Swift – The Cellar Club

3 March, 20267 March, 2026

Newsletter – Mar ’26

Key takeaways from the March 2026 newsletter.

March Event: Penfolds Tasting

Date: Wed 11 March, 8pm
Cost: Members $18 / Guests $22
Format: Panel tasting comparing aged cellar wines vs recent vintages.
Lineup highlights: Bin 28 (2006 & 2023), Bin 128 (2007 & 2022), Bin 9 (2012), Bin 138 (2012).
Extras: Prize draw for 2006 Bin 28 or 2007 Bin 128.

Club Notices

Health: Stay home if unwell.
In Memoriam: Former member Mark Haythornthwaite has passed; his 2024 Pinot Noir will be used for a tribute toast.

Recent Event Recap: Askerne (Hawke’s Bay)

Attendance: 35 members.
Insights: Askerne farms 32ha with 18 varieties; mostly hand‑picked; global wine consumption down to 1961 levels, but NZ exports up 1%.
Tasted wines: Rosé 2025, Chardonnay 2024, Viognier 2023, Pinot Gris 2024, CSM 2023, Reserve Merlot/Cab/Malbec 2021, Dessert Cab 2022.

Committee musings

Membership drive: Encourage guests; highlight easy access to train/bus.
Volunteers: Thanks for setup/pack‑down help.

Coming Up

April: Gold Medal/Trophy Wines (2025 NZIWS)
May: AGM
June: TBC

Feature: Halite Wines (Haidee Johnson)

Philosophy: Minimal‑intervention, expressive wines; organic growers; focus on Pinot Noir’s versatility.
Signature wine: Light Dry White — Pinot Noir made in a Chardonnay style (Abel clone).

Industry News

Millton Winery closing after 41 vintages; final wines discounted.
Te Awanga Estate group liquidation: $12m owed; wine club shipments stopped.
Wine Grenade liquidation: Tech company collapse due to IT failure; $475k owed.

Vineyard Visit: Swift Wines (Hawke’s Bay)

Experience: Casual lawn seating, platter‑basket system, rosé slushies, two sparkling wines.
Fun detail: Dachshund mascot appears on labels and greets visitors.

View the full newsletter below.

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20 January, 202620 January, 2026

Swift Wines, NZ House and Garden

Wine News – From NZ House and Garden, Imbibe Section:

Swift WINES

A colourful new stop: Hawke’s Bay has a new cellar door, with Swift Wines opening a bright, playful space on Mere Rd, Fernhill. Visitors can build a platter from the fridge selection and taste six wines. Pipi, a limited sparkling albarino, is also pouring, with only 1500 bottles produced. The venue, run by winemaker Lauren Swift and Henry Williams, is open six days a week through Summer. Visit Fun Hawke’s Bay Wines for Everyday Celebrations | Swift Wines ‘Thoughtful, dangerously drinkable and thought-provoking. No boring wines (or boring wine labels) here!’

Background

Meet Lauren & Henry - Husband & wife / business partners / drinking buddies / founders of Swift Wines in hawke’s bay — Meet Lauren & Henry –
Husband & wife / business partners / drinking buddies / founders of Swift Wines in Hawke’s Bay.

Crowned the inaugural ‘NZ’s Young Winemaker of the Year’ at just 25, Lauren Swift has spent the majority of her life obsessing over grapes in their various forms. Growing up on an orchard in Marlborough, her first job was learning the fundamentals of grape growing (and picking — there was lots of picking) on a neighbouring vineyard.

A post-school European gap year was the push she needed to get her winemaking career off the ground, returning home to Marlborough for a role at Clos Henri Vineyard (owned by the illustrious Bourgeois family from Sancerre). A Bachelor of Wine Science at Hawke’s Bay’s EIT later, Lauren joined the Ash Ridge team and found herself heading up their brand new winery.

Throw in some more travel, including vintages in California & the Rhone Valley, and the time was finally right to go out on her own.

Lauren persuaded husband Henry to join the team, and together they officially popped the cork on Swift Wines in 2016.