Having lived in London at the heart of the UK wine trade for many years, Sam Harrop MW moved back to New Zealand with his family a few years ago and now makes wines under his own name (for the first time), working his aunt and uncle’s vineyard on the sub-tropical Waiheke Island. The vineyard is situated at 400 metres altitude and the 14-year-old Chardonnay vines are dry-farmed achieving yields of around 25 hectolitres per hectare.

The Cedalion Chardonnay name comes from Greek mythology; Cedalion was a humble servant from Lemnos who, literally, stood on the shoulders of the blinded giant Orion to guide him to Helios and restore his vision. The name also refers to the determined spirit of one of Sam’s ancestors, Jeremiah Horrocks who, in 1639, challenged the work of the most famous astronomer of the time and was the first person to accurately predict the Transit of Venus, an extremely rare event. This prediction led Cook to sail to Tahiti to witness it for himself and his explorations after this event then guided him to the discovery of New Zealand.