Southdown Estate

Southdown Estate is a family owned and operated single vineyard estate, comprising of forty six hectares, located on the sloping downs, six kilometres south of the boutique wine growing region of Martinborough.

When the Sutherlands purchased the Southdown property in 1999 it was run as a deer farm and they fattened fawns from the breeding hinds and harvested velvet from a herd of 400 stags. Due to the hot summers and low rainfall experienced in and around the Martinborough area during the first few years of farming, there was a need to hand feed the deer through the drought periods. After feeding out grain to the deer one day, Andy made the comment to Elaine “I’d rather farm something that wants to grow in these dry conditions” and from there discussions about converting the flat area of the farm into a vineyard grew.