About Us
Nestled in the shadows of the Ruahine Ranges in New Zealand's Southern Hawkes Bay region is the town of Dannevirke, and as each year passes the tales of trout being plucked from the nearby Manawatu River become taller. It is a place of tranquillity. One may well ask why anyone would want to leave this beautiful part of the world, but Nicky Cowper did, in 1995 in search of her dream. Aged just 18, she crossed the Tasman to Adelaide, South Australia, to earn a Degree in Oenology at the University of Adelaide's Waite Institute. Perhaps her biggest accomplishment was convincing her parents, Stephen and Angela, to also make the journey and start a new life in the wine industry.
They purchased a property, originally part of the Blackford estate, at Charleston, east of Adelaide in the Mount Lofty Ranges, and established a 28 hectare vineyard and named it Genesis. Given their journey from Dannevirke, a European settlement steep in Danish and Norwegian heritage, to Blackford, a pocket of English history in an area once dominated by German settlers, it is little wonder the property was named Genesis, a meaning for "a new beginning". It remains the Cowper family's symbol of pioneering adventure.
With a family reunion complete, they tended the vines neatly placed along the gentle slopes with the hillside facing the north. Stephen and Angela's love for the land, and their attention to detail, are expressed so well across this immaculately manicured vineyard that, since 1999, it has produced premium quality grapes for top wine makers in South Australia and Victoria. At the entrance of the vineyard is an old stable, which was part of Blackford, and with the Cowpers now producing their own special blends, once again it is appropriate to follow the trail of history and present these wines under the label of Blackford Stable. A new experience of wine with class, indeed true flavour, is with us.
Like the vines that bear intensely varietal fruit, the Cowpers have reached out to new strands of excellence. Nicky has expanded her winemaking expertise into vintages in Australia - Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Victoria - and overseas in France, the United States of America, and South Africa. With each vintage Stephen and Angela have taken Genesis to new heights of quality and presentation.
Ask Stephen what is the special character of the Blackford Stable wines and he will say the bi-products of the family's passion and commitment to quality; their values. Just don't ask him about the trout he caught in the Manawatu River near Dannevirke. Nicky warns the yarns get bigger by the glass.