RIMU GROVE

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.”

Born and raised in the Napa Valley, California, Patrick made his first wine at age 19 and has been getting better at it ever since. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) in 1984 with a degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology. During his 15+ year career as a scientist in the biotechnology field in the San Francisco Bay area, Patrick made wine annually, first with a group of six award-winning home winemakers and then with professional winemakers in the Napa Valley. Moving to New Zealand and founding Rimu Grove in 1995, Patrick was able to apply his knowledge of microbiology and biochemistry to winemaking at his own winery. Still learning and experimenting, improving and perfecting his technique almost 20 years later, Patrick is the steady hand at the helm of Rimu Grove.