Syrah, Chardonnay and Bordeaux blends from steep coastal hillsides on eastern Waiheke Island, with Swiftsure wines from Marlborough and Bannockburn
Man O' War farms the eastern end of Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf, where no fewer than 75 vineyard sites follow the contours of steep coastal hillsides. The farm also runs sheep and cattle, orchards, olive groves, beehives and restored native forest. Eastern Waiheke is warmer and drier than the Auckland mainland, with cooling sea breezes.
Exiled and Ironclad also draw on coastal vineyards fringing neighbouring Ponui Island. Swiftsure, the South Island label, comes from low-yielding, high-altitude sites in Marlborough and at Bannockburn in Central Otago.
Man O' War is family owned and has pursued steep hillside viticulture on eastern Waiheke for more than three decades. The bay takes its name from its kauri trees, once prized as masts for naval men-of-war.
Winemaker Duncan McTavish leads a viticulture and winemaking team unchanged for more than a decade, and the same team now makes Swiftsure. That name comes from a small open boat that carried gold miners and mail across Cook Strait.