Pegasus Bay is a North Canterbury icon — a family-run estate where science, instinct, and the quiet complexity of time converge. Established in the early 1970s by Ivan Donaldson, a pioneering neurologist-turned-vigneron, and still run by the Donaldson family today, Pegasus Bay has become synonymous with wines that balance richness with precision, and generosity with structure. From its windswept site in the Waipara Valley, the estate produces wines that reflect both the layered soils beneath and the long, slow light of the South Island sky.

The vineyard lies on free-draining, north-facing terraces of gravel and clay, sheltered by the Teviotdale Hills and cooled by ocean breezes. These conditions create a long growing season ideal for ripening phenolics while preserving acidity. The site is farmed sustainably and meticulously — with minimal irrigation, hand-harvesting, and a vine-by-vine philosophy that respects the natural variation of the land.

In the cellar, winemaking is intuitive, precise, and unhurried. Pinot Noir is wild-fermented in small open-top fermenters with a portion of whole clusters, then aged in French oak to develop structure and aromatic lift. Aromatic whites — including Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris — are vinified with texture in mind: some skin contact, extended lees ageing, and partial barrel fermentation result in wines that are both perfumed and textural. The Chardonnay is whole-bunch pressed and fermented in large oak, combining volume and finesse.

The wines are expressive and intricately layered. Pinot Noir shows dark cherry, savoury herbs, rose petal, and a fine thread of tannin that lingers. Riesling — especially the late-harvest Bel Canto and the sweet Aria — offers citrus oil, wild honey, and taut acidity. Chardonnay is bold yet balanced, with white stone fruit, hazelnut, and saline drive. Across the range, Pegasus Bay wines are built not only to delight now, but to evolve — wines made for the cellar, as much as for the table.

What defines Pegasus Bay is its depth of vision — a house where every wine is a long conversation between land, family, and time.

These are wines that do not rush to impress — they unfold, linger, and stay with you, like the last light stretched across a valley that knows how to wait.