When Har and Sophie Eradus found a footprint of land at the edge of the Awatere river, they knew it was extraordinary.
Back then their family – who immigrated from Holland 17 years earlier - grew flowers in Auckland, not grapes in Marlborough, and the Awatere Valley was dryland sheep country, with just a handful of pioneering winegrowers.
But there was something about this sliver of land, nestled between a higher terrace and the glacial river below, with its guarding boundary of gnarled old macrocarpa, that captured their imagination. Their connection to the land seemed fated when Sophie cleared a shed on the property and found an old potbelly door with an embossed logo that entwined their initials - "H", "S" AND "E" - this inspired the Eradus wine label.
From the beginning, Har and Sophie wanted the unique and wild terroir of the Awatere Valley to speak through the vines. Their instincts were right, and the first vintage from the Breloft Vineyard, an Eradus Sauvignon Blanc 2002, heralded a future of extraordinary wines,each reflecting the essence of the Awatere Valley.
Their son Michiel and his Kiwi wife Hanna, took over the business in 2004, committed to celebrating the unique terroir of this place. “Our philosophy is to bend to nature, letting the Awatere Valley imprint itself upon every Eradus wine,” says Michiel.
The family knows good fortune led them to this remarkable piece of land in a valley now globally acclaimed for its wines, he says.
“Our role has been to take that good luck and build it into vines and wines that pay homage to the Awatere Valley.”
