Helio
“It’s all about producing benchmark Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay… not necessarily the biggest or the best, but wine that people around the world will hold up as great example of Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay.”
"I used to say, 'mate, you are dreaming. We are never going to have vineyard.'" It turns out his father was right, Donald admits, walking through Moko Hills vineyard 15 years later, talking of chickens, truffles, geckos and vines on this unique 40-hectare Bendigo block in the foothills of the Dunstan Range.
These days he’s a viticulturist too, but it was the ecologist that found and fell for this land in 2016, when he saw a for sale sign and parked up in his van for the night. He named it the same day, after finding gecko (mokomoko) under some rocks. “The site itself drew me straight away,” Donald says, talking of the view over Lake Dunstan, the rocky outcrops above, and the remnants of kōwhai and tōtara, once prolific in the area. It is “super rugged” and beautiful, he says. “With a trained eye you can see the historical degradation on the land, in terms of invasive pests and weed species, but also the potential as well.”
He and his parents had been looking for properties for about a year, motivated in part by Donald’s desire to tackle an ecology restoration that would yield tangible results. By 2017 they’d decided vines were a way of earning from a portion of the land, but the reality was daunting. “We have always been interested in wine, but when we decided to plant grapes I realised, ‘holy shit I don’t know what I am doing’.” He studied in Auckland while they planted, going “straight in the deep end really”, then gathered experience on overseas vintages, before beginning work with James Dicey at Grape Vision in Central Otago. Working as a viticulturist off site “puts bread on the table” but is also rich with learning and insights into a range of sites, Donald says. Meanwhile, James “has been insanely good to me”, with advice, machinery and labour a phone call away, he adds. “It wouldn’t be where it is without him.”
Despite being immersed in the work and culture of wine, the 9ha of grapes are “one small aspect” of Moko Hills.
The van der Westhuizens have planted fruit trees, established bee hives, and targeted the pests that ravage the land’s fauna and flora. “I have seen a massive change in vegetation just by removing rabbits,” Donald says. He works with a farmer to graze sheep in return for lamb, is delving deep into restorative viticulture and agriculture, and is currently contemplating a few cattle. A few days before we speak, he has picked up another 10 chickens, doubling his brood, with a weekly egg subscription now underway. “A big thing for me, which I am going crazy into, is sustainable food production.”
His plethora of side hustles, alongside a day job, make for a busy life, he admits. “Everyone thinks it’s living the dream, which it definitely is, but it is by no means easy.” When he arrived that dream was to take the land to an original version. But Donald now sees the restoration work as “integrated between us and nature”, with space for ecology and production. “Viticulture is actually probably the lowest impact horticulture and agriculture system within Central Otago, with very minimal water use and, depending on your viticulture methodology, very low pesticide and herbicide, with good opportunities to create soil carbon and biodiversity.”
That integration is clear on every bottle of Moko Hills wine, with beautiful watercolours that celebrate the ecosystem it’s grown in, portraying kōwhai and native bees, gecko and corokia. “It’s a part of the story,” Donald says. “And you can taste something from this place.
