nz wines

The New Zealand wine industry was still in its infancy in 1934, when Yugoslavian immigrant Ivan Yukich planted his first vineyard. He called it Montana, meaning mountain, after its location in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland. Thirty years later his two sons used the same name when they founded their wine company and started producing what soon became the trendsetting wines in New Zealand.
Looking for a greater grape resource, Montana Wines played a key role in the development of Gisborne, on the eastern tip of the North Island, as a premium winemaking region. This coincided with a concerted effort to increase the quality of the wines produced.
In 1973 Montana took the bold step of planting the first commercial vineyard in the traditional sheep-farming region of Marlborough, on the Northeast corner of the South Island. It proved to be an inspired choice, as was Montana's decision to grow Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough has since become New Zealand's main viticultural region, with M...