Man O’ War Station is located at the eastern end of Waiheke Island, it boasts pristine and beautiful coastal
hillsides with high cliffs and stunning beaches. This rugged and beautiful coastline was “Discovered” in 1769
by Captain James Cook. Today, 150 acres of vines are strategically placed around Man O’ War’s 4500 acres.
By Combining Waiheke islands rugged canvas with new world viticulture, Our wines are hand crafted from vine
to bottle creating the true essence that is Man O’ War Vineyards.
Man O’ War Estate Pinot Gris is grown on a number of vineyards on both Ponui Island and Waiheke Island, all elevated hillside sides which are exposed to the cooling breezes coming off the Pacific ocean.
The Pinot Gris is all hand harvested and is must pumped to the press for a long slow press cycle into tank and fined for clarity. The juice is then racked clear and fermented cool with selected Riesling yeasts until the right balance of sugar, acid and tannin is tasted and at that point the fermentation is stopped by chilling to below zero. The wine is then held in the cellar at cold temperature to retain as much natural carbon dioxide left over from the fermentation as possible to provide a light spritz in the wine.
The 2019 Sauvignon blanc is incredibly aromatic with classical grassy green characters with tropical overtones and a clean dry persistent palate. Crisp and clean this is our most successful vintage of Sauvignon blanc and is perfectly suited to the local Te Matuku Oysters which are farmed close to Man O’ War, or similarly the abundant seafood that thrive in the surrounding coastal waters.
The 2019 Estate Pinot Gris comes from one of the best vintages in memory coming off a settled Spring with good fruit set and warm to hot Summer and a very settled dry Autumn. 2019 saw impeccable fruit with little to no botrytis resulting in a wine of great purity and a classical structure. Aromas of citrus and pear with hints of cinnamon are balanced with a very linear low pH structure that is all about fresh crispness balanced by natural residual sugar.