The Wairarapa is home to the first plantings of Pinot Noir in Aotearoa, dating back to the 1880s. Planted by William and Hermance Beetham, an English and French couple, who recognised the region’s potential to create Burgundian style wines due to the similarities in environmental conditions and landscape. Following the temperance movement these vines were uprooted in 1905, but thankfully wine growing and making was revived in the Wairarapa in the late 1970s! 

Gladstone Vineyard was first started in the mid 1980s as a hobby farm with a mere 2.7 hectares of vines planted to Sauvignon Blanc. In 1996, the property was bought by the Kernohan family who spent the next two decades lovingly crafting the wines and implementing sustainable vineyard practices to ensure premium grapes were yielded off the Home Block. In the early 2000s the Kernohans commenced their expansion plans to satisfy a growing demand for Gladstone Vineyard wines by increasing the vineyard holdings of Pinot Noir and building a new winery. 

Today, our Home Block vineyard is still at the heart of our operation, with an additional two vineyards, also located in the Gladstone area, being leased and managed by Gladstone Vineyard. The start of 2023 saw a change of ownership for GV back to a family owned and locally run business. Our new custodians are a young family devoted to making fine wines in harmony with nature and the local community. It's the people behind our label that truly make it special, and we are blessed to find that the passion, enthusiasm and vision upon which Gladstone Vineyard was founded resounds as strong as ever as we enter into a new era of winemaking.