Three Miners Vineyard is located on the banks of the Clutha River in Alexandra. We have 12.5 hectares of Pinot Noir vines that were planted in 2000. Our white wines – Pinot Gris (2 ha), Riesling (0.5 ha) and Gewurztraminer (0.5 ha) were planted 2008. The soil is a Molyneaux gravel, and the climate is cold with hot days and cool nights.

The vineyard is named after 3 men – Thomas Oliver, Joseph Knowles and James Simmonds who came to Central Otago for the 1860s gold rush. The Earnscleugh Grand Junction Mining Company was formed and the land between the vineyard and the Clutha River was mined. As water was vital to the recovery of gold from the gravel, the men invested in water. They cut water races from the Fraser River at the back of the Earnscleugh Valley and channelled that water down into the claims of other miners.

We produce 6 wines that all have mining names from the 1860s era – Warden’s Court Pinot Noir, Rocker Box Rose, Miner’s Right Pinot Gris, Chinaman Stone Gewurztraminer, Herringbone Riesling and 2 Minerettes late harvest Gewurztraminer. Our wines have won trophies and gold medals in both New Zealand and International wine competitions.