New Zealand Wine: Vilagrad Wines – Hamilton (Waikato)

It seems only natural when we go only holiday, that I hunt out the closest wineries. Mr. Spittoon’s family actually live in Hamilton, which falls into the Waikato-Bay of Plenty wine region in New Zealand. Of the 10 or so wineries in the region, Vilagrad Wines is one and it’s only about a 15 minute drive from the Hamilton CBD in Ohaupo.

There’s no doubt the winery is well-known to the locals and as my brother-in-law put it, ‘everyone has had some sort of function or work do at Vilagrad’. I can understand why, as it is such a pretty spot in Hamilton, or aka The Tron as us Kiwi’s typically refer to it. The winery also has a pretty interesting story which I want to share with you guys today.

The History

Grapevines for Vilagrad were originally planted in 1906, however it was in 1922 the winery was established by Ivan Milicich Snr who migrated from Croatia. To this day, the winery remains family owned and operated with the very passionate James Nooyen heading up the winemaking. James is the eldest son of Pieter and Nelda Nooyen (Nelda being the grand-daughter of Ivan).

James is joined by his two brothers which is how the sister label of Vilagrad, ‘3 Brothers’ started. This range focuses on producing wines from grapes also grown in other well-known wine regions around New Zealand.

In 2015 a devastating fire broke out at Vilagrad which destroyed around 60% of the property, in 2017 it’s still very evident what happened, but it’s safe to say they are bringing out the positives with plans to rebuild bigger and better. Not to mention in the meantime, they have used what’s left of the brickwork and such to create a lovely rustic atmosphere that looks bloody gorgeous when dressed up, like for the wedding below.

And that view out to the vines… It had me swooning.

Cellar Door Tasting

There are plans to build a cellar door experience into the property. When we visited in December 2017 we enjoyed a tasting at the bar. Pieter started off the tasting and then James took over. He had plenty of stories to tell us about the winery and vineyard. Not to mention he opened everything on the list for us to try – we were very spoilt.

The cellar door is open from 9am until 3pm Monday – Friday and from 12-4pm Sundays. I hear the Sunday lunches are pretty epic. The family put on a Mediterranean Spit Roast style buffet lunch for about $45 per head.

The Wines

There are quite a range of wines to try from wines made from grapes grown on the property as well as from around New Zealand.

It’s probably the ‘Charminer’ which first grabbed my attention. This wine is a Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer blend which they make as a still and a sparkling wine (carbonation method).

In terms of my favourites for my palate, it was the 3 Brothers range which really stood out for me – they have some absolute gems there! Here are some of my tasting notes:

If you haven’t visited Vilagrad Wines yet and you’re in or around the Waikato, make sure to stop in for a taste and to soak up the view. Definitely a great highlight when visiting H-Town!

Address: 702 Rukuhia Rd, RD 2 Ohaupo, Hamilton 3204, New Zealand
Website: vilagradwines.co.nz
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