Grower Website Seresin Region: New Zealand

Michael Seresin was born in Wellington, New Zealand, but left in the 1960s, when sheep, not grapevines, covered the Wairau Plains. He settled in Italy, where he was captivated by Italian food and wine culture and began his career as a cinematographer. Over time Michael’s interest in wine developed into a passion. In the early 1990s after investigating opportunities to start a winery in Italy, he became aware of the quality wines starting to emerge from his homeland. After visiting Marlborough, and falling in love with the Marlborough Sounds, Michael purchased a home, followed by the purchase of land in the Wairau Valley. He immediately began planting vines and importing Tuscan olive varieties along with significant plantings of native plant species -and this was the beginning of Seresin’s Home Vineyard.

One of the first wineries in New Zealand to operate organic vineyards, Seresin released their first vintage in 1996.  A year later, the Tatou Vineyard was purchased along with land in the Omaka Valley. Today the vineyard is known as the  the Raupo Creek Vineyard. Seresin was recognized by the Marlborough District Council’s in 2009 and awarded the Marlborough Environment Award. It is certified Organic (US & NZ BioGro) and the largest Marlborough vineyard to be certified DEMETER biodynamic.

In 2018, the Tatou vineyard and winery were sold to local NZ winemakers Ben Glover and Rhyan Wardman (the inaugural assistant winemaker at Seresin). Today, the wines are made by winemaker Tamra Kelly-Washington at what was the original Seresin winery and is known today as The Coterie, a winemaking hub championing small-batch, single-site wines.

Winemaker Tamra Kelly-Washington graduated as a top scholar from Lincoln University with a degree in Viticulture and Oenology. She started her career at Seresin Estate and after spending time making wine in the USA, Australia and Italy she headed back to her roots. Tamara joined the Seresin Estate team just in time for the 2018 harvest.

Working with viticulturist Cameron Vawter, a passionate advocate for biodynamic farming, the focus is on precise picking decisions, embracing acidity with a focus on guiding pristine fruit through the winemaking process with minimal handling. The resulting wines are elegant, structured and a genuine reflection of their provenance.

VINEYARDS

Grapes from organic and biodynamic-certified Raupo Creek Vineyard are handpicked and transformed into artisan wines through gentle, traditional winemaking. The largest DEMETER certified bioydynamic vineyard in New Zealand.

Raupo Creek Vineyard:
The Raupo Creek vineyard is located at the foothills of the Omaka Valley. The clay rich soils of the 51 hectare vineyard are ideal for growing Pinot Noir. The land is also planted with Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Viognier. An additional 25 hectares are planted with olive groves and vegetable patches, and used for farmland and pasture.

Organic and biodynamic philosophies view the property as one holistic organism – the health of the estate depends upon the balance of all its individual parts. This harmonious approach to viticulture also plays a fundamental part in our company culture and the winemaking process.

The combination of aspect, elevation and close planted vines, coupled with clay rich slopes for concentrated pinot noir and finer sandy, silt-loam flats for the whites meant that as the vines matured, our winemakers coveted Raupo Creek fruit over all others.

Raupo Creek Vineyard by Variety

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