Founder and owner of te Pā, Haysley MacDonald traces his ancestry back to the early Māori settlers who landed on Wairau Bar 800 years ago.

In 2003 Haysley and his family – his parents Phillip and Christine and his partner Julie – started a new adventure, converting their dairy and crop farm into vineyards and in 2011 te Pā was born.

From their 100 hectare home estate vineyard on the Wairau Bar, they have grown to having close to 500 hectares under vine in sunny Marlborough. Each vineyard has distinct characteristics that together create the unmistakable te Pā wine style.

They are able to boast of vineyards in two of Marlborough’s most distinct sub regions on the Wairau Bar and Awatere Valley. This gives winemaker Sam Bennett a host of options, comparing and contrasting the blocks to create delicious, distinctive wines.

te Pā focus on soil health, water conservation, and enhancing the ecology in the vineyards. From inter-row cover crop planting, which helps to prevent soil compaction and introduces valuable nutrients to the land, to spreading grape marc back into the vineyards, to grazing sheep in the vines during the winter season, and using smart technologies to ensure minimal water use, they always look for new ways to look after the natural resources of the land.

The winery is a proud member of Sustainable Wine Growing New Zealand (SWNZ) which is widely recognised as a world-leading sustainability programme.

Winemaker Sam Bennett comes from Whangarei in the far north and studied biology, oenology and viticulture at Waikato University. He has over 20 vintages under his belt from New Zealand and around the world. His international experience has been in the cool climate regions of Tasmania, Oregon and Burgundy. He honed his local winemaking skills with leading New Zealand wineries in Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago. In 2020 he was named as one of the world’s top 100 master winemakers by leading wine publication Drinks Business.