Smith & Sheth

Smith & Sheth is a Hawke’s Bay project with an unusual pairing behind it. Steve Smith is one of a small number of New Zealanders to hold a Master of Wine, and spent two decades building Craggy Range before leaving to start again. Brian Sheth is an American investor with a conservation background. They joined forces in 2017, first taking on Pyramid Valley in North Canterbury, then establishing this label in the Hawke’s Bay, where Smith had spent most of his working life and knew precisely which parcels he wanted.

The name Heretaunga is the Māori name for the Hawke’s Bay plains, and it is the appellation the wines are built around: the river terraces and gravel beds inland of Napier and Hastings, taking in Bridge Pa, Omahu and Mangatahi. The climate is warm and dry with long, hot summers and a drawn-out autumn, which suits Chardonnay and Syrah in particular. Farming is certified under New Zealand’s Sustainable Winegrowing programme with a nil-residue spray regime, fruit is picked entirely by hand, and the winemaking runs on indigenous yeasts.