About Us

Grapes were first planted at Heron's Flight Vineyard and Winery in 1987, by David Hoskins - a chemist and philosopher turned winemaker, and Mary Evans - a scholar and teacher with a love of history, art and literature.

Together they have made wine, raised a family, and run a successful business from the land for over 20 years - it has become their turangawaewae. Over the years they have adjusted many aspects of the business, including the grapes grown in the vineyard and the nature of the original vineyard café. They have also lived on the vineyard land since the early 1990's.

Heron's Flight Vineyard Restaurant and Winemaker's Centre

The lessons learned through 20 years in business, as well as the changes in the environmental and political landscapes since Heron's Flight was first established, culminated in the Heron's Flight Vineyard Restaurant and Winemaker's Centre late in 2006. The facility aimed to provide a welcoming and stimulating environment where people could share Mary and David's respect for the land and its products, as well as their passion for excellent wine, fresh food and the stories of the people from the Matakana area. In 2010, the Heron's Flight Restaurant and Vineyard won the coveted Manaakitanga Award for the most Sustainable business in the wider Rodney District.

Having run a vineyard and winery, as well as a successful restaurant, for so many years, we decided to sell the restaurant side of the business in 2010 and concentrate on making interesting wines- and free ourselves from the daily stresses of a hospitality business.

Back to basics

So now we're going back to basics. We've planted a new vegetable garden and are revising our older plantings. We have been working with Justin Oliver, our Vineyard Manager, to experiment with wine styles, and have have brought some of our events back to the winery and vineyard. And we will continue to do this.

Making business sustainable

We have attempted to follow sustainable principles where feasible, and have incorporated them into every facet of our business, vineyard and winery. Hence the Manaakitanga Award in 2010.

. This is an ongoing - and actually quite difficult process - following a sustainability path. We do know that it requires vigilance, especially in daily operations.

We consider this to be one of the basic premises of our business.

Our latest media link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3unbKfjhhA