The Julicher family are the founding custodians and the Te Muna vineyard’s namesake - Julicher Estate.
Wim Julicher originally started out planting an olive grove but changed tack as the site's climate made it far too cold for the poor olive trees, so he set out the vineyard, digging every hole and planting every grape to establish the 20 hectares of vineyards on the bare land that is now recognised world-wide as one of the acclaimed areas to produce grapes for specialist wine. The land has a unique microclimate and free-draining soil that is rich in minerals.
25 years on, the gold-medal winning vineyard's new custodians are yachting legend, Brad Butterworth and his cousin, Warren Butterworth.
While Brad's sailing career has taken him all around the world, he was very focused on investing in New Zealand and wine was always his and Warren's passion. After searching all over New Zealand for a vineyard to embark on their winemaking journey, it was after tasting the wines from Te Muna road’s growers that the Butterworth's were sold on the region.
With the hand of winemaker and biotechnologist, Martin Bell on board, the Butterworth's proudly put their name to their award-winning wines - "When you’re really proud of something you put your name to it." But the Butterworth's were still wanting to pay tribute to the founder of the vineyard - Wim Julicher and so evolved the J-Knot logo. It's the strongest knot you can tie, with the J representing Julicher and the knot tying in the Butterworth's sailing history.
As always our team at Onyx proudly strive to team with businesses that are committed to stainability and Butterworth Estate is no exception. They are fully certified "Sustainable" under the New Zealand Winegrowers certification programme. Butterworth Estate are committed to being responsible stewards of our New Zealand landscape to ensure it's protected it for future generations.
Onyx are proud to offer 2 wines from the Butterworth Collection:
Layline Pinot Noir - $16 a glass, or $72 a bottle.
Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc - $13 a glass, or $60 a bottle.
For more information about the Butterworth Collection visit their website. If you'd like to try a wine that they are proud to put their name too, book with us now, we'd love to see you.