Founder Sam Neill Phone +64 3-449 2756 | Founded Central Otago | |
Address 315 Strode Road, Clyde 9180, New Zealand Similar Mt Difficulty Wines, Carrick Wines, Akarua, Shaky Bridge Wines, Black Ridge Vineyard Profiles | ||
Two Paddocks is a wine producer based in Central Otago, New Zealand. The company was established by actor Sam Neill in 1993 with a planting of 5 acres (2.0 ha) of Pinot noir on a small vineyard at Gibbston, Central Otago. Since 2001, Two Paddocks has an interest in the winery The Central Otago Wine Company, and has an approximate production of 3,000 cases of wine a year.
The original vineyard, First Paddock, was augmented by two other small vineyards in the Alexandra district. After incorporating a second vineyard established by neighbor filmmaker Roger Donaldson, Neill changed to the current name. Donaldson eventually built another vineyard, Sleeping Dogs, named after the 1977 film which marked his directorial debut and Neill's first feature film. Alex Paddocks is a 7-acre (2.8 ha) vineyard on a terrace above the Earnscleugh Valley under some striking rocky headlands. It was planted with Burgundian Pinot vines (5, 6, 115) in 1998. In 2000 the company acquired Redbank Paddocks, a sheltered 60 acres (24 ha) also in the Earnscleugh Valley, which nestles between two rocky escarpments. It is planted with more Burgundian clones (777, 667, and 115) and some Riesling.
"The Last Chance" Pinot noir is a single vineyard bottling from the Alex Paddocks plot, its first vintage in 2002. The company also produces the second label Picnic, largely with sourced fruit, with bottlings of Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc and Riesling varietals. Two Paddocks also grows medicinal and culinary herbs, such as lavender oil and saffron.