Bird ~ Steve Bird Winery & Vineyards Ltd

Pinot Noir is without doubt the most temperamental of all grape varieties. Known affectionately by winemakers the world over as the heart break variety, it will punish those who attempt to grow it without considerable attention to site selection and management practices.

Complex, rich and seductive, this wine has loads of ripe berry fruit characters. There are hints of earth, chocolate, and dried fruits on the palate. The structure is soft and supple with velvety tannins carrying the flavour all the way to the back of the tongue.

Pinot Noir is now New Zealand's most widely planted red wine variety and New Zealand's international reputation with this variety is growing at an astonishing rate.

The best vineyard sites for Pinot Noir contain free draining old stony soils with some clay content. These soils restrict vigour while giving some relief from water stress.

Intervention in the vineyards with the removal of shoots, clusters, and leaves is mandatory to ensure low yields and high quality.

Big Barrel Method

Acting as both a fermentation vessel and storage vessel these 900lt barrels provide a unique and sophisticated environment for the production of Pinot Noir.

They impart a high degree of complexity to the wine, facilitating seamless integration of the oak and generating excellent structure.

The "Big Barrels" allow for extremely gentle handling of the wine resulting in the preservation of even the most delicate flavours and aromas.