Some might say that Patrick Stowe is a long way from home. Others would opine that he is finally right where he’s meant to be. Back in the 1860s, his great-great-something-or-other grandfather owned a vineyard in the Napa Valley. This latent winemaking DNA was awakened while Patrick was attending a polytechnic course where, at age 19, he made his first wine. Graduating with a degree in biochemistry and microbiology, he continued to pursue his passion for winemaking in the Napa Valley. In the early 1990s, Patrick toured New Zealand, falling for Nelson’s Bronte Peninsular. He returned to buy seven hectares there and, in 1995, he established Rimu Grove. His philosophy was simple: do everything it takes to get the most out of the vineyard – hands-on, plenty of hard work, very little machinery but loads of buckets. Patrick loves great Burgundy, and believes if any country in the world was tailor-made for Pinot Noir, it’s New Zealand, with its intense sunshine, special soils and long growing period so perfect for ripening grapes: “The vineyard has a temperate, maritime microclimate with high sunshine hours. We don’t use machinery in the vineyard; it is entirely hand-managed to maintain low cropping levels and all the fruit is hand-picked.”