Look out, the Albariño Brothers have crashed the NZ wine party!
About the Albariño Brothers.
The Albarino Brothers, Ollie Powrie, Shaye Bird and Ant Saunders formed this Kiwi wine business in 2024. They became friends through their involvement in the NZ Wine Industry and realised that they all shared a passion for Albariño. They were determined to bring this to life, and soon after the Albariño Brothers was born.
These three guys are focused on creating the most delicious Albariño wines from the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions .and taking them to the world. Three stunning wines have been released and all provide unique examples of just what this grape is capable of.
There is no mistaking the Albariño Brothers wine label, which is already featuring in great restaurants and wine stores across the country, as well as being the subject of many magazine profiles.
All three wines have received rave reviews and been awarded 5 Stars, Gold Medals and 93, 94 & 95 points respectively! Great credibility for such a fresh start.
The Brothers are confident that they are the only winery in the world (outside of Spain at least) that is producing 3 x different Albariño blends per vintage…and they have increased this to 4 x wines for vintage 2025, with the addition of a stunning Methode Ancestrale sparkling Albariño.
The Wines
The boys walked the talk and hunted out the best Albariño grapes in the land.
The Albariño grape has a real affinity to Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, with both regions sharing characteristics with its native home in coastal northwestern Spain and Portugal. The slightly warmer nights are perfect to tame the natural high acidity of Albariño and, having evolved in a maritime climate, the grape is very resistant to humidity and rain coming in from the ocean.
The 2024 grape harvest was sensational, and the Brothers harvested Albariño from three distinctly different vineyards, which have produced three very different, but wonderful wines –
The Gisborne Albariño, or now famously called the “Red Fish’ is produced with grapes from two independent and pioneering Gisborne growers, George Reynolds and Doug Bell;
The Bell Vineyard Gisborne Albariño, a single vineyard wine produced from Doug Bell’s vineyard; and
The Hawke’s Bay Wild Ferment Albariño, produced from perfectly ripe, hand harvested grapes fermented in barrels using wild yeasts.