Subregion: Blind River

Valley: Blind River catchment
Region: Marlborough

Grows: Chardonnay and Riesling
Wine: Blank Canvas Anandale Farm Riesling and Blank Canvas 'Tano' Chardonnay

Growers: The Turner Family - Fiona & Hamish

On the wild, exposed Blind River coastline, you'll find Anandale Farm, named after the original large sheep farming station it was once a part of. Planted in 2005 by Fiona and Hamish, it is the cool-climate location of our Kabinett style Blank Canvas Anandale Farm Riesling and our newest project, our Blank Canvas 'Tano' Chardonnay. 

Soils and Climate: The soil type in this vineyard are complex silt loams, made all the more interesting by its geological history with one of Marlborough's four fault lines causing sedimentary uplift over millennia. This is easily the coolest, and driest part of Marlborough, with approx. 500-550 mm rainfall per year, however, the extreme exposure to the easterly and southerly winds means it has a very high evapotranspiration rate. 

These extreme conditions result in very high natural acidity levels, giving freshness and vibrant aromatics, which allows us to create these two distinctive cool-climate styles. 

Grower Philosophy: The Turners developed the land from scratch, lived on it, an are very involved with every detail. Increasingly following a regenerative mindset, they are several years into finding the perfect cover crop regime for their blocks, minimising inputs and using biological solutions where they can. 

The Blind River subregion, showing its extreme coastal proximity, above.