Our Story
Sustainably grown, by a hard working Kiwi family with deep farming roots, and crafted by passionate artisan winemakers, Montford Estate Wines will connect you to heartland New Zealand, through a simple, honest, delicious range of wines.
Owner and founder of Montford Estate Wines, Haysley MacDonald, wasn't always a grape grower and wine producer.
Haysley’s family has deep, historical and cultural ties to the Marlborough area, with his ancestry linking back to some of the earliest Maori arrivals to New Zealand, around 800 years ago. His family and tribe have lived on the land ever since then, from traditional hunting and gathering in the early days, through to more modern agricultural set ups from the turn of the 19th century.
The land, not so far from that original landing site, has been cared for and cultivated for beef and dairy cows, through to potato farming in the 1990s. In fact, the MacDonald’s successful potato business was one of the main suppliers of pre-cut frozen potato chips (fries) in the 90s, and people still fondly remember a young Haysley going with dad Phillip to deliver bags of chips to restaurants, pubs and cafes when he was a small boy.
In the early 2000s, Haysley led the charge to convert the family farm from potatoes to Sauvignon Blanc, and the vineyard business took off. Initially growing grapes and contract harvesting for other vineyards, Haysley saw the incredible quality of the fruit being grown in the family blocks, so in 2011 he decided to launch his own wine brand.
te Pa was born, and launched to critical success that year. Since then, the te Pa Family Vineyards stable of brands has grown to include the critically acclaimed te Pa range, as well as Koha (widely available in the USA) and Pa Road (one of the fastest growing wine brands in New Zealand).
In 2019, Montford Estate took its rightful seat at the table. Montford Corporation was the original name of Haysley’s grape growing and contract harvesting business, and is a name his dad Phillip thought sounded strong, honest and dependable.
Today, Montford Estate is available across New Zealand, as well as exciting new international locations such as Western Australia, Ireland, and now – England. With its strong agricultural roots, Montford Estate represents Haysley’s first wine brand to source high quality fruit from outside the Marlborough region.
We’re looking to New Zealand’s best wine growing regions to bring you their most premium wines; dark, savoury and complex Pinot Noir from Central Otago, and rich, ripe Merlot-Cabernet from the sunny Hawke’s Bay, as well as estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from our home vineyards in Marlborough.
Haysley MacDonald