Two renowned Marlborough wine brands are joining forces, with the backing of former employees.
Highfield and TerraVin Wines will now be known as Highfield TerraVin.
Winemakers Alistair Soper and Gordon Ritchie have joined with GM, Pete Coldwell, to run the new company, with all three men having some strong goals in mind.
“Both brands have made names for themselves with high quality wines,” Coldwell said. “Highfield is renowned for its Sauvignon Blanc and Méthode Traditionelle, while TerraVin is celebrated for Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.”
With the two brands joining forces, the winemakers will continue to concentrate on their own specialties, said Ritchie.
“We will keep the individual labels and we are adamant that we will maintain the personality and character of those wines.”
Ritchie will continue to make the wines under the TerraVin label while Soper, who has been the winemaker for Highfield since 1999, will be responsible for that brand’s wines.
“The two companies have developed their own niche markets and, whilst we’ll work collaboratively, we don’t want our wines to look the same,” said Soper. “Gordon and I both have our own styles, and we will continue to produce wines in those styles.”
There are a number of synergies that will assist the new company going forward and provide some fantastic opportunities.
“Highfield has an iconic winery with two smaller vineyards,” Coldwell pointed out. “Then TerraVin has a unique hillside vineyard, but no winery. Combining the two creates something really special.”
For all three men, having a stake in the new company is indicative of their commitment to Marlborough and its burgeoning wine industry.
“We have over 50 years of combined experience working in the wine industry here, and we choose to be here because we really believe in Marlborough,” said Coldwell. “We are three like-minded blokes, we all love Marlborough, we love the wines from this part of the world and we want to be part of the Marlborough wine industry going forward.”
Both the TerraVin and Highfield wines will be sold at the Highfield Cellar Door, and plans are under way to reopen the restaurant in time for summer 2015/16.
