The Moutere Valley

Nelson’s Moutere Hills are sited in the centre of the northern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. Mountain ranges to the east, south and west provide a rain shadow effect, while Tasman Bay to the north ensures a maritime climate.

Our home plantings spill down a gentle north-facing slope overlooking a side branch of the Moutere Valley. The valley floor is home to hop gardens, orchards, berry farms and new vineyards.

Nelson often has the highest sunshine hours in the country; summer growing months are warm and relatively dry, with the possibility of rain increasing towards Autumn. Night temperatures cool markedly towards vintage, but damaging frosts are rare.

Climate & Conditions

Coordinates: 41°14’S, 173°E
Altitude: 25-110m
Heat degree days: 1147
Annual sunshine hours: 2430
Annual rainfall: 962mm
Max Jan daily temperature: 22°C
Harvest: mid March – mid April 

our soil

Great wines can only come from healthy soils. Healthy soil is our greatest vineyard asset.

Our vines are planted in deep clay gravel soils, laid down by ancient, long melted glaciers. These kaolinitic clay soils have a naturally low fertility and a sandy loam topsoil with an ever expanding organic matter content. They have a great water holding capacity which allows us to dry farm our vines through the sunny Nelson summer. We compost our grape skins and seeds and return them back to the vineyard floor to boost soil biodiversity and complete the nutrient cycle.

Vineyard Management

With a maritime climate it is essential to maintain an open canopy to allow sunlight and air to penetrate, reducing the pressure of disease. Our vineyard canopy design includes single and double cane vertically shoot positioned (VSP) vines, creating a thin, upright canopy that intercepts as much sunlight as possible. To balance vigour in some of our blocks, we are trialling spur pruning, a method of retaining a permanent fruiting cordon with two-bud fruiting spurs.

Vineyard management is driven by the desire for ripe flavours with balanced acidity and concentrated fruit. Vine density ranges from 1667 vines/ha in our 37 year old Moutere Mendoza to 4545 vines/ha on some close planted Mendoza at Rosie’s Block. Low production (1.5kg per vine for Pinot Noir, 2kg/vine for aromatics and 2.5kg/vine for Chardonnay) helps achieve the quality of fruit to create long-lived, intense but elegant wines. 

“Neudorf are one of my favourite New Zealand producers, and though the wines are generally tasted blind, it is hard to separate the wonderful Finn family, and their vision writ large in their wines, from the consumption and assessment of their wines. Late 70s pioneers of Nelson, they continue to excel."

Mike Bennie, The Wine Front AUS