Tom McDonald's Cellar is part of the visitor grounds.

• Address: 150 Church Road, Taradale, Napier.
• Underground museum, barrel halls and caves; TOM Experience in the underground museum.
• Restaurant partner: Orton's at Church Road.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://church-road.com/, https://church-road.com/pages/about-us, https://church-road.com/pages/our-wines, https://church-road.com/pages/visit, https://church-road.com/pages/social-responsibility, and the collection listings https://church-road.com/collections/tom, https://church-road.com/collections/one, https://church-road.com/collections/grand-reserve, https://church-road.com/collections/mcdonald-series, https://church-road.com/collections/church-road, https://church-road.com/collections/gwen, and the product pages https://church-road.com/products/tom-syrah-2021 and https://church-road.com/products/1-chardonnay-2022. Official body: New Zealand Winegrowers, https://www.nzwine.com/en/winery/church-road-winery. Competition: IWSC, https://www.iwsc.net/results/trophies/2022 and https://www.iwsc.net/results/trophies/2023. Secondary sources: Decanter (James Lawther MW, last updated 13 August 2020; Christine Marsiglio MW, 17 August 2023) and The Drinks Business (15 January 2025; 30 April 2025). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.