Our Island Blend is a Bordeaux style wine – a blend of fruit from both Waiheke Island and its neighbouring Ponui Island. Vintage 2022 was an amazing growing season for Bordeaux blend wines in that it was hot, dry, and long. The largest parcel of fruit for the 2022 Island Blend comes from the Paradise ‘Outback’ vineyard on Ponui Island; a remote, steep, hillside vineyard planted to Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Only accessed by certain tides, we take our barge across loaded with all our harvest gear and pickers and harvest all day to once more catch the tide to access and unload at Man O’ War Bay. Possibly the only set vineyards in the world to be picked according to the tides. The remaining Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec is sourced from Estate Vineyards on Waiheke Island – hence the name ‘Island Blend’.