Thyme
Hill Story
Jan, a
long time enthusiast for making (and consuming !) wines, enrolled on a
viticulture course at Cromwell Polytechnic. Armed with the knowledge of
the course both Jan and John started the process of looking for a suitable
vineyard site. They obtained copies of maps showing the best positions, where
the temperature could be expected to be high and the soil suitable for
vines. They finally found a dry stoney place that met there needs and in
1992 they purchased Thyme Hill.
They started the process of preparing Thyme Hill for vines. This included surrounding the property with rabbit proof fencing, constructing a dam and shaping the slopes. A year later they were ready.
Vines were selected from Corban's nursery in Auckland. They initially selected Merlot for the top block of one and half hectares and planted the bottom block in Riesling. For interest 100 Pinot Noir vines were also selected. These were planted on the vineyard and to irrigate the crops electricity had to be brought in.
And then the hard work really started.
Three to four years of ensuring the crops
were pruned, watered and protected in order for the young vines to establish
themselves. They suffered a set back in 1995, when severe frosts damaged
many of the young vines.
The vines
started to produce a good crop for the following years. 
In 1999
they produced sufficient Merlot grapes to produce their first independent
vintage. Thyme Hill Merlot 1999 was a great success and was awarded a BRONZE at the Air New
Zealand Wine Awards; one of the first Merlot's to receive an award in Central
Otago. A great start that was continued in the year 2001 with a large
crop of quality grapes. These were in the barrels over the winter months and in
early 2003, Thyme Hill Merlot 2002 was bottled. And so it continued with year
after year of quality, award winning, wines.
Today,
Thyme Hill Merlot is available for sale across New Zealand wine stores and a
selection of high quality restaurants have chosen to serve one of the finest
Merlots in New Zealand.
Grant Taylor our winemaker, Jan and John with Thyme Hill Merlot.