Viticulturally the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District has an extremely short history. Up until the late 1980’s the area was regarded as the poorest, least productive land in Hawke’s Bay, needing about three acres to feed one sheep and no hope of growing a decent crop of anything. Town planners allowed drag strips, warehouses, coolstores and in fact whole suburbs to be developed in the district as it was the best use for the land. A concrete company purchased 150ha. to mine for gravel. You couldn’t give the land away.

The first vineyards were planted in Mere Road in the late 1970’s with Chenin Blanc and Muller Thurgau, some time before the first Bordeaux red varieties were planted. While somewhat undistinguished varieties, they ripened earlier at higher sugar levels than any other locality, and probably pointed our pioneering vignerons in the right direction.

Chris Pask, at the time a mad pilot, used to fly over this dry barren wasteland everyday. He had a few vineyards on some good fertile land but could never ripen the Cabernet Sauvignon he had growing there. So he took a punt, risked ridicule from his mates and purchased a 40ha. block at the end of Gimblett Road. In 1981 he was the first grower to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, closely followed by David Irving and Gavin Yortt, and John Kenderdine. A vineyard was planted on Omahu Road that never grew because it had no irrigation.

These vineyards were planted on the slightly heavier phase of the soils distinct to the locality. In 1983 Dr Alan Limmer, a noted soil chemist, planted his Stonecroft Vineyard on Mere Road on slightly stonier soils, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. All of these “Gimblett Gravels Pioneers” planted other varieties, which in the case of Alan Limmer, with his Gewürztraminer, have been somewhat successful. Chardonnay quickly became the most important white variety along with Sauvignon Blanc.

Chris Pask, our very own “garagist”, made the first Bordeaux varietal red wine in 1985. This wine, and his 1986 won wide acclaim, topping wine shows and tastings all over the country and really set the benchmark for the start of the districts fame. His mates decided he wasn’t an idiot.

The real planting boom didn’t take off until the early 1990’s when companies such as Babich, Delegat’s and Villa Maria, who had sourced grapes from growers vineyards, began purchasing land and developing vineyards in the most stony soils of the district. Land became a premium as these new vineyards enhanced the growing reputation of the district for Bordeaux red varietals and the stony soils quickly got snapped up by existing players and new companies alike. The concrete company gave up their battle to mine their piece for gravel in the face of mounting opposition, and sold it. Apart from one small 30 hectare parcel, all of this stony land, designated as the Gimblett Gravels appellation, is now in vineyard. There are now some 800 hectares of vineyards showing the unique terrain of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District.