Our Vineyards
Our grapes are grown on vineyards, selected, to display the bright fruit characteristics of Central Otago Pinot Noir, to create a wine that is a true reflection of our sites, their surrounds and the people that care for them.
The Desert Heart Renaissance Vineyard with contemporary Cellar Door and Cellar Door Café continues our adventure and the fascination remains compelling, as the love affair with the area and the Pinot Noir grape continues the dream. This land offers the quintessential “Heart of the Desert” experience, immersed into the timelessness of the immense landscape.
The sweeping vista of the mountains, river and gold sluicing’s is at the heart of Desert Heart’s new development on Felton Road, an immersion into the agelessness of the vast “Desert” panorama.
Our Terroir refers to our land, a sense of place and the distinctive qualities of the land, our complete natural environment including our soil, topography and climate in which our grapes are grown. This will give our wines their unique flavor and aroma that is attributed to the growing environment of our grapes.
Vineyards are managed by Denny, who continues the journey of embracing the philosophies of organics and permaculture, which involves the practice of using our land in a stable, sustainable way that is beneficial to human needs whilst maintaining the natural order of our physical environment.
Organics are integral to our philosophy and the means of discerning our interpretation into a practical system that sustains the health of our soils, the ecosystem that is part of the vineyard underneath and above the ground and the people that contribute to preserving the land.
Organic viticulture also depends on ecological procedures, biodiversity and cycles modified to Bannockburn conditions instead of the use of inputs and unfavourable consequences.
Our objectives with organics include healthy vines, healthy grapes, resulting in theory with remarkable wines.
A diversity of clones and an emphasis on quality and balance in the vineyards all contribute to the complexity and structure of Desert Heart wines.
The pruning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvesting are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality grapes. The carefully handpicked grapes are harvested by clone, kept separate and hand sorted to manage any quality differences.
We have a commitment to actively advance sustainability, environmentally responsible, land management, utilising organic practices, which result in more intense wines that transmit the unique characteristics of our site and soils.