Timeline

1880 Original House

1895 Vintage Meeanee

 1910 On the move

 1926 Cellars

 1931 Hawke's Bay

 1955 Bottling

 1965 Brothers in Prayer

Our story begins with a group of French Missionaries who sailed to New Zealand in 1838 with little more than their faith and a few vines. 

Mission Estate was established by these Missionaries in Hawke's Bay in 1851, where vines were planted to produce both sacramental and table wine and New Zealand's first winery was born. The first record of a commercial sale dates back to 1870 when a parcel of mostly dry reds was sold.

Mission has never lost sight of its French heritage, as over the years Brothers of the Order have traveled to France to study and learn viticulture and winemaking skills. Our current winemaker Paul Mooney has been at Mission for over 30 years, and was originally trained by the Fathers.

If visiting Le Grand Mason of Mission Estate, as you progress down the driveway, there is still one row of Muscat grapes that have been grafted over the years from the very original stock bought to Hawke's Bay by the Marist Fathers.

Today Mission Estate sources fruit from several sub-regions, including its own well-managed vineyards, blending old world artistry with the latest technology, to produce an award-winning range of distinctly New Zealand wines.

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