The Two Terraces vineyard on the Mangatahi Terraces. Two Terraces Facebook

Two Terraces Vineyard sits on the Mangatahi Terraces of inland Hawke’s Bay and since first planting (as recently as 2016), it has established itself not only as a serious grower but also a new model for the next generation of Aotearoa’s wine evolution.

As of 2025, Ian and Linda Quinn’s 24 ha estate (about 20 ha planted) is divided into 61 separate parcels of fruit, farmed ‘to spec’. About a third is conventional agro-chem, the rest is either certified or in conversion as regenerative or BioGro organic with some given biodynamic treatments (mainly by Amy Farnsworth of Amoise). The couple are moving towards converting all of the parcels in time. These parcels now go to 19 different producers representing the entire spectrum of wine philosophies in Hawke’s Bay.

Ian and Linda Quinn first conceived of the idea shortly after returning from a few years working in Hong Kong. They purchased the bare land in 2015, started planting the lower terrace in 2016 with chardonnay, chenin blanc, gamay and syrah; followed by the upper terrace in 2018 with more chardonnay and gamay as well as a sizable plot of albariño. In total, approximately half of the vineyard is planted to chardonnay and due to the gamay/pinot noir confusion, there is also a very small amount of pinot noir here.

The land itself is inland and higher (~120m elevation) than the Heretaunga Plains where most of Hawke’s Bay’s vignobles reside. It sits on the southern side of the Ngaruroro River and the terraces in question were formed after the last ice age about 15,000 years ago. It comprises of silt and sandy loam sitting over older alluvial ‘red metal’ gravels with some layers of windblown loess and volcanic ash from the Central Plateau. This soil ranges from 20cm thick on the lower terrace to a depth of 40m in parts of the upper terrace.

Traditionally drier in summer than the easterly regions closer to the ocean, Two Terraces escaped the worst of 2023’s devastating Cyclone Gabrielle weather. It has warm days and cool nights with the diurnal range responsible for its trademark fresh acidity married to a wide flavour ripeness spectrum.

The diverse and frankly forward-looking selection of grape varieties and the sympathetic, carefully planned parcels with quality-focused farming has been a treasure trove of top-notch fruit for the region’s best producers. It has also allowed the next generation of winemakers—who are mostly unable to afford their own vineyards—to make astounding wine from great fruit. It has also allowed other producers to supplement the production from their own estates and in the process, rapidly created a reputation for Two Terraces Vineyard.

The list of wines made from the fruit grown here reads like a Who’s Who of Hawke’s Bay wine. Gordon Russell’s Esk Valley chenin blanc and early albariños; early bottlings of Villa Maria Reserve Albariño; Easthope Family Winegrowers Two Terraces Chenin Blanc and Gamay (gamay-pinot field blend); Tony Bish Two Terraces Chardonnay; Smith & Sheth with several wines including the Cru Albariño, Heretaunga Chardonnay and Quinn Chardonnay; all the wines made by Amoise (gamay, albariño, syrah and chenin blanc); Organised Chaos Chenin Blanc and Gamay; Bilancia Two Terraces Chardonnay; Halcyon Days Big Little Things; as well as selected wines from Three Fates, Helio, Tawhiti, Radburnd Cellars, Decibel and more!