VIDAL

Vidal Winery has a history spanning more than 100 years. With a passion for wine, the visionary Spaniard Anthony Vidal purchased a Hawke's Bay racing stable back in 1905, converted it into a wine cellar, planted vines and established himself as one of New Zealand's earliest wine innovators.

It is from these humble, pioneering beginnings that Vidal has evolved, driven by an ambitious desire to improve, from one century to the next. Youthful, fresh and modern, Vidal wines are the essence of everyday living.

Vidal wines have achieved great success in wine awards and competitions for the past ten years, in particular the Syrahs and Chardonnays. Its trophy successes are impressive given the small size of the winery.

Vidal Winery is one of very few wineries in Australasia to have been credited with an ISO 14001 certification, an internationally recognized standard focused on reducing the impact that winemaking and grape growing has on the environment. The achievement of this standard is a fine testimony to Vidal's ongoing commitment towards maintaining a healthy environment.

Hugh Crichton

Hugh Crichton became the Vidal Estate winemaker in 2006, having worked with the Vidal Estate winemaking team in various capacities since 2004. Prior to joining Vidal Estate, Hugh had established a solid winemaking career both in New Zealand and overseas, working vintages at Chateau Soutard Grande Cru Classe in Saint Emilion France; Chard Farm in Central Otago; Donnafugata in Italy; and several at Millton Vineyards in Gisborne where his inspiration for environmentally conscious and organic winemaking and viticulture was fostered.

During his time in Europe, Hugh had the opportunity to experience many European wines, which were often more elegant in style and food friendly in nature than their New World counterparts. His exposure to some of the great wines of this style has been a key influence on his winemaking direction. Producing wines which are truly reflective of the region and vineyards where the grapes are grown is also at the core of Hugh's winemaking philosophy.