Poipoia te kākano, kia puawai.
Nurture the seed and it will blossom.

It has been another fruitful year at Kono. The grapes ripened, our fruit and kaimoana was harvested, and more of our delicious food and wine was shared with the world. To all our friends around the globe – thank you, we did it together.

Pono – delivering on our promise

Since we launched our wine business in 1998, we’ve grown to become one of the world’s most successful indigenous food and beverage companies. We may have evolved but our values haven’t changed. The promise we make through Kono is to show a love for the land and respect for the sea. It’s a promise we are keeping.

Taiao - Whenua Ora programme (land and water wellness programme)

Our Whenua Ora programme is about being the best guardians of our land and water resources that we can be. Leaving our natural resources in a better state than we inherited them is a key responsibility for us. Through Whenua Ora we’ve prioritised areas of soil, waste, water, biodiversity and climate change, and have identified key projects in each of these areas to enhance the environment within which we operate.

Our teams are always striving to live up to our promise of ‘love for the land, respect for the sea’. This year we earned A+ New Zealand Sustainable Aquaculture status for our Greenshell™ Mussel farms. A+ validates our commitment to delivering sustainable mussels. We increased composting of by-products from our marine farms and vineyards, eliminated herbicide use on some of our vineyards and donated over 250 native plants via sales of our Tohu Rewa Rosè sparkling wine. Our vineyards are also certified by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, validating our ‘best practice’ environmental practices in our vineyards and winery.

You are part of our story

We’ve begun a conservation initiative to return parts of our land to its natural state. We want to take you with us on this journey and strengthen your connection to our story. Join us as we source seedlings and cuttings from our own native plants, nurture them and then plant them back on the land.

Learn more about some of the native plants we’re nurturing and follow their journey from cutting or seedling to a mature tree or shrub. Just select from the options below, add your details, and we’ll keep you updated over the coming months.

Kānuka is a hardy and useful tree. It’s a special plant that is only found in New Zealand and has many surprising uses – from tea to treating burns. One of the most important roles Kānuka plays is as a nursery crop providing shade and shelter for native seedlings; particularly on exposed, dry hillsides.

 Mānuka is an iconic New Zealand tree and the source of our country’s highly prized Mānuka honey. Famous for its medicinal properties, Mānuka products have high antibacterial potency and have been used in natural medicine. The white star-shaped Mānuka flowers are displayed for many months from spring – blanketing the hillsides like summer snow.

Marlborough Rock Daisy is a hardy, compact shrub that thrives in Marlborough’s hot, dry summers. Growing on the rocky terraces above the Awatere River, it has daisy-like flowers – with white petals and yellow centre – which only bloom in winter. While common throughout Marlborough, outside of domestic gardens, this pretty shrub isn’t found anywhere else in the world.

New Zealand Lilac, otherwise known as the Hebe Hulkeana, is part of a group of plants called Hebe that are known to have medicinal properties. With its dainty, pale mauve flowers, it is rare in the wild. We’re lucky to have an abundance of them growing on the Awatere River bluffs below the vineyard.