The Bridge Pa Triangle has summer temperatures among the hottest in Hawke’s Bay. This long dry heat, combined with free-draining sandy loam over a gravel base, make this a superb site for ripening red and white varietals.
Te Mata has two vineyards in Bridge Pa Triangle. Bullnose Vineyard, the 15 hectare site planted in 1990 and home to former winemaker Peter Cowley and his family, is planted with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, syrah, sauvignon blanc, semillon and sauvignon gris. Isosceles Vineyard, another 15 hectare site nearby, was planted in 2000 with sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, merlot, syrah, semillon and cabernet franc.
This Hawke’s Bay sub-region has gained an international reputation for the complexity, depth and detail of its red wines, as well as the consistent quality and fine delicacy of the white wines it produces.
Te Mata was also one of the first wineries to recognise the potential of the gravels west of Hastings for grape growing, an area where stoney soils from the old Ngaruroro River were exposed after a flood in the 1860s.
We have two vineyard sites here for syrah and cabernet franc. Gravels on the surface, unlike the red soil top layer of Bridge Pa, reflect and retain the intense Hawke’s Bay sunlight. Wines produced here have great ripeness, power and weight.
