Bridget Ennals and Steve Pellett both have degrees in horticulture from the University of Bath, where they met. In 1991 the adventurous couple set off in their trusty second-hand Land Rover named Stanley, after Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the famous explorer of Dr. Livingstone fame. They went across Africa and travelled the world as fruit technologists. The plan was to search for a place they could put down roots and call home. They found it in New Zealand, more specifically in Marlborough's beautiful Awatere Valley, which led to the creation of Stanley Estate in 2003, named after the faithful vehicle which brought them there. The vineyards are cultivated under the majestic gaze of Mount Tapuae-o-Uenku, which means “the footprint of the rainbow” - it is the highest peak outside the Southern Alps. The climate here has low rainfall, with warm days and cool nights, which ripens the grapes slowly and develops flavour. The Sauvignon Blanc grown here makes distinctively fruity but steely herbaceous wines, quite different to those produced elsewhere in Marlborough. Stanley Estates's first vintage was in 2009 and, with their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, they started to garner all sorts of accolades including the Best International Sauvignon Blanc Trophy at the International Wine Challenge. They simply have not looked back since. Never to be one to follow the masses, Stanley Estate pioneered the cultivation of Albariño and Lagrein in the region. In 2009 they were the first vineyard in New Zealand to plant the Galician Albariño, which thrived in the windy Awatere Valley, experiencing similar conditions to its native Atlantic coast origins. Lagrein, originally from the South Tyrol of Northern Italy, was chosen in response to requests for them to produce a red wine with the weight and fruit-driven characteristics the estate had become known for, and this variety, significantly different from Pinot Noir, has also prospered in the cool climate. They are passionate about sustainability and the environment, and this philosophy has underpinned everything they do in the vineyards since inception. They became an accredited grower by the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand program in 2005. Stanley Estate's goal was always to craft beautiful, distinctive wines that reflect the land from which they come from and their single vineyard award-winning wines certainly do just that – these are Wines with a Sense of Adventure!
www.stanleyestates.co.nz/