About Spy Valley Wines

Award-winning, sustainably crafted wines that have captured the unique time and place of every harvest since 1993. A family-owned estate, hidden in the heart of Marlborough, New Zealand, one of the world’s purest wine regions.

In the early 1990s, deep in the Waihopai Valley, the Johnson family had the audacity to establish an initial 125 hectares of estate vineyards on land considered too hard, too dry and too infertile for wine. It was a venture that started with a passion for the land. This pioneering spirit established a successful winery and brand, now exporting six varietals to over 35 countries, from a crush capacity of 3000 tonnes. Today, Spy Valley’s commitment remains to the land and to the people who tend it, ¬“we are simply farmers at heart, nurturing soil and vine to cultivate the complexities in our wine. And we’re mindful that it’s our focus on sustainability which will ensure our guardianship of this land for generations to come.”

Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and other classic varieties are now grown on 210 hectares of pristine vineyards. It just so happens that they share the valley with a satellite communication station that finds the terroir perfect for spying too.

Unlike the world of espionage, Spy Valley has demanded global attention, where its wine has been called “impossible to ignore” - consistently delivering exceptional experiences for wine lovers around the world.

Representative Biography

Wendy Stuckey, Chief Winemaker

Wendy is an internationally acclaimed winemaker whose career has taken her all over the world. Her most recent role has been Chief Winemaker at Constellation Brands New Zealand, overseeing production of the Kim Crawford and Nobilo brands since 2015. Prior to this she spent seven years at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washing¬ton and 18 years in the Barossa Valley region of Aus¬tralia, including several years at Wolf Blass where she was responsible for some of the company’s iconic white wines.
Originally from South Australia, Wendy first trained as a radiographer before deciding to switch careers and enrolling at Roseworthy Agricultural College to learn
about wine.
When it comes to Wendy’s winemaking approach, she strongly believes the wines must show a sense of place. “Whether that be a single vineyard wine or a regional wine or even a New Zealand wine.” Sauvignon Blanc, just like Riesling she says, is very much a wine that clearly shows that sense of place. She is renowned as a white winemaker, with Riesling in particular helping to pave her career.
Her accolades as a winemaker are prestigious and numerous, winning many gold medals and indus¬try honours over her winemaking career. In addition to the accolades received for her wines, she has been recognised as one of the Top 20 Most Admired Winemakers in the North American Wine Indus¬try and included in Intowine.com’s Top 100 Most Influential US Winemakers. Wendy also has extensive experience as a judge in wine competitions worldwide.
Wendy is married to her kiwi husband and has three teenage children.

Why We're Cool

Perfectly positioned at 41.3 degrees S, a latitudinal mid-point within the world’s wine belt, Marlborough lies on a comparable latitude to many of the world¹s longest established wine regions. But its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, prevailing winds and isolation from continental hot air masses, creates a temperate maritime climate with much cooler summers and milder winters than those experienced in its northern hemisphere latitudinal equivalents. Although blessed with one of the sunniest and driest climates in New Zealand, Marlborough’s heat is tempered throughout the summer months by easterly sea breezes that cool the vineyards throughout the day. The lengthy mild and dry autumn season that follows provides ideal conditions for the long slow ripening of grapes prior to vintage. This cool viticultural climate ¬ characteristic of the upper Loire Valley, northern Burgundy and Champagne ¬ promotes flavour purity with stronger and more vibrant fruit flavours. In Marlborough the effect is magnified by the region¹s significant diurnal temperature range ¬ commonly at 10 degrees C/50 degrees F temperature variation between the cool nights and sunny days of autumn. Such extreme variation slows the development of sugars, preserves the natural acidity in the grapes and gives rise to the extraordinarily intense varietal characters and succulent ripe fruit flavours for which Marlborough wines are renowned.