Te Awa Winery

A background in cooking and a love of food led Cameron to decide to be a winemaker at age 17 and for the last ten years, Cameron has either been working in the wine industry or studying towards his winemaking degree.

He worked vintage at Voss Estate in Martinborough and Amity Estate in Oregon, before accepting the role of Assistant Winemaker at Dry River Wines, where he worked from 2004 until 2007.
He completed his Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University in 2008, and has been at Te Awa since then. His experience with Dry River winemaking techniques, his meticulous nature and attention to detail make Cameron a valuable asset for both the Kidnappers Cliffs and Te Awa wines.

Antony Mackenzie was born in the grape growing region of Gisborne, New Zealand. His formative years were spent further south in Hawke’s Bay where his father had an involvement with the pioneer winemakers of his local area. It was inspiration from this locality that sparked an enthusiasm to learning about and ultimately making great wines.

His formal education includes studies in biochemistry, economics and ultimately a specialization in enology. Ant represents a new generation of New Zealand winemaker who has completed his technical training locally.

Ant’s career has taken him around the winemaking world. Beginning with harvests in his local region of Hawke’s Bay and extending to spells in California, Spain, Australia and recently China. It has however been the internationally famous region of Marlborough where his success as a winemaker has been galvanized.

Marlborough based companies such as Framingham, Spy Valley and Mud House have all shared Ant’s winemaking enthusiasm over the past 15 years.

A mid-career change of region in 2009 has seen Ant return to Hawke’s Bay to take on the position of General Manager/ Winemaker at the well sited and historic Te Awa Winery.

Ant’s winemaking philosophy is simple; work with the people and the land to grow the best fruit, then let that fruit lead you to a wine style that communicates its provenance with the drinker.