Iconic New Zealand winery Villa Maria is launching its first ever organic wine range ‘Earth Garden’, as part of a commitment to make 100% of the company’s vineyards organically managed by 2030.
Villa Maria has been growing grapes organically for 21 years and Earth Garden is the culmination of this journey.
Villa Maria’s chief global sales and marketing officer Matt Deller MW says the market for organic wine is set to grow.
“The global organic wine market was forecasted last year by IWSR to grow 43% by 2024, and New Zealand’s $2 billion wine industry is well positioned to capitalise on this trend.
“Villa Maria, as one of New Zealand’s first and largest organic wine producers aims to help lead the charge with EarthGarden, which is already attracting significant interest from several of the world’s largest retailers,” he says.
Villa Maria viticulturalist, Hannah Ternent, says she is ‘thrilled’ with the launch.
“Organic farming accentuates flavour in other natural produce such as fruits and vegetables, and it’s the same for wine too. Wines made from organically grown grapes have more intense and evocative flavours. When you taste the EarthGarden wines, you taste the care put into the soil, the conscious tending of the vines, the careful handling of the fruit produced and the respect for our relationship with the land.
“Each year we plant wildflower seeds in the vineyards, which create beautiful, vibrant rows full of flowers, bees and insects that encourage a flourishing ecosystem, and we are highly motivated to further enhance the health of our soils and environment so we can continue to reap the rewards of beautiful fruit for years to come. EarthGarden perfectly encapsulates these principles and what we are striving to achieve.”
Sustainability remains at the forefront of Villa Maria’s practices. Packaging for every bottle comes from within 22km of the Auckland Estate and each bottle is made in New Zealand with an average of 69% recycled glass.
EarthGarden is available from March 1, 2021.
