04-Sep-2020
The Charles Wiffen wines consistently win gold medal and trophy awards. Charles and Sandi Wiffen are long-established Marlburnians farming cattle and sheep on their 14,000 ha ‘Inverness' property just a few kilometres north of Cheviot. The Wiffens wine industry involvement began as partners in a share-planted vineyard in 1980, which saw them as one of the original grape growers for Penfolds and Delegats, supplying some of the earliest Marlborough wine labels. In 1997 they set up their own label, Charles Wiffen Wines.
The Wiffens have 50 ha of vines, planted in the Lower Wairau and Southern Valleys regions, on New Renwick Road, adjacent to Wither Hills. The varieties planted are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Merlot. Melissa Sutherland and Jason Tripe are the viticulturists. Their vineyard provides practically all the fruit for their wines (a little is sourced from Peter Rose's vineyard), and the remainder is taken by other producers as premium quality resource. At present, the annual production is around 6,000 cases of wine.
Charles and Sandi have entrusted their winemaking to Anthony Ivicevich and James Rowan of West Brook, in Waimauku, West Auckland. Daughter Rebecca is a winemaker, at Lawson's Dry Hills, where some of the fruit is initially processed before being tankered up to Auckland. www.charleswiffenwines.co.nz
Archived tasting notes on wines no longer commercially available can be seen by clicking here
