Each year our grapes are vulnerable to the seasons and human management. The weather will affect fruit quality, quantity, ripeness and flavour, making every vintage as unique as you or me.

Our climate has a maritime influence. The rain shadow of the Southerns Alps offers westerly protection to the Waitaki Valley.  In Summer, hot days, are tempered by the cooling effects of afternoon easterly sea breezes from the South Pacific.  Autumns are long and dry, followed by cold winters. The climate allows the Waitaki Valley region to produce a wide range of wine styles.

As a boutique vineyard, Little Domett’s grapes are hand pruned and harvested with the help of fellow wine lovers in the form of family and friends.  Our long warm autumns lead to one of the longest ripening periods in NZ, with harvest occurring in April/May.

Our wines are crafted in partnership with award-winning winemaker Anthony Worch of Alexandra Vintners.  Antony’s overriding approach is for elegance with textures. A native of Alsace in France, Anthony has the innate ability to allow the wines to express themselves with minimal intervention.

  • 2020 Vintage

      2020 may prove to be one of Waitaki’s great vintages, with Little Domett Estate whites showing great promise. Once again, Antony Worch, winemaker of Alexandra Vintners did a stella job producing fine Little Domett 2020 vintages of Dry & Medium Sweet Riesling, Pinot Gris & Pinot Grigio.

      A period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn, resulted in a slow ripening, contributing to the uniqueness of our 2020 wines.  

      There was very little disease, we had above average tonnage and minimal rain during the harvest period. 

      The 2020 vintage harvest proved to be challenging under COVID-19 level 3 restrictions.

  • 2019 Vintage

      After 18 months of resurrecting our previously abandoned vineyard, we encountered a very challenging season. Waitaki Valley winegrowers experienced an extremely poor fruit set during spring, along with a very wet November, resulting in very low yields.

      Little Domett only netted 0.5 hectare of Riesling, producing 1 tonne of fruit. The quality of our 2019 Dry Riesling was memorable for all the right reasons. Antony Worch of Alexandra Vintners crafted a classic dry Little Domett Riesling at 5g/l residual sugar, with vibrant citrus aromas and zingy palate. A vintage to savour, which will cellar well.