Canterbury's First Winery
Summer 1998
It all started because of a disaster. When in 1977 brothers Robin and Norman Mundy discovered that their Coutts Island potato crop was infested with a nematode cyst, they took the unprecedented step of converting the entire potato farm into a vineyard and thus establishing Canterbury?s first winery.
Robin and his wife Bernice are now the owners of M J Mundy Limited, the company which owns and operates the St Helena winery.
Robin recalls with mixed emotions those early days when the move was met with scepticism by local farmers. However, the company soon established a reputation for developing quality wines, particularly red wines.
In 1982 the company?s Pinot Noir won Gold at the Air New Zealand Show. Since then there has been a procession of medals.
