Craggy Range

Terry and Mary Peabody began searching for a winery site in 1993, looking at France, the United States, and Australia before turning to New Zealand. Terry Peabody is American-born (the family left Guam on the last boat before the Japanese takeover and settled in Norfolk, Virginia, before moving him to Japan as a child), and made his industrial fortune in Australia: he built Transpacific Industries into a billion-dollar waste-management group and locked in long-term supply rights to fly ash from coal-fired power stations, which is used to strengthen and cheapen concrete. In 1997 the Peabodys met Steve Smith, a young New Zealand viticulturist who had become a Master of Wine the year before, passing the famously difficult MW exams at the first attempt and becoming the first viticulturist in the world to earn the qualification. Smith led the Peabodys to the raw alluvial gravels of Gimblett in Hawke's Bay and the layered river terraces of Te Muna Road in Martinborough, and Craggy Range was formally established in 1998 with Smith as founding Managing Director. The most consequential decision the Peabodys made at the outset was structural: they established a 1,000-year family trust that holds the winery's land and assets, making it legally impossible to sell the estate, and binding the family to a multi-generational commitment most wineries are never asked to articulate.

• Terry Peabody is American-born; his fortune was built in Australia through Transpacific Industries (waste management and fly-ash supply rights), not in the United States.
• Steve Smith became a Master of Wine in 1996 at the first attempt and was the first viticulturist (rather than a winemaker or trader) in the world to do so; he served as founding Managing Director from 1998 until 1 July 2015, when he stepped back to a board and advisory role.
• The 1,000-year family trust established in 1998 is the structural commitment that underwrites every other long-term decision at Craggy Range; the estate cannot legally be sold.
• Terry and Mary Peabody met Steve Smith in 1997 and committed to the Gimblett Gravels and Te Muna Road sites the same year; the winery was formally founded in 1998.

Craggy Range runs two purpose-built wineries in Hawke's Bay and farms vineyards across two North Island regions. Giants Winery, the headquarters and visitor estate, sits at the foot of Te Mata Peak in Havelock North; its architecturally designed building, organic and biodynamic kitchen gardens, cellar door, restaurant, and luxury accommodation form the public face of the estate. The Gimblett Gravels Winery, a short drive away in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District, is the estate's working production facility for reds and Chardonnay, equipped with a diverse range of fermentation vessels from stainless steel and concrete to ceramic, amphora, and small French oak. The vineyard footprint covers three terroirs. In the Gimblett Gravels, the famously stony, free-draining alluvial site produced by an 1867 flood of the Ngaruroro River that exposed the gravels, Craggy Range farms estate blocks for Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Chardonnay; warm summers, a sheltered microclimate, and heat-retaining river stones drive slow, even ripening of structured reds. The coastal Kidnappers Vineyard, near Cape Kidnappers on the Hawke's Bay coast, is the cooler, clay-influenced site that gives Craggy Range a maritime Chardonnay. In Martinborough, the Te Muna Road Vineyard sits roughly seven kilometres east of the township and around 50 metres higher in elevation than most local sites, delaying harvest by up to ten days; ancient loess on the upper terraces is given to Pinot Noir, while younger stony alluvial terraces below are planted to Sauvignon Blanc.

• Giants Winery (Havelock North, at the foot of Te Mata Peak): architecturally designed cellar door, restaurant, kitchen gardens, and luxury accommodation; the estate's headquarters.
• Gimblett Gravels Winery: the working production facility in the heart of the Gimblett Gravels district, equipped with stainless steel, concrete, ceramic, amphora, and oak fermentation vessels.
• Gimblett Gravels (Hawke's Bay): heat-retaining alluvial river stones; the home of Le Sol Syrah, Sophia, The Quarry, and Te Kahu, plus Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay.
• Kidnappers Vineyard (Hawke's Bay coast): cooler maritime site with clay soils; the source of the Kidnappers Chardonnay.
• Te Muna Road Vineyard (Martinborough): three terraces of river-borne alluvium and ancient loess; the source of Aroha Pinot Noir, Te Muna Pinot Noir, and Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc.

The Prestige Collection is the pinnacle of Craggy Range's output and is made only in exceptional vintages. Sophia, named for one of Terry Peabody's granddaughters, is the Merlot-dominant Gimblett Gravels Bordeaux blend; recent vintages have been around 58% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in French oak. Le Sol (the soil) is a pure Syrah drawn from the stoniest, warmest parcels of the Gimblett Gravels and has become the global benchmark for what Hawke's Bay Syrah can do; Bob Campbell MW awarded the 2013 vintage 99/100 and the 2021 vintage 97/100, and recent vintages release annually through La Place de Bordeaux. Aroha (Maori for love) is the prestige Pinot Noir from the upper terraces of Te Muna Road, around 100% Pinot Noir, partly whole-bunch fermented with wild yeast, and aged about 10 months in French oak with around 28% new oak; recent vintages have placed in the top tier of Martinborough Pinot Noir releases. The Quarry is the Cabernet Sauvignon-led Gimblett Gravels blend, made from the parcels of land that were once destined to be opened as a literal gravel quarry before vignerons saved them for vines; it is produced only in great vintages and built to cellar a decade or more. Les Beaux Cailloux (the beautiful stones) is the single-block Chardonnay completing the collection. Sophia, Le Sol, and Aroha are the wines currently released into La Place de Bordeaux, where they sit alongside Bordeaux first growths, Tuscan supertuscans, Napa cult Cabernets, and a small handful of Australian and South American peers.

• Sophia (Gimblett Gravels): Merlot-dominant Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and a small percentage of Petit Verdot; aged 18 months in French oak; named for Terry Peabody's granddaughter.
• Le Sol (Gimblett Gravels): pure Syrah from the warmest and stoniest estate parcels; the global benchmark for Hawke's Bay Syrah; 2013 vintage scored 99 by Bob Campbell MW, 2021 vintage 97.
• Aroha (Te Muna Road, Martinborough): Pinot Noir from the upper Te Muna terraces; partial whole-bunch fermentation, wild yeast, around 28% new French oak; Maori for love.
• The Quarry (Gimblett Gravels): Cabernet Sauvignon-led blend made only in exceptional vintages; built to cellar a decade or more.
• Les Beaux Cailloux: single-block Chardonnay; the white expression of the Prestige Collection.

Below the Prestige Collection sits a serious and broad single-vineyard range. Te Kahu is the entry-premium Gimblett Gravels Bordeaux blend, Merlot-led with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and a touch of Petit Verdot; the exact proportions shift each vintage to maintain a consistent house style, and the wine is aged around 17 months in roughly 20% new French oak. The Gimblett Gravels Syrah, the broader expression of the same district that produces Le Sol, is one of the most consistently lauded New Zealand Syrahs at its price point. The Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay and the cooler, more maritime Kidnappers Chardonnay show the two faces of Craggy Range white winemaking: the former rounder and stone-fruited, the latter precise, saline, and citrus-driven. From Martinborough come the Te Muna Pinot Noir (the village-tier expression of Te Muna, beneath Aroha) and the Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc, which has done as much as any single wine to redefine what New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc can mean: ancient loess soils, low residual sugar, layered mineral complexity, and the discipline of an estate that treats Sauvignon Blanc as a serious grape rather than a commodity product. The 2023 vintage of Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc was ranked No. 11 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2024, scoring 94 points and capping ten consecutive vintages of 90+ from the publication.

• Te Kahu (Gimblett Gravels): the entry-premium Bordeaux blend; Merlot-led with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot; 17 months in around 20% new French oak.
• Gimblett Gravels Syrah: the broader-release Syrah from the same district that produces Le Sol; one of the most consistent New Zealand Syrahs at its price point.
• Kidnappers Chardonnay: coastal Hawke's Bay site near Cape Kidnappers; clay soils and maritime breezes give a precise, mineral, saline style.
• Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay: rounder, stone-fruit driven expression from the warm gravelly soils.
• Te Muna Pinot Noir: the broader Martinborough Pinot Noir release beneath Aroha; refined, savoury, layered.
• Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc: 2023 vintage ranked No. 11 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2024; ten consecutive vintages have scored 90+ points.

In September 2022 Craggy Range became the first New Zealand winery ever admitted to La Place de Bordeaux, the negociant network through which Bordeaux first growths, the most coveted Bordeaux estates outside the classification, top Napa cult wines, Sassicaia, Penfolds Grange, and a small list of other internationally elite producers release their wines. The 2020 Le Sol and 2020 Aroha were the inaugural releases, distributed through Bordeaux negociants CVBG and Mahler-Besse in Europe and Asia, and subsequent vintages of Sophia have followed; the move placed Craggy Range alongside the world's most internationally distributed estates and established New Zealand as a serious La Place origin for the first time. Craggy Range has been featured in the World's Best Vineyards ranking through the early 2020s and is a regular fixture in Drinks International's World's Most Admired Wine Brands list. The Craggy Range Restaurant (long known locally as Terroir; rebranded simply as Craggy Range Restaurant) won the title of Winery Restaurant of the Year in the 2025 Cuisine Good Food Awards under executive chef Casey McDonald, with Three Hats and Chef of the Year honours in the same year, anchoring the estate's reputation for hospitality alongside its reputation for wine.

• 2022: first New Zealand winery ever admitted to La Place de Bordeaux; inaugural releases were the 2020 Le Sol and 2020 Aroha through CVBG and Mahler-Besse.
• Drinks International World's Most Admired Wine Brands: a regular fixture in the global top tier through the 2020s.
• World's Best Vineyards: featured in the global ranking through the early 2020s.
• Craggy Range Restaurant (formerly Terroir): 2025 Cuisine Good Food Awards Winery Restaurant of the Year, Three Hats, and Chef of the Year (Casey McDonald).

Ben Tombs, a Marlborough native who began working in vineyards and wineries at 17, joined Craggy Range as a member of the winemaking team in 2021 after receiving scholarships from the Bragato Research Institute and graduating from the Eastern Institute of Technology Bachelor of Wine Science with an Academic Excellence Award; he was named New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year in 2020. He was promoted to Chief Winemaker in November 2023, taking over from Julian Grounds, who had succeeded the long Steve Smith MW era of the early estate. Tombs has trained in Burgundy, Oregon, the northern Rhone Valley, and the Yarra Valley, and his philosophy has steered the Prestige Collection and the wider single-vineyard range toward restrained new oak, gentler extraction, and indigenous-yeast ferments that prioritise site transparency over power. Sophia is fermented at Giants Winery in a dedicated room with large 8,000-litre French oak cuves that allow individual parcels to be vinified separately before blending. Le Sol comes from the warmest, stoniest Gimblett Gravels parcels, and the 2022 vintage was aged 17 months in 500-litre French oak puncheons at 45% new oak. Aroha uses partial whole-bunch fermentation, wild yeast, and around 28% new oak across roughly 10 months in barrel. Across the range, ferment by parcel, low intervention, and site expression have replaced the more polished, more uniformly oaked style of the early 2010s.

• Chief Winemaker Ben Tombs: Marlborough-born; Eastern Institute of Technology Bachelor of Wine Science with Academic Excellence Award; New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year 2020; joined in 2021, promoted Chief Winemaker November 2023.
• Tombs has trained in Burgundy, Oregon, the northern Rhone Valley, and the Yarra Valley, and has steered the Prestige Collection toward restrained new oak and gentler extraction.
• Sophia fermented in 8,000-litre French oak cuves at Giants Winery, parcel by parcel.
• Le Sol 2022 aged 17 months in 500-litre French oak puncheons at 45% new oak.
• Aroha uses partial whole-bunch fermentation, wild yeast, and around 28% new oak across roughly 10 months in French oak.

The 1,000-year trust established in 1998 is the philosophical backbone of every long-term decision at Craggy Range. Steve Smith MW stepped back from day-to-day leadership on 1 July 2015 to remain on the board and consult globally (he went on to co-found other ventures including Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth in subsequent years); Terry Peabody retained majority ownership through the family trust, and the family's hands-on governance has continued. In November 2024 the estate announced that David T. Peabody, Terry's grandson, had been appointed Executive Director, taking the family into its third generation of leadership. Beyond the boardroom, Craggy Range has invested heavily in biodiversity and ecosystem health: the Te Muna Road property has committed to planting more than 250 acres of native New Zealand trees within the vineyards, and the kitchen gardens at Giants supply around 70% of the restaurant's seasonal produce from organic and biodynamic plots. The combination, generational governance, structural permanence through the 1,000-year trust, biodiversity investment, and a hospitality program now winning top awards, is the through-line that distinguishes Craggy Range from most internationally distributed New Zealand wineries.

• Steve Smith MW stepped back from day-to-day leadership 1 July 2015; remains on the board and has consulted globally; co-founded Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth in later years.
• David T. Peabody (Terry's grandson) appointed Executive Director November 2024; third generation of Peabody family in governance.
• Te Muna Road biodiversity project: more than 250 acres of native New Zealand trees being planted within the Martinborough vineyards.
• Giants Winery organic and biodynamic kitchen gardens supply around 70% of the Craggy Range Restaurant's seasonal produce.