A Whakatāne couple are making waves in New Zealand’s wine scene, turning their boutique vineyard in Hawke’s Bay’s renowned Bridge Pa Triangle into an award-winning brand

Karen McLeod and husband Troy Doherty’s hard work paid off recently when their Herringbone 2024 Syrah took home the overall best in class trophy at the 25th annual Hawke’s Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards 2025.

More than 200 of the region’s finest wines were sampled over two days ahead of the awards night on October 22.

There are up to 40 top wines in each category, which 11 judges award gold, silver, or bronze medals – or make no award – following a blind taste test. Herringbone’s Syrah achieved gold alongside some of the country’s biggest wine names, including Church Road, Mission Estate, and Trinity Hill.

“There were six gold medal syrahs this year; we were up against all of these massive companies,” said Ms McLeod. “Those six are then rejudged to select the overall best in class, which wins the trophy. Our Syrah wine was judged the best in class.  A few of the other wines retail for over $100 a bottle, so we’re pretty stoked.”

Ms McLeod and Mr Doherty purchased their vineyard in 2016. Initially, they supplied premium fruit to larger commercial wineries, but in 2021 they launched their own label, gradually building a range of single-estate wines sold mainly to restaurants and bars.

The vineyard sits on an ancient riverbed in the Bridge Pa Triangle - an area regarded as some of the best grape-growing land in the country, thanks to its  red metal free-draining soils and ideal climate. The oldest vines on the site are 25 years old, providing depth of flavour to the fruit.

Herringbone’s wine range includes rose, pinot gris, chardonnay, merlot malbec and syrah. All their wines are made from organically grown grapes, “no sprays”, with their award-winning syrah fermented using wild yeasts and aged for 10 months in oak barrels. “We use a mix of new and old oak because we just wanted a little bit of oak flavour, not overpowering the wine. It's a nicely balanced wine.”

The couple run a dairy farm in Whakatāne, which inspired the name Herringbone Wines, after the herringbone milk shed design.  The herringbone pattern conveys the interconnection between the land, climate and people that result in wines of distinction.

They travel to Hawke’s Bay during harvest, staying in a small house on the vineyard. “It's normally from about October onwards that things really kick off at the vineyard. it works well with the farming because we're really busy in the winter here.”

Ms McLeod studied Viticulture & Oenology (winemaking) at Lincoln University and Mr Doherty has a background in both FMCG account management and farming.

In 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc on some vineyards in Hawke’s Bay, but their vineyard was lucky to escape with surface flooding only.

“We were really worried that the vineyard would have sustained significant damage because they had no comms down there for four days, so we didn't know. But where we are, there's a hill range called Roy's Hill next to us, and then the river is on the other side of that, so luckily, we were protected.”

Once harvested they transport their grapes to a winemaking facility run by Daniel Brennan, a U.S.-born expert in sustainable, minimal-intervention wines. “Daniel’s approach really suits what we’re trying to do – to let the quality of the grapes shine through.”

Herringbone Wines are available at Super Liquor on Commerce Street, in select restaurants including Whakatane’s Smokin Goose, Detour, The Comm, Cadera, and Fisherman’s Wharf, as well as online at www.herringbonewine.co.nz