Kahurangi Estate was established in the early 1970s, later acquired in 1998 by the Day family who changed the name to Kahurangi Estate. Kahurangi is the Maori word meaning treasured possession, precious jewel, pale greenstone and blue sky. Kahurangi National Park is New Zealand's newest and second largest national park some 452,000 hectares, situated in the northwest corner of the South Island, best known for its Heaphy Track.
Kahurangi National Park lies adjacent to the village of Upper Moutere which was originally settled by German immigrants who arrived on two ships. The St Pauli in June 1843 and the Skiold in April 1844. At that time the village was named Sarau but was changed to Upper Moutere at a time when many German names in the district were being anglicised following the outbreak of war with Germany. Many ancestors of these early immigrants still farm the area today and German surnames dominate the councils land register for the area.
The Kahurangi Estate vineyard is 33kms from Nelson C.P.O and a 30-minute drive from central Nelson. In terms of closer population areas it lies between Richmond and Motueka being a 15-minute drive from both centres. Kahurangi Estate is a 20 minute drive from Nelson Airport. The property has roads to three sides and is triangular in shape. It consists of 30 acres (12.14 hectares) of land and is boarded by Sunrise Rd, Sunrise Valley Rd and Moutere Highway.
Twenty-six acres are planted in five grape varieties being: - Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer. All grafted on American rootstock from plantings. During the 1999 Vintage we harvested 114 Tonnes from the Estate. On the remaining four acres are the owners house, a 1400 sq. metre winery complex with a licensed sales and cafe area, large office and boardroom, laboratory and a separate 240sq metre workshop and covered storage area.
As well as producing grapes from its own vineyard Kahurangi also leases a further 30 acre vineyard, which it also manages. The vineyard is located 1km from Kauharangi Estate, on the northern side of the village of Upper Moutere. Plantings consist of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. There is also a small planting of Monepulciano on the property. Five Oaks comes into full production by 2006 and should produce on average between 90 to 100 tonnes per vintage.
The Winery is a modern facility with the majority of tanks and processing equipment purchased new over the last few years. Much of the equipment is state of the art and assists in achieving the high quality expected from the Kahurangi Brand. With up to 200 tonnes of grapes secured annually from its home block and Five Oaks vineyard, Kahurangi Estate also buys in grapes from selected Nelson growers. Kahurangi has in place a range of contracts to ensure premium supply of grapes from a range of soil types and micro climates. Kahurangi can boast being the 3rd largest winery in the Nelson region, and one of the fastest growing small wineries in New Zealand.
The Village of Upper Moutere is 33 kms and 35 minutes drive away from Nelson, only 15 minutes away from both Richmond and Motueka. The Cottage is in the centre of Nelson's boutique wine trail and has 7 other wineries within 10 kms of Kahurangi Estate. It is also situated along Nelsons' art and craft trail. The cellar door is open seven days from August through to the end of May for wine tastings. A selection of exclusive Kahurangi Wines, French Cognac, Australian Wine and French Wines are also available in the Cellar Room.
