Bridge Across the Gorge

Back blip from my trip

We have just left Cromwell for Queenstown and John wanted to visit the Wild Earth tasting room.

Wild Earth’s tasting room and outdoor kitchen is adjacent to the Goldfields Mining Centre in the Kawarau Gorge, not far from Cromwell. The car park is on the main highway across the swift-flowing Kawarau River. Today the water looks aquamarine. It’s the result of silt from a recent landslide that blocked the Dart River, one of the tributaries of Lake Wakatipu, the second-largest lake in the South Island and the source of the Kawarau.

The vineyard itself is at the end of Felton Road in Bannockburn, about 2.5 kilometres away as the crow flies, but the road journey is over ten.

We pass old and new vineyard names on signs along this iconic wine road. As we pass the entrance to Felton Road Wines, I give a nod in appreciation of its role in escalating Central Otago pinot noir onto the local and international wine maps. There’s also Mt Difficulty and its myriad of vineyards, Terra Sancta (previously Olssens), Mt Edward (Muirkirk Vineyard), Domain Road, Gate 20 Two, Black Quail and Desert Heart. But Desert Heart sign is about to change as it was announced mid-January that it was sold to Two Paddocks owned by actor Sam Neill.

Wild Earth Vineyard is a long narrow plot of vines running south west to north east bounded on one side by Long Gully Creek almost to its confluence with the Kawarau River. The site was originally four titles. Quintin bought three with the 6-hectare former Desert Heart in between. The rows are oriented north-south and the plot, at it widest, would be only a little over 200 metres.

Quintin’s passion is pinot noir. It’s his reason for being here. “It won’t be long until veraison,” he says, excited by the small berries and shoulderless cone-like bunches. Taken from and for more info.