Huia

We love everything about Huia, from the hand-made wines to the story behind them, to the brilliance of the winemaking. So much so that we're even prepared to forgive Claire and Mike Allan for being related to Willie Lebus, who is a cousin-in-law! Established in 1996 after Claire and Mike had done their time winemaking both in Champagne and elsewhere in Marlborough, Huia has quickly gone on to become synonymous with quality aromatic whites, Pinot Noir and sparkling wine from the Wairau Valley in Marlborough.

Vineyard site selection is key in the region and separates the best of Marlborough from the also-rans. The Pinot sits on predominately windblown glacial clay with areas of river-stone and to a lesser extent layered sand, silty loam and river-stone. Sites are located in the Southern Valleys upper Brancott Valley, West Coast Road and lastly adjacent to the Wairau River. For the Sauvignon Blanc the best grapes come from the terraces of greywacke and silt running side by side over shingle in the central part of the valley. The minerality is a feature, as it the tightrope acidity which gives such clear delineation to the wines.

Huia have been longtime members of the Sustainable Winegrowing Programme, but now it can add another feather to its environmental cap. After preparing 12 months of carbon accounts and an emissions management plan with specialists Huia has earned the right to label its wines as carrying carboNZero certification. The certification demonstrates that an organisation is measuring, managing and mitigating its greenhouse gas emissions with credibility and integrity. Organic certification is the next target, with 2009 likely to be the first conversion vintage in a three-year programme towards full BioGro New Zealand registration. This continues a direction begun when the Allans planted their first vines in 1994, with the aim of continuously building soil and vine health towards eventually adopting fully organic practices in both the vineyard and winery.

On 11 March 2011, Huia was fully certified as a BioGro Organic Winery. With the winery being certified the Huia 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and the Huia 2011 Chardonnay wines will be fully certified BioGro Organic wines. The remainder of the Huia wines will be fully certified Biogro Organic wines from the 2012 vintage onwards.