- RUNNER DUCK ESTATE
- ABOUT US
- THE PROPERTY
Runner Duck Estate
Runner Duck Estate is all about combining our true passions in life - family, lifestyle and premium wine.
"Our sole objective is to produce a small amount of truly 'iconic' red wine that is experienced amongst the world's discerning wine drinkers. We have the resources and the commitment to be completely uncompromising throughout the entire process. Unless the year is an outstanding one we simply will not produce wine under our label. Our committment to great quality wines sees them in barrel for at least two years and in bottle for at least 6 months to ensure well seasoned and balanced drinkable wine production."
Clyde and Farida Cooper.
About us
![[Photo:Clyde and Farida Cooper]](images/clyde-farida-cooper.jpg)
Clyde and Farida made a life decision when they decided to leave behind a succesful business in colourful Mumbai and pursue their passion for food and wine in New Zealand. Falling in love with Matakana and its surrounding landscape, they purchased their vineyard, Runner Duck Estate on Duck Creek road.
While Clyde's devotion to the land and the vineyard sees him spend most of his time amidst the vines, Farida's excitement for flavour and interest in culinary cultures led the Coopers to invest in Plume, the vineyard restaurant, Matakana (formerly Heron's Flight) purchasing the property at 49A, Sharp Road.
With Farida's, Plume's Restaurant Manager, passion for global cuisine and Clyde's knowledge and love for wine it seemed an obvious choice that Plume should hold the Cellar Door for Runner Duck Estate. For more information visit Plume restaurant.
The property
Snuggled in a beautiful valley in a natural rural setting, just four kilometres from the town of Warkworth and eight kilometres from Matakana, this eleven ha property comprises of three ha of vineyard, another 3 ha of olive groves and the rest of native bush, landscaped gardens, orchards and ponds as well as an idyllic stream that flows through the property from east to west into Duck Creek. The habitat encourages pheasants, turkeys, partridge and tuis and, of course, ducks and a variety of other fauna where the sounds of pure nature are music to the ears. A Tuscany style villa stands testament to the artistic surroundings.
- OUR VINEYARD
- SUSTAINABILITY
Our vineyard
The 3 hectare boutique vineyard located at 37 Duck Creek Road in Warkworth, a town that pays homage to the duck, was planted in 2003. The vineyard comprises about 1.5 hectare of Syrah, with the remainder being in Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot allowing Runner Duck Estate to begin producing a pure Bordeaux varietal and Syrah. Two wines were produced in 2007, a Syrah and a Red Blend which were a great hit with our customers but is now sadly out of stock. The 2009s are presently available both in Syrah and the Bordeaux blend. The year which probably comes once in 20 was 2010 and these superior oomphy wines with great class should be available around december 2012 after being two years in barrel and 6 months in bottle.
The distinct brand, apart from the fortuitous link with the nationality and historic career of the Runner Duck Estate's owners, reflects the shape of the Indian Runner Duck, a breed of duck often linked to the shape of a wine bottle!
Situated in a warm, north facing valley, Runner Duck Estate catches all day sun and enjoys a long temperate and even growing season with few heat spikes. The 3 hectares of vines are divided into two small lots so that each can be individually managed to produce the best fruit possible. The grapes are planted following the contours of the land and lie on a north-south facing slope, allowing balanced sun exposure and good sea breeze exposure.
Sustainability
We believe in the concept of terroir and the health of the soil and bio-diversity of the land. We have followed the Sustainable Wine Growers' New Zealand nil residue programme during the year of vintage 2010 and have achieved full accreditation under their programme for vintage 2011.
Our sustainable commitment is shown in the things we do to grow our grapes and make our wine.
- No irrigation is practised on the vineyard in the tradition of global best practices.
- Minimum insecticides are applied in our spray programmes.
- We use minimum of copper applications as the same remains in the soil forever.
- We do yearly soil and petiole tests to determine focussed nutrient application programmes.
- We return all non-diseased organic matter to the soil through an advanced Berti mulcher.
- We prune our roots and rip the soil each year to control vigour.
- All our vineyard operations, except for the spraying programme, mulching and canopy trimming are done by hand with tender loving care thereby ensuring the least compaction to the soil.
- We encourage the bio-diversity of the soil by applications of mycorrcin, Agri SC and digester.
- We are committed to making great wine with nil residues as our responsibility to the wine drinking population of this world
- OUR WINES
- ORDER
Syrah 2009
The Oxford Companion describes Syrah as "one of the noblest and now one of the most fashionable wines." Syrah's origin has been much debated but is proven to have origins in the Rhone, the south east of France. The 09 vintage was harvested in April 2009 and was 18 months in oak, two thirds of which was new French oak and the balance American oak.
This is a medium bodied, dark red coloured wine with aromas of black cherry and sweet spice.The black currant, black pepper and crushed herb overtones on the palate complement meat and game dishes.
Runner Duck Red 2009
Made from the traditional and classic French varietals of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot with a part of the classic South African grape Pinotage which is a cross of two varieties of Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
The vintage was harvested in April 2009 and spent 18 months in oak - 33% new oak, 50/50 French and American and the balance seasoned oak. This wine is a dark dense red colour and has lifted floral notes with hints of black cherry, violets and sweet spice. It is medium bodied and the warm flavors of red plum and sweet spices lead to a long savory finish. An easy drinking wine, spicy in nature with firm tannins. Match with soft cheese and red meats though is equally good with white meats.
Runner Duck Rose 2011
Aromas of summer red fruits such as strawberry and cranberry fill the glass. A refreshing medium weight wine, with bright plum spice flavors and plenty of charm.
Runner Duck Pinot Gris 2011
A fruit focused and seductive wine with fresh pear and stone fruit aromas. Mouth filling and supple with delicate white fruits, spice flavors and a soft and creamy finish. An easy drinking wine.
Order
Here you can place an order for wine. After placing your order please contact us to provide your credit card details. We take Amex, Visa, Mastercard and Diners card. You can email us with your details, or fax them to +64 9 422 9654 or by phone on
+64 9 422 7915.
- OUR CELLAR DOOR AT PLUME
- DIRECTIONS TO PLUME
Our cellar door at Plume
![[Photo:Cellar Door located at Plume Restaurant]](images/cellar-door-photo.jpg)
Runner Duck Estate's Cellar Door is situated at our restaurant Plume, 49a Sharp Road, Matakana.
Plume's Cellar Door is open daily for wine tastings or to pick up the wine for your drinking pleasure or to add to your wine cellar.
- MATAKANA & WARKWORTH
- MAP
- LINKS
Matakana & Warkworth
Matakana, on the east coast, about one hour's drive north of Auckland city, has earned an enviable reputation for Bordeaux style reds and syrah and undergone a rapid expansion in the production of many other varieties . There are no less than 32 vineyards now in the Matakana region.
This region enjoys a coastal, maritime climate, which has a strong influence on coastal vineyards. The wines are warmed by strong, clear sunlight during the day and cooled at night by the sea breezes. The long slow ripening period helps to retain the vibrant varietal flavours that make New Zealand wine so distinctive.
Runner Duck's carefully chosen varieties, particularly the Bordeaux blends and syrah are ideally suitable to this northern location and climate.
Contact us
Runner Duck's cellar door is at Plume, the vineyard restaurant and can be contacted on Tel no 09 4227915.
Tours of the Runner Duck Estate can be arranged by prior appointment. To make an enquiry please email us on
Plume wine enquiries:
Plume Cellar Door information: link
- REGISTER
- NEWS
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News
Sue Courtney's Wine of the Week
Posted on 14-10-2010 11:27 am
You really should taste the Runner Duck wines," said David Hoskins of Heron's Flight Vineyard in Matakana when I asked him about his new restaurant partners, Clyde and Farida Cooper. I'd been pestering him for a photo of them and him and his wife, Mary Evans, for my wine column in the local paper.
A few days later Clyde and Farida dropped in, bearing wine, on their way from Auckland to Matakana. I welcomed them into my humble little abode and listened to their story. Wine was already part of their lifestyle when they arrived in New Zealand from Bombay, India, a few years ago. There they had been introduced to the accessible Jacobs Creek brand, which in turn led to a fascination with Bordeaux wines.
When they decided to look for a small block in the country where they could perhaps farm, or grow grapes, they were immediately smitten with a property in Warkworth's Duck Creek Road, not even knowing it had a vineyard on it. "The driveway was just so beautiful," recalls Farida, with a glaze in her eyes.
The 3.2 hectare vineyard, planted in Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Pinotage, and an olive grove with 400 trees, were welcome added extras.The Coopers purchased the property mid-2008 and although the former owners did not harvest the grapes that year, wine from the 2007 vintage, in barrel, was included.
They arranged with winemaker Shayne Cox, for the wines to be bottled and worked about developing the brand. They decided on 'Runner Duck' because their address is Duck Creek Road, the duck is the icon of Warkworth, the Indian Runner is a breed of duck that harks back to their native country and runner also correlates to the former careers in the courier / air cargo business. The upright Runner Duck logo they developed is drawn in the Henna designs that Indian women wear on their hands and feet.
Taking their new venture seriously, they enrolled in the Eastern Institute of Technology's Diploma in Viticulture correspondence course to learn the ropes as well as learning the nitty gritty from their full-time vineyard Manager, Joe Schroff.
Looking for an outlet for the sales of the wine the Coopers noticed a number of Matakana wineries were on the market, including the Herons Flight Winemaker's Centre. The restaurant / cellar door channel seemed an ideal way to promote the Runner Duck wines.
In March this year Clyde and Farida became the owners of the front block of the Heron's Flight property, which includes the restaurant building and eight rows of Sangiovese vines. But more importantly they formed a business partnership with David Hoskins and Mary Evans to manage the restaurant and wine centre. Now tastings of Heron's Flight and Runner Duck wines are held together.
While Clyde prefers to work on the Runner Duck property, one of Farida's passions in life is food and she will be at the winemakers centre four days a week where her favourite place is in the kitchen. Indo-Persian flavours are her specialty and they will be gradually introduced to the menu. She says the soft spices of this style of food are more wine-friendly than the hot Indian curries many of us know.
Runner Duck Syrah 2007 ($39) is a full, spicy red that they enjoy with Parsi (Indo/Persian) food. "Soft spices make the food more wine friendly," says Farida. "You tone down on the Biryani-type spices." She also likes to marinate steak in ginger and garlic and serve it with a mushroom sauce to accompany the wine. "It's a fusion," says Clyde, adding that they also enjoy it with lamb shanks, or even just a slice of smoked cheese.
Runner Duck Matakana Red 2007 ($39) is a warm, soft wine with an impressive marriage of fruit and oak. Farida says she would be happy serving this as an accompaniment to Tandoori Chicken. Farida says it also goes well with soft Brie cheeses. We were not quite as adventurous when tasting the wines accompanying them to a warming winter lamb casserole.
Runner Duck Matakana Red 2007 is this week's Wine of the Week. Made from a blend of Cabernet Franc, Pinotage, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot, it's a dense dark red colour with a rich, warm glow. Fragrantly scented with red and black berries, cedar and smoke, it has a rich, ripe savoury flavour with deep, dark fruit reminiscent of berries and plums with fruitcake piece, herbs, creamy oak and vinous richness. The impressive marriage of fruit and oak has well-balanced underlying acidity, fine textured tannins and a warm dry finish. Medium to full-bodied in style, the bottle states 13.5% alcohol/vol and it's closed with a Diam cork. You can taste the French-inspired Runner Duck Wines alongside the Italian-inspired wines of Heron's Flight at Heron's Flight Winemaker's Centre, Sharp Road, Matakana. They open daily. Find out more from www.heronsflight.co.nz.
© Sue Courtney, 29 Jun 2010
Matakana Wine Growers come of age
Posted on 12-10-2010 10:46 am
After several years of collective work establishing the umbrella from which all future work would stem, the Matakana Wine Growers are now ready to launch their corporate logo.
Developed by the Auckland creative shop “Naked Design”, the stylised logo represents the Matakana Wine Trail meandering through the vine covered hills of this maritime coastal winegrowing region. The logo has been designed for use by all members of Matakana Wine Growers. It is intended for use alongside the individual vineyard and winery logos and can be used on clothing, signage and advertising. It will be used in the conjunction with all future Matakana Wine Growers promotions and events. The logo is available in several formats that will allow it to be used in four colour format for posters and brochures etc but can also reproduce in grey scale and hard line black and white for reproduction onto glass and other materials.
This is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle that started with the Matakana Wine Growers developing the Matakana Wine Trail, as well as developing several public events such as the Sunday Wine Markets, held every January in Matakana, and a forth coming Rugby Cup event that is at present under development.