When Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay in early 2023 some of the country’s most iconic wineries were caught in the path of destruction. Brookfields, longtime favourite of many a Glengarry customer, were particularly hard hit, and the road back to normality was paved with blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of silt.

But as owner and winemaker Peter Robertson says; time is a winemaker's friend, and after months of the community pulling together in the Bay the doors are again open. And famous cellar doors they are, having first opened way back in 1937. Just down the road south from Napier, the homely brickwork of the Brookfields cellar is surrounded by vines with a beautiful garden and outdoor area.

The team have gotten back into the swing of things with gusto, determined to make up for lost time, and the cellar door is now open seven days a week from 10:00am until 3:00 in the afternoon. There is now also an onsite restaurant taken care of by the talented Mitzi and Twinn catering with a great array of tapas and platters on hand.

Operations in the winery itself are also again in full flow. Warehouse stock was dug out of silt, sanitised and saved (some 4500 bottles of it), and the future is again bright. Vintage 2024 is underway, with the legendary Brookfields Chardonnay now picked and looking good.

When we spoke to Peter last year as the Brookfields team was still in recovery mode, he mentioned that the 2023 Pinot Gris was looking good, incredibly so given everything they had been through. That wine is on our shelves now, and Peter was (unsurprisingly given his experience) bang on. Even in adversity the present can be as bright as both past and future.