One of the marvellous things that the new world wine wave has brought about is an increased awareness of the many great little wineries out there. With over 700 producers producing varying styles from the two main islands, the techniques might be considered young, but the end result is often stupendous. One of the fastest moving new world wine regions (that covers South Africa and California as well as Australia and South America) New Zealand might be a little wet behind the ears compared to the Europeans but that doesn't mean it should be overlooked when it comes to investing.

Pyramid Valley vineyards (or PVV for short), is one such great little winery. Founded by Claudia Weersing and her husband Mike in 2000, Pyramid Valley began making a name for itself when it established biodynamic farming for its 2.2-hectare biodynamic estate. Mike and Claudia, both American with high flying Manhatten careers, had given up the rat race and moved to Georgia some years previously, yet Mike, a quiet-spoken, erudite, scholar struggled to find his calling. After studying oenology in Bordeaux, the couple moved to New Zealand in 1996 and Mike began work as a winemaker with Neudorf in Nelson. However, they had a strong desire to make their own wine, notably Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and finally hit pay dirt in 2000 when they stumbled upon the limestone-rich, Waikari estate in North Canterbury. Fast forward almost two decades and both the Weersings Home Block and Growers Collection are soaring examples of how special not only New Zealand wines can be, but show the potential of the new world wines with panache and gusto.

We are not alone in noticing Pyramid’s superlative success. In 2018 Pyramid Valley to a fine wine start-up co-founded by Steve Smith MW, who also founded Craggy Range, for NZ$8m (€4.6m). This bolsters the belief that great things are expected from new world Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays and there may not be much time left before the region explodes. For those who want to get in on the ground level, PVV may well provide that entry.