TUPARI

Tupari Wines is a small and specialist wine company owned and managed by David and Heather Turnbull in partnership with Glenn Thomas and his partner Sharon Inwood.

Glenn has made wine from many vineyards in the Awatere Valley, and saw the potential of the small north-facing river flats nestled in the upper Awatere Valley on the Turnbull property at "The Cliffs". Finally in 2002, Dave and Heather planted Tupari Vineyard, which is located 30km up the Awatere River on small river flats of the south bank at an elevation of 150m. The thin silty loam over river-run gravels is a harsh environment for any grape vine. A slight northerly incline allows maximum interception of the sun's rays during the day. Large boulders under the vines radiate heat onto the grapes long into the cool nights. The gorge heats up on windless days, but as evening approaches a sea breeze flows up the valley and cools the air. This combination of warm days and cool nights produces wines with great flavour intensity and balance.

Tupari wines carry New Zealand Wine Growers sustainability accreditation and both vigneron and winemaker pursue holistic and sustainable viticulture and winemaking practices, which determine the unique personality of the Tupari portfolio.

Glenn Thomas

Expertly interweaving artistry and science to create beautiful wine, Glenn simply wants to make the best wine from our land. He is an artist, he is a romantic and he is a scientist. Like a chef, he combines his two passions to create beautiful things. A oenology graduate of Roseworthy College, South Australia, Glenn worked in McLaren Vale and the Barossa before moving to the Awatere Valley, New Zealand as the first winemaker for Vavasour Wines. In 1989 he produced the valley’s first sauvignon blanc. More recently Glenn joined Kiwi Oeno, a high profile winemaking consultancy with clients throughout New Zealand, Northern Italy and Southern France. Glenn is a truly global winemaker but his primary focus remains the Awatere Valley and his pivotal role at Tupari.