VINEYARD AND FARMING
Planted in 2002, Doctors Flat is a single 3-hectare vineyard in Bannockburn. The schist subsoil was ground off the Cairnmuir Mountains by glacial ice and deposited here about 480,000 years ago. The glacial action and millennia of weathering have
generated an abundance of clay and fine silt in the vineyard gravel. We know soil texture drives wine texture and this vineyard produces Pinot Noir with density, fine tannin and great texture. We farm organically to help grow and sustain soil biology.
In turn the soil microlife harvest and transport nutrient and minerals to the vine. It’s this connection between vineyard and vine that gives Doctors Flat Pinot Noir its character and sense of place.

WINEMAKING
The winemaking is a simple programme of small open tanks, close attention, minimal inputs and a very light hand in the extraction process with only three punch downs. In 2021 20% of the fruit went directly to tank as whole bunches. Fermentation occurred spontaneously and after 21 to 24 days on skins the wine was drained to French oak barrels (22% new). Malolactic was delayed until spring and SO2 not added until late summer. After a full 12 months in barrel the wine was racked to tank for a second winter, then bottled 20 months after harvest.

Our Mermaid's Mirth is a bit of a local legend here in Mt Maunganui. Generously packed with American hops where Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook deliver a citrusy flavour and aroma, supported by a clean and crispy body.

Exceptionally easy drinking for 6% she may be legendary but comes with a cautionary tale...

6.0% ABV.

Sake bomb, Sake bomb, sake bomb...hey. Following our well received collab with ZenKuro sake brewery in 2019 we have teamed up again, this time with a different approach. Sake bomb beer in one neat package...Not quite - but we have brewed a beautiful golden pilsner with locally grown southland hops and then re-fermented it with sake kasu (rice starch by product of sake production). Making a lovely easy going beer that pairs well with Japanese food and contains subtle aromas of rice wine matched with stonefruit. Just remember your chant before drinking!

4.9% ABV.

6.0% - Harvest Collaboration Hazy IPA

Hāpi Sessions 2025, three collaborations, three breweries at the top of their game, three beers, each showcasing a different hop forward style in a playful ‘freestyle’ interpretation of one of the beers that helped to make each brewery famous.

Britannia’s best and brightest, Deya, join us on a journey to the heart of hoppiness with Crest of the Wave. Luscious Hazy IPA swimming in a citrus saturated tropical fruit explosion of harvest fresh Freestyle Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, Nelson Lakes Cascade finished with a twist of Citra and Simcoe.

Spicy Cucumber Dill Pickle Sour

We’re turning up the heat, and doubling down on dill. Say hello to Spicy Pickle Beer! A cucumber dill pickle sour, with a fiery twist.

Naturally kettle soured, infused with cucumber, dill, pickle spice and fired up with a generous mouthwatering addition of red hot chilli peppers.

Spicy, refreshing and disarmingly delicious. Crack a can and dial up the heat!

4.3% ABV.

7.0% - Hazy IPA

A hidden valley of hops. T?taki Haze, luscious hazy IPA, brewed with juicy New Zealand grown malted barley, wheat and oats and hops grown on the Nelson Lakes farm at the meeting point of the M?takitaki and T?taki rivers. It?s Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Riwaka like never before, loaded with ripe tropical mango, passionfruit and lifted lime citrus. Discover a new world of flavour.

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One of our core values here at Altitude is having a good time. Some days are naturally gonna be better than others and some don't go as planned, but as they say, you can turn lemons into lemonade. When it's time to pass up a beer, we respect that. But it never means you shouldn't be having a good time as good times are all the time with us. This extra pale ale is crafted with all the best qualities of a full-flavoured brew but without the booze.

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A golden, gluten-free ale made with sorghum, rice, and New Zealand Goldings hops, Auro Gluten-Free Ale is clean, very clear, light and refreshing, with full malty flavour and body.

5% ABV.

Brewer's Notes

We really care about our beer and making the best quality beer possible. Auro Gluten-Free Ale is no exception and is made under HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). It has 4 stages where we check for the absence of gluten in the beer - in the kettle, in the fermenter, post filtration, and in package. We use an industry accepted method for testing for the presence of gluten (gliadin and hordein proteins) which has an incredibly low threshold of detection of 1PPM (which is well below the accepted minimum detection level of 3PPM). Food Standards Austalia New Zealand specifies that a product may only be called Gluten-Free if there is no gluten detected and considers a result of less than 3PPM as suitable for calling "Gluten-Free". We test ourselves at a far more stringent level of testing than is applied in the US, EU, UK, Australia or New Zealand. We are confident that we are achieving this result and would not release the beer if it tested otherwise. We produce other products which do contain gluten and have a very rigorous cleaning schedule which we follow prior to making our gluten-free beer. Breweries are typically kept to a very high standard of cleanliness, but there are problem points which we have identified on our brewhouse where proteins can build up as staining or deposits. To address this we perform a second level of cleaning beyond our usual caustic-based standard cleaning procedures with an intensive renovation cleaning procedure prior to making Auro. To do this we strip off key fittings from the brewhouse and manually clean the problem areas and visually inspect all surfaces to make sure they are not stained with deposits, and then use a hot-acid detergent wash of all the food contact surfaces in our kettle, heat exchanger, and transfer hose.

Classic old school Negroamaro created by the legendary oenologist Severino Garofano; considered to be one of Puglia’s greatest. Severino passed away in 2018, and the winery is now run by his brilliant son and daughter. Both are trained winemakers, who only work with Negroamaro – Salento’s most ancient grape variety.

Redolent of liquorice and tobacco with cherry fruit and spice, this is an elegant wine that totally over-delivers for its price.

Cantine Riondo is a large cooperative based near Soave with over 2,000 winegrower members. This Extra Dry vintage spumante (Italian for semi sparkling), offers rich and elegant scents of ripe Golden Delicious apple, acacia and wisteria blossom. Fresh and creamy on the palate with a pleasant silky finish.

VITICULTURE Selected from some of Hawke's Bay's finest vineyards, this sparkling wine was partially fermented in French oak barrels for 15 months for complexity of character. Central to the success of New Zealand as a world-renowned wine growing region is the temperate maritime climate and the freedraining alluvial soils. Cool nights and warm days retain acidity which lends freshness and vibrancy to the wines, highly characteristic of New Zealand wine styles. 

WINEMAKING Pinot Gris was picked from the Mission homeblock and very gently pressed. The juice was inoculated with specially developed, aromatic yeast strains to intensify varietal character development. A portion was fermented in French oak barrel for 15 months for complexity. After blending the cuvée, the wine underwent a secondary fermentation before bottling. 

TASTING NOTES - Zesty with delicate pear and apple and fine mousse. Grown on our historic vineyard, this sparkling wine was partially fermented in French oak barrels for 15 months for complexity of character. Aromas of delicate pear and apple with a zesty palate showing lemon, lime and nutty notes. 

CELLAR POTENTIAL Enjoy now or in the next one to two years. 

WINE ANALYSIS Alcohol 12.5% pH 3.25 Acidity 6.5 g/L Residual Sugar <9 g/L