QUICK WINERY FACTS
- Owners: Quintin Quider
- Grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Rosé, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling.
- Date first planted: First Vintage 2004
- Size: 35 hectares
- Wine labels: Wild Earth
- Winemaker: Peter Bartle
WILD EARTH WINES
Wild Earth is another Central Otago rockstar wine having won the Trophy for Best Red Wine and Champion Pinot Noir at the International Wine Challenge in London in 2008 for their 2006 Wild Earth Pinot Noir. Since then, Wild Earth has continued to pick up awards for almost every vintage from wine and gourmet magazines, in international and local competitions and from acclaimed wine writers.
Wild Earth has two vineyards covering a total planting of 35 hectares. The first is in the heart of Bannockburn on Felton Road and the second in the Cromwell Lowburn subregion. The Wild Earth philosophy of low yield management and rigorous leaf pruning might mean a lower amount of wine available but the quality is undeniable (see our pages on Viticulture to understand the impact of green harvesting and yield management).
Owner Quintin Quider was originally a commercial diver from Southern California and it was New Zealand’s sea and seafood in particular which drew him to the deep South. It is no surprise that Quider has developed a wine and dining experience almost second to none in the region. Nestled in a beautifully preserved old gold mining village in the middle of the Kawarau Gorge The Wild Earth Kitchen cooks local produce within old French Oak wine barrels and presents these amazingly alongside the award winning Wild Earth Wines. The experience is certainly something very special!
