With two vineyards, one situated in the Rapaura District of Marlborough and a second in the Waipara Valley in North Canterbury, Bascand Estate has the advantage of owning two distinctive grape-growing areas from which to produce their award-winning wines. Each area offers different and distinct soil types and climatic conditions, and this allows for the production of the grape varieties from which Bascand Estate’s outstanding and quite unique wines are made.
Rapaura Vineyard — Marlborough
(latitude 41° South)
With mountains to the west to provide rain shelter (750mm p.a.) and high sunshine hours in New Zealand’s acknowledged sunniest region, Bascand Estate’s Rapaura Vineyard is situated on a rich bed of river stone and loess that encourages grapevines to flourish and develop intense fruit flavours.
Winter pruning takes place between June and August and the vines are all pruned by hand. Leaf plucking and shoot thinning are also carried out by hand to help maintain a balanced canopy that allows sufficient light exposure to develop the intense passion fruit and mineral characteristics found in the vineyard’s renowned Sauvignon Blanc.
Waipara Valley Vineyard — North Canterbury
(latitude 43° South)
Situated in the Waipara Valley and sheltered by mountains to the West and high hills to the North and North-East, the valley, with its high sunshine and low rainfall (600mm p.a.) is rapidly becoming one of New Zealand’s premier wine growing regions.
The limestone-based soil washed from the surrounding hills creates a many different and complex vine-growing micro areas throughout the valley. The Bascand vineyard lies on a combination of ancient glacial deposits, clay, limestone and free-draining sandy soils rich in seashells, making for highly complex and interesting wines.
As with the Marlborough vineyard, winter hand pruning takes place between June and August and leaf plucking and shoot thinning are also done by hand to nurture limestone loving Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes. These two superb wine varieties have become synonymous with the Waipara Valley and Bascand Estate.