For Jane Hunter, the writing has been on the wall. Approaching Hunter’s Wines’ cellar door on Rapaura Road in Blenheim you are greeted with a rustic wooden sign emblazoned ‘Hunter’s Wines, Marlborough, Jane Hunter’, such is the all-encompassing influence of this remarkable woman on the winery she founded in 1979 along with her husband Ernie. Both highly skilled winemakers, Jane and Ernie championed Marlborough sauvignon blanc on the world stage and following Ernie’s death in 1987 Jane forged on, taking the already much-awarded sauvignon blanc to new heights and adding méthode traditionnelle to the portfolio. Under her leadership Hunter’s Wines has won hundreds of medals both nationally and internationally and has grown a significant export market, all the while remaining a cherished independent family-run business in a sector increasingly influenced by corporates. As Jane says, “You don’t have to be big to succeed, but you do have to be good.”

Investing in building a legacy for future generations, Jane has led the winery in sustainable practices nurturing not only their vines, but reducing the environmental impacts of water and energy use and planting more than 4,000 native plants, first in a dry native garden and then developing a wetland to restore and enhance the property’s biodiversity.

Now it is time to rejig things a little bit, she says, as she steps back from the day-to-day business and places the operation of the family winery in the accomplished hands of her nephews James Macdonald as senior winemaker and Edward Macdonald as general manager. “They’ve both got a real grip on the way the business is run, they understand where we’ve come from and I think they have a clear idea of where we’re heading,” Jane says confidently. “Now it’s just a matter of ensuring that they meet the challenges as they come up and keep an eye on their own destiny.” hunters.co.nz  TRACY WHITMEY