Akarua

In 1996, in a daring and visionary move, South Island family the Skeggs, planted their first Akarua vineyard on Cairnmuir Rd in Bannockburn.

Central Otago has rapidly gained international market and media credibility for producing exceptional pinot noir. Pioneers in the 1980s such as Alan Brady at Gibbston, Vernon and Sue Burgess at Alexandra and Rolf and Lois Mills in Wanaka, began producing serious wines under the most challenging circumstances, activating a surge of enthusiasm and investment in the industry over the next two decades and beyond.

Due to Akarua's vast range of sites and parcels across six vineyards, diversity of fruit flavour, character and structure is growing naturally out of the ground. The complexity in Akarua wines is primarily vineyard derived and whether the wines are blended across different parcels or expressions of a single block, they benefit from the uniqueness of each site. Viticulturist Mark Naismith farms the Akarua estate sustainably, encouraging each parcel to balance naturally and find its own voice. The Viticulture team farm in a way that is best for each parcel, always being mindful of treading lightly on the land, and with an eye on for the future. Since purchasing Central Otago's oldest certified organic vineyard in 2018, Akarua has launched into organic farming and is converting a second vineyard to organic certification. Regenerative projects such as composting of grape skins, mulching, soil enrichment, cover cropping, undervine weeding, native replanting and sheep grazing all contribute to improving the health and balance of the Akarua estate.