An Austrian, a Bendigo Hillside and a Plan B

Quartz Reef began with one man looking at a bare Bendigo hillside and seeing something others had not yet imagined.

Rudi Bauer arrived in New Zealand from Austria in 1985, bringing a European wine education and a curiosity about what this young wine country might become. Central Otago was still finding its feet as a wine region, but its intense light, cool nights and dramatic landscape convinced him that something exceptional was possible here.

Sparkling Before It Was Obvious

In 1990, while working at Rippon, Rudi made Central Otago’s first sparkling base wine. It was an unusual direction for a region beginning to build its name around Pinot Noir, but he believed its natural acidity and cool climate offered the foundations for serious sparkling wine. He later developed his knowledge through work in Champagne, experience that helped establish the traditional-method programme at the heart of Quartz Reef. International Wine Review

Sparkling was also something of a Plan B. Pinot Noir in Central Otago remained a bold proposition, so building Quartz Reef around both wines gave us two paths forward. Nearly three decades later, that Plan B has become one of our defining strengths.

A Leap of Faith in Bendigo

Quartz Reef was established in 1996 by Rudi, John Perriam and Trevor Scott. In 1998, we planted our first vines on the sunlit slopes of Bendigo Station, the pioneering vineyard in a subregion that was still largely open country.

The name came from the great seam of quartz running through this former gold-mining landscape. It connected the history of the land with the wines we hoped to make from it.

Our first harvest came in 2001. As the vines took hold, the vineyard revealed far more complexity and potential than we had first understood. It eventually grew to 30 hectares, not the original plan, as Rudi readily admits, but the more we learned from the property, the more it gave us. New Zealand Winegrowers

Growing Up Together

A vineyard does not reveal itself all at once. Over the years, our vines have grown deeper roots and greater resilience, while our understanding of each block, season and variety has continued to mature.

In 2007, we began converting the estate to biodynamic farming, achieving Demeter certification in 2011. This was not about following a trend. It was the next step in learning how to work more closely with the land and leave it in stronger condition than we found it.

That relationship between vineyard and vigneron continues to evolve. The wines have become more assured and refined, but the curiosity behind them has never changed.

Still Pioneering

Today, we make Méthode Traditionnelle entirely in-house alongside Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Rosé.

Quartz Reef has grown, and Central Otago has earned an international reputation, but we remain guided by the same belief that brought Rudi to Bendigo: find an extraordinary place, give it time and never stop paying attention.

From the quartz beneath the vines to the wine in the glass, our story is still being written.