EarthGarden Range
A delicious range of wines that reflect the thriving New Zealand land that gave them life.
EarthGarden embodies our holistic view of sustainability where natural farming means healthy soils and vineyard ecosystems, creating healthy vines and wines full of life and flavour, just as nature intended. When you taste the EarthGarden wines, you taste the care put into the soil, the conscious tending of the vines, the careful handling of the fruit produced and the respect for our relationship with the land.
Villa Maria wines are made for the moment and these wines perfectly capture a moment in time, whether it be cool nights, long hot days, or the warm Pacific breeze of the growing season. The essence and purity of the New Zealand landscape has been bottled in the EarthGarden range, and we can’t wait to share these wines with the world.
We're proud to sponsor The Bee Conservancy
Villa Maria is proud to sponsor The Bee Conservancy, supporting its programs to protect all bees, while securing environmental and food justice through education, research, habitat creation and advocacy.
Bees have been dying at unprecedented rates due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and more. The Bee Conservancy’s mission to protect all bee species and their habitats is essential to healthy ecosystems and to sustaining animal and human life.
This aligns with our holistic view of sustainability and the natural farming practices used in our EarthGarden vineyards, where thousands of wildflowers are planted between the rows, attracting bees and other beneficial insects. This thriving biodiversity leads to happy bees, and healthy soils and vines, creating wines full of life and flavour.
Introducing EarthGarden
Naturally farmed with wildflower gardens between the vineyard rows and regenerative viticulture to keep New Zealand’s soils healthy and ecosystems thriving. EarthGarden is bursting with flavour as nature intended.
EarthGarden Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
A zesty fruit-driven Sauvignon Blanc. Naturally farmed in Marlborough the complexity and character of these vineyards shine through in the glass through texture, palate weight and intensity.
EarthGarden Marlborough Pinot Noir
An earthy, dark and brooding Pinot Noir brimming with the complexity and character of our naturally farmed Marlborough vineyards.
Healthy Soils
Native Planting
Free of Synthetic Chemicals
The soil is alive. There are more organisms in one tablespoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth.
- Our wildflowers grow green material that is returned to the soil to improve its organic matter and quality.
- We nourish our soil with compost from our grape marc (skins and seeds left over from the winemaking process) and the output from our worm farms.
- By nurturing our soil fertility, we are helping our vines build resilience and maintain productivity.
Planting wildflowers amongst our vines helps to feed and protect our soils and encourages biodiversity in our vineyards.
- We plant over 700kgs of wildflower seeds such as Buckwheat and Phacelia every year to attract beneficial insects like hover flies.
- By planting cover crops like plantain and chicory we help our soil and vine roots to retain water and reduce reliance on irrigation.
- We have a research trial planting natives under vines to reduce weeds without spray and increase biodiversity.
By working in partnership with nature we are free from using synthetic chemicals and can replace lost nutrients back into the soil.
- By planting cover crops and wildflowers we naturally manage pests like the leaf roll caterpillar without using synthetic pesticides or pest controls.
- Over 30% of Villa Maria owned vineyards are managed naturally without using synthetic chemicals.
