Fermentation is in open top fermenters and there is a lengthy maceration followed by a gentle pressing. The wine is not filtered but instead is gently fined and clarified with egg whites in the same way that top french wineries, such as Petrus fine their wines. The wine matures in new french chateau model barriques which are only used once. Up to two years after it is picked each vintage reaches the bottling stage. The production is tiny.
Quality is paramount.
An example of this was the decision not to make any of The Antipodean wine from the 1995 vintage as it was deemed that the year was not good enough to meet the high standards of the winery. A sample batch was kept for library purposes which will not be sold and the balance was sold under another label. The following article was published in the NBR June 1st 2001 p20. Nicholas Bryant Mystery surrounds the Antipodean, the sort of wonderful mystery that makes wine so romantic. It was perfect for the heady 1980s, with its price tag and rarity or at least it was perfect for New Zealand in the 1980s.