Askerne Hawkes Bay
267 Te Mata Mangateretere Rd, Havelock North
Presenter – John Loughlin, Co-Founder and Director
Wednesday 11th February 8 pm start
Door Price: to be advised later
Askerne Estate winery commenced in April 1993 when wine lovers John and Kathryn Loughlin purchased the original 11.6 hectares site in Te Mata Mangateretere Road. John and Kathryn had studied winemaking and viticulture in the previous years with Kathryn, as the more diligent student, achieving the higher grades.
They called the property Askerne, being the olde English name of Kathryn’s birthplace, Askern in Yorkshire, England.
Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted in late 1993, Semillon and Riesling in 1994, Chardonnay in 1995 and Gewürztraminer in 1996. The first wines were made at the Waimarama Estate Winery (then owned by Dr John Loughlin, John’s father) in 1996.
In February 1997, the Askerne cellar door was opened to the public, and it also sold Waimarama Estate’s red wines, including the then famous Waimarama Dessert Cabernet.
The 1997 vintage produced very fine wines from Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay which confirmed the potential of the site. Askerne commenced exporting with wines from the 1997 vintage. It was a complete surprise to us when our Sauvignon Blanc won an award in The Netherlands as the best match with a cigar. It was not something we thought of in making the wine, nor have subsequently aspired to.
In 1998 Dr John Loughlin sold Waimarama Estate Winery and from the 1999 vintage, Askerne’s wines were made on site. The cellar door building was expanded to accommodate winemaking activities. The first red wine grapes were planted. Also, in 1999 the first Botrytis Semillon wine was made, and the first componentry was created for the Noble Noir wine which was first released in 2013.
In the significantly frost-affected 2001 the first red grapes were harvested, and a Cabernet Merlot Franc blend and Dessert Cabernet were made. Both these red wine styles were encouraging examples of the desired styles. A Chardonnay from the 2001 vintage won Askerne’s first gold medal.
In 2004 a new purpose-built winery was completed, only hours before it was used for vintage. The 2005 vintage saw the first multi-awarded wine with our Gewürztraminer winning double golds. The 2006 vintage saw the first trophy which was taken by our Noble Semillon. The 2007 vintage saw Askerne produce a Gewürztraminer that won 5 gold medals and a trophy.
Large vintages in 2008, 2009 and 2010 coincided with the global financial crisis and a downturn in business as customers changed and downsized and the market moved to cheaper price points. Export channels also dried up for Askerne. They launched their first white and gold label Rouge and Blanc blends as lower tier responses and sold them directly to consumers. Most of the fruit from the 2011 and 2012 vintages were sold as we sought to rebalance inventories with demand.
In 2014 Askerne commenced an exporting relationship in China with Beijing Touch World International Trading Company.
The 2018 vintage proved to be a great one and saw the launch of two of the planned new wine styles being a Sauvignon Blanc / Sauvignon Gris / Semillon blend and the first of the Icon series of wines in “The Archer” Chardonnay.
2018 also saw the 25th anniversary of the Askerne venture and was a time to think about the past and present The 2019 vintage was another excellent one which saw a second Icon wine produced in a Syrah called “Tere” which speaks of our site on Te Mata Mangateretere Road, adjoining the Tuki Tuki River.
The 2020 vintage was spectacular in terms of climate and quality. It was also unusual in terms of vintage operations which coincided with the covid-19 global pandemic, but Askerne was able to operate as an essential business.
From the 2020 vintage we added a new product to our range, being the first Sérieux rosé which was made from a blend of Carménère and Mourvèdre.
In January 2021 Cairn Coghill joined the Askerne team as winemaker.
Antonia presented us with some of the Babich wines, mainly from Marlborough, where their new winery is situated. Their base is still in the Henerson Valley, where the Babich family first settled.
