“These results reflect the enormous amount of passion and effort our team pour into our wines, from ground level right through to the marketplace, and we are delighted to have been recognised by the industry.”
Family-owned, organic winery Peregrine has been farming its Central Otago vineyards and producing wines that embody Central Otago for the last 21 years.
First-generation owner, Lindsay McLachlan is engaged at every stage of winemaking; from growing exceptional organic fruit right through to bringing it to wine lovers.
Lindsay’s son Fraser, having grown up in the vineyard from his early high school years, is transitioning the business to the second generation by taking over the management since 2016.
In true family business style, winemaker Nadine Cross has been associated with the McLachlan’s since working for Lindsay as a graduate accountant. Nadine joined Peregrine in 2010 after working in France, California and Marlborough.
For Nadine, winemaking is about learning: being observant and quality-focused, in order to let the unique climate and environment of Central Otago speak through the wine.
Peregrine began their organic journey in 2009, first converting the vineyards to be farmed organically, and embracing organic production in the winery. Estate produced wines were first certified, and Biogro organic certification was achieved for the entire Peregrine range in the 2017 vintage.
“Organic farming is fundamental to every aspect of Peregrine Estate, with a holistic approach that integrates crop and livestock farming to vineyard management while focussing on nurturing healthy, living soils so that the vines and other crops can grow in a balanced and healthy manner.”
The whole team share a passion for the land as explained by CEO Fraser McLachlan. “Our motivation is to farm the estate using management practices that not only enhance the land for future generations but provides healthy conditions for our people who work on the land.
We believe that our organic farming approach provides the highest quality fruit from our estate vineyards, fruit that we are proud to craft into our fully organic Peregrine range.”
A natural extension of their passion for the land, Peregrine is dedicated to conservation for some of New Zealand's rarest native birds, working with the Wingspan Trust and the Department of Conservation.
Peregrine staff have personally taken part in programs to save the distinctive black and red Saddleback, once nearly extinct in the 1960s. They have helped to relocate dozens of breeding pairs to new predator-free homes on places like Bauza Island, Secretary Island and Chalky Island in Fiordland and the Orokonui Eco Sanctuary.
They have also worked to re-establish the rare Karearea (New Zealand Falcon) population in Central Otago. Habitat destruction has threatened the species, there are fewer than 800 breeding pairs total left in the wild.
Peregrine has partnered with the Wingspan Trust in Rotorua - raising chicks here at the winery, in specially designed bird boxes that minimize human contact, before releasing them into the wild, as well as transporting and releasing juvenile Falcons.
If you are going to pay a visit to their cellar door in Central Otago, you can’t miss their architecturally acclaimed building. Designed to evoke the rotation of a falcon's wing in flight, the elegant Peregrine Winery building was completed in 2004 and has captured the imagination of visitors ever since.
