Delta Wine Company

Winemaker Matt Thomson and London-based wine importer David Gleave met during the 1994 vintage in Italy and their chance meeting led to the acquisition of the Delta Vineyard in the Wairau Valley near Marlborough. Over the years the site has served as a dairy, a sheep farm, and an airstrip, before it was planted as a vineyard in 2001 and 2002. The clay soil, combined with the elevation of the vineyard and the factors that make Marlborough a successful viticultural region combine to make Delta Vineyard an ideal site for producing Pinot Noir. The vineyard has 100 acres planted solely to Pinot Noir at a density of 2,150 vines per hectare. The clones are Dijon 114, 115, 667 and 777, plus UCD 5 and 6.

The fruit from the flatter blocks of the vineyard are used for the Delta Vineyard label (two thirds of production), while the best fruit is selected from the hillside blocks and goes into the top tier Hatter's Hill label. The wines are exported to the US and UK.