Owner Antonio Pasquale speaks at the opening of the Kurow
Winery on Saturday, watched by Kurow Estate general manager
Murray Turner, Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean and Waitaki Mayor
Alex Familton (right).
Twenty-two years ago, the Turner family bought land just
east of Kurow to plant grapes.
Last-minute nerves meant stone-fruit trees were planted
instead, but the Turners always believed the Waitaki Valley
could become a wine region.
The opening of the Kurow Winery on Saturday, a complex
developed from a former stone-fruit outlet and packing shed,
was a "truly proud occasion" and a milestone for the Turner
family, Kurow Estate general manager Murray Turner said.
After Mr Turner and his wife Diana sold the fruit farm (they
retained a small area which they have planted in grapes) to
the Pasquale family, they oversaw its development.
Over the past two and a-half years, the Turners and the
Pasquale family have transformed the former River-T fruit
farm into a vineyard and winery.
Mr Turner paid tribute to the Pasquales' foresight, vision
and tenacity.
Antonio and Stefania Pasquale and their daughters arrived in
New Zealand from Italy in 1997, bringing a rich family
heritage in the wine industry.
They have invested more than $3 million in the project.
The wine industry in the Waitaki Valley is young, with the
first grapes planted in 2001 by the late Howard Paterson.
That was followed by a frenzy of plantings by other pioneers
and the first crops, harvested in 2003, immediately gained
media attention.
It had not been an easy road but the region was producing
quality wines, Mr Turner said.
Sustainability and low environmental impact was a priority
for the company.
Traceability in the food and wine industry was becoming very
important and every wine label produced from 2009 would have
a code that could be traced back to the soil it came from, he
said.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, who officially opened the winery,
thanked the Pasquale family for their investment in the
community.
"This Kurow winery says to New Zealand that the Waitaki
Valley is a destination. That is a very exciting thing for us
all."
It would make a large contribution to the economic wellbeing
of the valley and make the valley a "must do" tourist
destination, she said.
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