Park Estate is unlike any other winery we have ever been to. It is established on a 20-hectare site between the two main rivers of Hawke’s Bay and has been transformed from a fruit orchard into a wine and food tourist attraction. The transformation is a tribute to the horticulture, winemaking and promotional skills of owners Dianne and Owen Park.

The visitor experience is concentrated in a family-built Spanish mission-style complex built using locally grown and milled timbers. Heavy wooden beams are a prominent feature in the warm, naturally toned interiors. The attractions are the restaurant and café, wine tastings, fresh fruit juices, and the fruitlands shop.

We started our tasting with some fruit wines. I was skeptical about these due to past experience with other attempts at producing this type of wine but I quickly changed my mind. Owen, an experienced wine maker has succeeded in producing some really interesting light, crisp and fruity wines in sparking still and fortified styles. Only then did I learn that Bay Classic Fruit Wines has become a notable Hawke’s Bay success story and is internationally recognized as producing some outstanding fruit wines.

We then moved on to some grape wines. They were almost a disappointment after the earlier surprise with the fruit wines. We tried a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay and a Riesling. It was not until we came to the reds that I was impressed. My clear favourite was a 2000 cabernet sauvignon merlot. We learned that this had been fermented in open vats and after hand plunging every few hours for seven days the wine was pumped off and blended (60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot). Part of the mixture was matured in oak barrels and the balance in stainless steel tanks. After 14 months it was then filtered and bottled. The light oak exposure makes sure it is a fruit-driven red and we found it very drinkable.

It was not lunchtime so we didn’t try the restaurant but we were most impressed by the relaxing Mediterranean-style atmosphere achieved by the architecture. There are several dining choices – alfresco in the garden amongst the trees, on the patio, or indoors. We visited on a cold day and were happy to see a huge log fire providing plenty of warmth.

As we left, we couldn’t resist the fruitlands shop. There was a range of home-grown fruit on sale together with jam, honey, pickles and chutney. Best of all was some wonderful fudge, which we enjoyed during the subsequent few days as we traveled to new adventures. Park Estate is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm.