Elephant Hill invests further in New Zealand wine industry

ELEPHANT HILL INVESTS FURTHER IN THE NEW ZEALAND WINE
INDUSTRY

Elephant Hill is very pleased to announce a significant additional commitment to the growth and
development of Hawke’s Bay New Zealand as an internationally recognised region for premium
wines. After a full and thorough search they have acquired two further mature vineyards in the
region. The first being a 17 hectare organically certified vineyard opposite Gimblett Road, followed
by an additional long term lease of a 15 hectare vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle.

Elephant Hill Winemaker Steve Skinner says “Hawke’s Bay has long been known for producing
excellent wines and the Bridge Pa Triangle and Gimblett Road vineyards offer us different soil types
and micro climates to add to our excellent home block at Te Awanga. The resulting structural
differences in the wine will give us the freedom to either blend the best qualities of each vineyard or
to make terroir based, site specific single vineyard wines.”

This is a natural strategic step in the continued building of Elephant Hill. In 2001 Reydan and Roger
Weiss purchased the original block of land in Te Awanga, Hawke’s Bay. Their vision was to make
wines from their own vineyards that truly represented the region and where the quality was
amongst the very best in Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand. Since then they have developed the
vineyard and a state -of-the-art winery and restaurant that stand apart in terms of quality, style and
vision. The philosophy is a dedication to uncompromising quality in everything they do.

The aim is always to remain a small producer of exceptional quality wine and all the vineyards will
continue with precision viticulture, 100% hand-picked grapes and be certified as sustainable by the
Sustainable Winegrowers of New Zealand.

Managing Director Günter Thies and the team have developed 20 export markets which are now
established and as a result there has been an increasing demand for the wines.

Owner Roger Weiss says “We are a family-owned, boutique producer of super -premium wines and
this is a very exciting period in our development. Investing in these new vineyards is the next step in
the growth of Elephant Hill and the increased demand for our wines. We will grow from 15,000 to a
maximum of 35,000 cases over the next 3 vintages and these vineyards fit perfectly with our plans
for sustainable growth. It also shows the belief we have in our region in terms of running a
successful wine business and producing wines of the highest quality. Having total control over the
viticulture and winemaking is very important to keep our quality standards.”