When people talk about the wines of New Zealand, the 1980s is often mentioned as the starting point of the wine industry. However, the country has some famous pioneers who immigrated to New Zealand in the early 1900s and started making wine.
The Babish family are such pioneers. They have been producing wines in New Zealand since 1916, making Babish Wines the country’s oldest still active winery. Recently, Peter Babish died at 92 years old. His father Josip, originally from Croatia, founded Babish Wines. (Many Croats came to New Zealand.)
Today Babish Wines are among the ten biggest wine producers in New Zealand. The business started in the Henderson Valley close to Auckland, the country’s biggest city, and the headquarters are still there with vineyards mainly planted with the Spanish white grape albariño. The bulk of the production comes from Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay.
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