Bannockburn is climatically the hottest, driest sub-region of Otago on New Zealand’s south island. Bannockburn lies on the south bank of the Kawarau River, at the southern terminus of the Cromwell Valley (Cromwell basin). Harvest can be up to a month ahead of other sub-regions. The presence of wild thyme also indicates how hot it can be here. Felton Road’s Elms Vineyard occupies one of if not the warmest, driest sites in Otago).

Soil: ‘Soil is gold-bearing schist but the base material is loess and alluvium; glacial moraines down the valley; very mixed,’ Robin Dicey told me on Sunday afternoon 05th July 2015.

Wineries

Certified Biodynamic: Felton Road.

Bibliography

Oxford Companion to Wine 4th edition ed. Jancis Robinson MW and Julia Harding MW (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Wines of New Zealand.