In little more than a decade, Te Motu and Dunleavy Cabernet/Merlot wines have established an international reputation for quality and their robust expression of the unique terroir of Onetangi Valley. Waiheke Island is the second largest of the over 50 islands and islets which lie in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park which stretches between Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and the Coromandel Peninsula. Waiheke Island is only 35 minutes by harbour ferry from Downtown Auckland. The island boasts a climate generally warmer than the mainland, with clearer airs than the city due to its maritime environment. Te Motu Vineyard lies in the Onetangi Valley, sheltered from the north by the ridge which guards Onetangi’s famous beach, and from the west by the rocky outcrop known as Stonyridge. One of our boundaries is formed by the Rangihoua creek which flows into an inlet of Putiki Bay, named Te Rangihoua (“day of renewal”) by Tamatekapua, captain of the Maori canoe Te Arawa, because it was his first landfall in the long voyage from Hawaiiki. There Te Arawa was re-lashed before continuing on to its final landing place at Maketu. Our name comes from the original Maori name for Waiheke, Te Motu-Arai-Roa (“island of long shelter”).

An official report describes the soil structure of Te Motu Vineyard as follows: The published geological map of Waiheke Island shows the site of the Te Motu vineyard to be underlain by weathered, indurated argillites of the Jurassic-age Waipapa Group. This unit has been deeply weathered, probably to tens of metres’ depth. The original rock fabric has been largely converted to clay minerals. The soils of the Waipapa Group are generally found to be at saturated or near-saturated conditions, so are virtually impermeable. Overlying the weathered mudstone is a mantle of Pleistocene sediment, approximately 1 metre thick, interpreted as being composed of weathered aeolian dust. The weathering has formed a soil that contains a high proportion of Ca-montmorillonite clay mineral. Field classification tests on these soils show them to be slightly clayey, fine sandy silts having a high porosity but low permeability. They are usually unsaturated; howwever, their low hydraulic conductivity causes them to exhibit very poor drainage.