Aurum

The gardens surrounding the Tasting Room and the gardens at the 45th Parallel vineyard house are registered gardens with the New Zealand Gardens Trust www.gardens.org.nz.  The Tasting Room garden is anchored with an enormous walnut tree and is packed with old fashioned roses and perennials. The spring garden features daffodils, hyacinths and tulips followed by a wide range of herbacious peonies. 45th Parallel vineyard garden is more restrained, using only the tough mediterranean plants that thrive in the dry gravels of the area.

The glacial gravels, sands and silts of the Cromwell Valley are particularly suited to growing grape vines because of their low fertility and high mineral content. The climate, which is semi-arid ( 200-400mls per year), requires that all vines are irrigated. The trellis system used is VSP ( Vertical Shoot Positioning). Brook Lawrence, as well as being one of our winemakers, is also the viticulturalist (he's a busy boy!) and his canopy management regime includes shoot thinning, bunch thinning and ultimately hand harvesting. Soil organic matter is increased yearly by the use of mulching and return of composted winery waste. Aurum Wines grows its grapes under the New Zealand Registered Sustainability Programme. This programme is designed to minimise energy, wqter and chemical use in the vineyard and winery.

  Aurum's Te Wairere Vineyard

Joan and Tony Lawrence planted their first vines in 1997 on their 45th Parallel Vineyard nestled to the north of Sugar Loaf. In 2001 they purchased the land and planted Te Wairere Vineyard where their Tasting Room and winery are located.  45th Parallel vineyard soils are glacial silts and gravels while Te Wairere vineyards soils are wind blown sands and silts.

Grape varieties planted are Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

   Dunstan Mountains

The Cromwell basin is surrounded by mountains; the Pisa Range, the Dunstan mountains and the Cairnmuir Range along with the huge Southern Alps to the west, all block rain to the valley.  The annual rainfall is 200 - 400 mls per year.