Rock Ferry

Our Story

From humble beginnings growing grapes under contract for top New Zealand wine producers, husband and wife, Tom Hutchison and Fiona Harvey, embarked upon creating a wine estate based on organic winegrowing practices to showcase the inherent characteristics of their vineyard properties.

While working in a Wellington wine shop during his university days, Tom Hutchison’s love of wine took hold.  After studying Viticulture at Davis University in California, he returned to New Zealand and in 1994 purchased his first Marlborough vineyard, The Corners Vineyard.

With wife Fiona Harvey, a chef by trade, they continued growing grapes under contract for several years.

In the early 2000’s Tom and Fiona purchased the historic Rock Ferry Cottage on the banks of the Wairau River and set it up as self-contained accommodation. When deciding on a name for their wine label in 2005, Rock Ferry seemed a natural choice as the site itself and its heritage ideally reflected Tom and Fiona’s approach to developing their own wine estate story.

Tom and Fiona began converting their vineyards to an organic farming principle in 2006 and today all four are fully certified. Wanting to maintain complete control over the quality of their wines, they established their own winery in 2009 at the Orchard Vineyard.  Highly respected winemaker, Allan McWilliams along with Winemaker Jordan Hogg and their dedicated team, continue to produce premium, sought-after organic wines today.

To showcase the Rock Ferry range of wines, the Rock Ferry Cellar Door & Café was opened at the Corners Vineyard in 2011.  Seasonally inspired dishes were matched to enhance the wines.  Sadly, the restaurant closed in 2020, however the premises are currently leased out and is now known as the WineKitchen at Rock Ferry.

Today Rock Ferry Wines makes a range of wine styles sourced from four vineyards and two wine growing regions. The wine styles range from classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to silky smooth Central Otago Pinot Noir, from an elegant Marlborough Blanc de Blancs to a mineral Pinot Blanc from Marlborough’s Rapaura sub region to a Tempranillo from Trig Hill Vineyard in Central Otago.

Our wines are all sourced from company-owned vineyards in Marlborough and Central Otago which are certified organic. To maintain complete control over quality Rock Ferry Wines developed their own winery in 2009 where Wine Director Allan McWilliams and Winemaker Jordan Hogg along with their team continue to ply their craft.

Our Wines