Black Estate

Black Estate is owned and run by Nicholas Brown, Pen Naish, and the Naish family, and Brown manages the vineyards and winemaking. The original eight hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were planted at the Home vineyard in 1993 by Russell and Kumiko Black, and Nicholas Brown and Pen Naish purchased the Black Estate property in 2007.

Netherwood was planted in 1986 by Daniel Schuster and Russell Black, making it the oldest of the four sites and the first hillside planting in Waipara. Home Vineyard sits on Awapuni clay loam over calcium carbonate deposits in the Omihi sub-district and is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, and Cabernet Franc. All vineyards are certified organic by BioGro, and Home, Damsteep, and Netherwood are certified biodynamic by Demeter. Wines are made traditionally with no additions except for minimal sulphur at bottling or none, and are not fined nor filtered.