MONTANA

The name Montana was first used by Yugoslavian immigrant Ivan Yukich for the wine he made in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland, where he settled on a small block of land in Scenic Drive in 1934. Because of the elevation of the site, the vineyard was given the name "Montana", which means mountain. The first wines were sold in 1944, with more grapes planted with each successive year. By 1960, ten hectares were planted. In 1961 the sons set up their own company, Montana Wines Limited. Over the next twenty five years it grew to be the largest in New Zealand.

Montana is now known under the new name, Brancott Estate; not only the home of Montana's flagship Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but the original Marlborough vineyard and where Sauvignon Blanc was first planted in Marlborough.