Our Story Archangel Vineyard Contact Us Archangel Vineyard Archangel Vineyard is situated at Queensberry in the Upper Clutha area of Central Otago, New Zealand. Framed by the Dunstan Mountains to the east, and the Pisa Range to the west, the Clutha River runs through this beautiful rugged landscape. At latitude 45° South, Central Otago – with its harsh cold winters, long hot summers, and dry autumns – is one of the southern-most wine growing regions in the world. The natural terraces at Queensberry were formed more than 30,000 years ago when the area's glaciers began to melt, washing gravel down onto the land and depositing it in the valley below. Underneath the loose soil blanketing the Queensberry Valley lies an interlayer of schist, mineral quartz and gravel. This changing macroclimate, the diverse diurnal temperatures and the unique qualities of the soil make Queensberry a perfect place to grow outstanding Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. Archangel In 2001 we bought 23 hectares of land in Queensberry. Originally an organic herb farm, we began planting this land with 11 hectares of vines and named the vineyard 'Archangel' as a tribute to our mothers – Halina and Stefania. Soil profiling enabled us to carefully select the vine varieties and rootstock most suited to the microclimate at the vineyard. Today, most of these vines are Pinot Noir, but we also have some Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling vines. Our vines are hand-tended every step of the way – pruning, shoot thinning, leaf plucking, and fruit thinning – including harvesting grapes by hand. We also maintain low fruit yields to ensure our fruit is of optimum quality. The Archangel vineyard has been built on sustainable practices. We want the land, the soil, the environment, and the ecosystem to remain in harmony for the generations to come. In 2007 the vineyard became SWNZ (Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand) accredited. Our Wine 2009 marks the release of our first vintage of Archangel Pinot Noir 2008, made from carefully selected grapes from the Archangel vineyard. Future Releases Pinot Noir 2008 – Expected September 2009 Pinot Gris 2009 – Expected September 2009 Riesling 2009 – Expected September 2009