The Hamilton Road vineyard was planted in 1998 in Bordeaux reds and Chardonnay. The iconic building was built in 2000 and opened as a café and function centre. The then owners had significant interests in Hawkes Bay and the early vintages of wine were harvested and then shipped to Hawkes Bay for winemaking

In 2005 the property changed hands and the new owners established the winery on site with the vision of being a boutique winery vineyard where winemaking took place within sight of the restaurant. Unfortunately sickness got in the way of those plans and we, the current owners Shelley Trotter and Gary Heaven, acquired the property in 2008.

Knowing not much more than 'how to drink it' when we started, we've enjoyed being 'new' to the industry of growing making and selling wine. We completed the vision in 2009 with the opening of the restaurant serving quality food matched with local estate wines. Everything we produce is grown and made on site.

We took the decision to plant a new emerging variety of grape, Albarino, in 2011 and that coincided with the arrival of Warren Knudsen who eventually became our winemaker and viticulturist. Warren is passionate about wine and winemaking and fastidious in the winery and vineyard. We have seen the results of his toils in the quality of the wine he has produced.

After seven years we have had a change of tack. We realised we weren't spending time on the real deal, what we actually wanted to do which is building a local network of recreational trails.

Moving forward we will continue to own the wine and the brand Mahurangi River Winery. 2016 will be our last vintage grown and hand crafted into wine at our Hamilton Road property. Already we are spending more time working on walkways and cycleways. Our cellar door will close in October. We are opening our online store now! We anticipate that you will be able to buy our wines online for some time to come.