Dog Point

Marlborough

Dog Point Vineyard is New Zealand's largest certified organic vineyard by Biogro NZ, with over 280 hectares farmed organically on the hill slopes of the Southern Valleys of Marlborough.

Its family owned and one of the oldest privately established vineyards, with the first plantings in the late 1970s by Ivan and Margaret Sutherland. Today, the next generation of the family runs the day-to-day operations.

They produce four wines including a Sauvignon Blanc, and three barrel fermented wines using natural (wild) yeasts including a Sauvignon Blanc fermented in older French oak barrels, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir. Their primary focus is producing wines of uncompromising quality that will cellar well.

The name Dog Point dates back to the days when dogs were the only means of protecting and managing sheep in the region.

Winemaker

Murray Cook

Murray Cook is the Winemaker at Dog Point. Murray’s interest in winemaking stretches back to the vineyards of Central Otago during the winter of 2003, and from there, he spent five years in Australia’s Yarra Valley at Yering Station, during which time he was also able to work abroad in Champagne and Burgundy.

In 2008 he moved to Marlborough, to work as a winemaker at Villa Maria Estate, before joining Dog Point Vineyard in 2013.
His approach is to make wines which build on the character of the place, the farming involved, hand harvesting, and the use of wild fermentation. It tones down the overt fruitfulness of Marlborough Sauvignon and creates a less manipulated wine with subtle flavours textures and nuances, that can only be produced once. Each year’s differences are celebrated.

The Terroir of the ‘Ti Kouka’

The Dog Point vineyard is centrally located at the confluence of the smaller Brancott and Omaka valleys, a location is widely considered to be a very desirable area for grape growing. It has one of the sunniest and driest climates in the country, which is crucial for keeping disease at bay across 280 hectares of vines.
A key part of their organic philosophy is the biodiversity of the property, and so a large area of land at Dog Point is devoted to pasture, pond spaces, and native plantings.

Fittingly, it’s also home to one of New Zealand's cultural and ecological treasures, the 'Ti Kouka'. Commonly known as the cabbage tree, a hardy native New Zealand plant and a natural expression of the land on which it exists.
Given its significance, a stylised version of the Ti Kouka forms part of the Dog Point brand.