Location

Doubtless Bay Wine Company’s vineyard is located in the Far North of the North Island of New Zealand.

The specific locality is known as Lake Ohia, after an old lakebed (and ancient Kauri forest) that was drained by kauri gumdiggers early in the 20th century.

Environment – Climate

North of the warm and wet main ranges of the Northland Peninsula, the climate changes markedly. The weather in the Far North is often very different to that further south. It is typically drier with most rain falling in the winter months, and although the warmest part of the country during the winter the proximity of the ocean and daily sea breezes moderates the temperatures and humidity during the summer months.

The differences are quite marked even within the confines of the Doubtless Bay area. The Karikari Peninsula is noticeably windier than warm and sheltered Mangonui, for example, approximately 1-2 degrees Celsius cooler, and experiences between 200 and 400 mm less rainfall on average each year. Were it not for the hills to the south and shelter from trees and scrub in the proximity of the vineyard, the environment would be too harsh to support productive vines.  Our particular location offers some advantages in that we are close enough to the southern foothills to receive protection from the prevailing south westerly winds, and also relatively protected from the often persistent and salty easterly sea breezes.  It is still a windy site, however.  Thanks to the protection factor, daytime temperatures are as much as 2 degrees warmer than Tokerau Beach and Whatuwhiwhi.

The following aerial photo shows the proximity to the sea and the rest of the Karikari Peninsula to the north.

The main impact of this maritime climate with limited extremes is a very long slow ripening season.  Our vines are among the first to budburst in New Zealand each spring while we tend to pick well into April, along with most other parts of the country.

Environment – Soil

The main soils of the Doubtless Bay area are volcanic clays (especially on the Rangiawhia Range of the Karikari Peninsula) and several types of sand.

The Doubtless Bay Wine Company vineyard at Lake Ohia is situated on a slightly elevated terrace predominantly comprised of extremely free draining Ohia sand. This long narrow terrace rises out of neighbouring peaty swamp and wetlands, including the largely drained Lake Ohia nearby.

A surviving remnant of the predominantly Dalmatian gum diggers of the area is an old grapevine planted just half a kilometre from the present vineyard in the vicinity of old gum diggings.

This extremely infertile soil with poor water and nutrient holding capabilities is often very wet in winter but dries out rapidly in spring and early summer, resulting in water deficit conditions.  This severely limits plant growth and naturally limits crop yields for all but the most fertile varieties.  Wind and variable spring conditions can also lead to erratic fruit set.

Environment – The Vineyard at Lake Ohia

The present vineyard continues to grow slowly as we are able to access quality planting material that fits our programme.

Several grape varieties are currently grown, but the process of trialling and development is far from complete.  Current plantings include:

Red Grapes:

Cabernet Sauvignon (Clones 7 and 169)

Merlot (Clones 6, 181 and 347)

Syrah (Clones MS, 174, 470, Chave and Grippat)

Petit Verdot (Clone 400)

Cabernet Franc (Clones 214, 327 and 678)

Sangiovese

White Grapes:

Chardonnay (Clones 15, 7, 2/23, 95, 121)

Viognier (Clones Koorlong/642)

Albarino

Vermentino (Clone 766)

First plantings took place in 1995 followed by further expansion in 1998 and 2003/4.  Replanting of varieties and planting materials that did not meet our requirements is ongoing.