Award winning Rosé

2017 was the first year a Rosé was produced from the Dayvinleigh Vineyard, and it turned out to be an award-winner.

Could the secret be in the harvest day stomping?

Clark Estate Dayvinleigh Rosé 2017

- Trophy for Champion Rosé - 2017 Romeo Bragato Awards

- Gold Medal -2017 Romeo Bragato Awards

- Silver Medal - 2017 International Wine Show

- Silver Media - 2017 Marlborough Wine Show

- Bronze Media - 2017 Air New Zealand Wine Awards

Bottling the first Dayvinleigh Rosé

We got to Wineworks early on Friday morning 23 June 2017 to watch the first ever Dayvinleigh Rosé get bottled. Super excited about the colour, and the Clark Estate team were pretty impressed with how well it matches their branding. More thrilling was how it tasted. Despite having just been jettisoned from the winery next door we grabbed a box before it hit that pallet and gave it a try. Delish!

Harvest 2017

Our first harvest with Clark Estate and were were joined by three generations of the Clark family at the vineyard as the grapes were gently shaken from the vines and poured into the truck.

First pick was the Rosé and some of the fruit for the estate Pinot Noir. The second pick was the rest of the estate Pinot Noir and the special rows earmarked for the Reserve Pinot Noir.

It is always a big relief when the fruit is harvested.  It’s the day where the grapegrower passes the batton on to the winemaker to transform the fruit into wine. But just as the winemaker regularly pops up to the vineyard to check on how the fruit is shaping up through the season, we will be popping in to check on the progress of the 2017 vintage wines from Dayvinleigh Vineyard and we will keep you posted…

Big Bird Bronze at Bragato

Dayvinleigh Vineyard entered the 2014 Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir into the 2016 Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

The objective of the Bragato Wine Awards is to give recognition to viticultural excellence and to recognize the influence of grape growers and their vineyards in creating the unique qualities of New Zealand wines, by judging the wines made from grapeDayvinleigh Vineyard entered the 2014 Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir into the 2016 Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

The objective of the Bragato Wine Awards is to give recognition to viticultural excellence and to recognize the influence of grape growers and their vineyards in creating the unique qualities of New Zealand wines, by judging the wines made from grapes grown on such specified vineyards.  The competition is open to all growers of New Zealand wine grapes to enter wine products from grapes grown on the vineyard or vineyards owned, managed, or operated by the entrant. Entries must be wholly made, processed and matured in New Zealand.s grown on such specified vineyards.  The competition is open to all growers of New Zealand wine grapes to enter wine products from grapes grown on the vineyard or vineyards owned, managed, or operated by the entrant. Entries must be wholly made, processed and matured in New Zealand.

Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012-2014

Our dream come true, working with a winemaker to produce fruit for a single vineyard label.

Steve Bird, owner of Bird Wines turned our fruit into the Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Available in NZ via Liquor King it was also sold in Asia, the US and Australia.

With no Bird Wines cellar door Dayvinleigh Vineyard became a place for Steve to host distributors and visiting media.  It was such a privilege to welcome wine writer Dan Berger to our home and to cook dishes featuring produce from the garden and duck a-la Kevin matched with Steve Bird Wines.

The 2012 Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir won double gold at the San Fransisco International Wine Competition scoring 96 points.

The 2014 Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir received a Bronze medal at the 2016 Romeo Bragato Wine Awards.

Double Gold for Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012

A proud moment for Dayvinleigh Vineyard, exclusive suppliers of the fruit for the Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012.

News Release by Bird Wines 2 July 2014

It’s raining gold at Bird Wines. Of the four wines entered in the 2014 San Francisco International Wine Competition one received a Bronze, two received Gold and one received a coveted Double Gold.

The Results:

2012 Steve Bird Big barrel Pinot Noir Double Gold (96 points)

The thing that has us flapping our wings in a state of absolute euphoria is the performance of the Big Barrel Pinot Noir. 96 points is out of this world, the highest ever rating we have had in 35 years of winemaking.

To understand the magnitude of our joy and delight some perspective is required. Pinot Noir costs more than twice as much to produce as Sauv Blanc. It takes twice as long to get it to bottle and into the market. As a grape, it has the reputation of being the most difficult to grow, and as a wine it is the most fragile and temperamental in the winery.

And now for the really good news, I think the 2013 Bird Big Barrel Pinot Noir is going to be every bit as good.

Steve Bird

Rolling out the barrel tasting

We had the opportunity over Easter 2015 to meet up at with winery with Steve Bird of Bird Wines, the maker of the Big Barrel Pinot Noir, to join him for a tasting of juice from each and every barrel and tank to check out how the fruit was fermenting.

It was 9am, but that didn’t stop Kevin and myself swallowing a mouthful of each sample, until we realised there were over 20 of them. We then took the lead from Steve and the Indevin winemaker who were spitting it out after analysing the colour and taste of each. From this Steve could provide very precise instructions on how the barrels were to be handled in the coming days, everything is monitored and tracked, yet another example of just how much goes into producing great wine. Speaking of which, here are some of Steve’s one-liners from that session.

“She’s a brute”

“This is man wine, it’s big hairy and audacious”

"It’s like the inside of a cow”

“We have got ourselves something very very special this year”

So that is what you have got to look forward to when the 2014 Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir hits the shelves, in preparation for the big event we suggest you line up some big hairy men and see if you can find out just how dark the inside of a cow really is.

Bird Wines rewards Liquor King top sellers

The managers and top sales staff from Liquor King Whangarei and Thames visited Dayvinleigh Vineyard in Autumn 2024 to see for themselves where the fruit for the Bird Wines Big Barrel Pinot Noir they have been selling comes from. Flat Whites all round, served alongside the very first pre-release tasting of the 2013 vintage.