There are now 14 commercial vineyards and over 100 commercial grape growers in the Waipara district. About 220ha of vines are in the ground. Jim Grierson says the potential for the district is about another 250ha. There is also potential for more further out in the Omihi valley and in the Waikari area. The big limiting factor though is water.
Water is critical in the first three years during vine establishment.
After that the vines demand less. I hope Canterbury doesn't go the way of developing too much fringe land as is happening in Marlborough. Site and water are absolutely the key to Waipara development. A number of the vineyards have storage dams filled from the Waipara River during winter, but in other potential areas water is yet to be sorted out. With a variety of landscapes and soils in the valley it is imperative for a winery like Torlesse to grow grapes on a number of different sites to allow the winemaker to take advantage of the full complexity of the region, Kym Rayner believes.