Trinity Hill was founded in 1996 by a partnership between John Hancock (formerly of Morton Estate) and Trevor Janes (a big man in the wine industry here in NZ).

John Hancock is responsible for the wines of Morton Estate from 1983 to 1995 and include several prestigous awards. The 1995 Black Label Chardonnay won top chardonnay in the London Show and was effectively bought out by several Chefs and restauranteurs including Chez Nico.

John's wine making isn't his only passion as he also enjoys brewing beer and recently opened the Galbraith Beer House, a pub where all the beer is made on site. It to is very good.

John's Roseworthy training certainly helped him develope the big open fruit dominant styles of the early 90's but with his transistion to his own winery and vineyard John has begun to expiriement with lesser used varieties and styles.

Trinity Hill is based at the bottom of the Shepards Croft a small hilly valley eastern facing but sheltered from all winds. This area is situated at the end of the Gimblett Rd area, one of two specifics micro-climates recognised in Hawkes Bay (the other is the Te Mata Peak area). The soil is silt loam based but with high iron soils. The average temperature is almost two degrees hotter than surrounding areas. This is caused by a slight dip in the area keeping the wind at bay. Rainfall is consistant and although one would expect problems with flooding due to the drop in terrain the soil is so parched that even the heaviest rainfalls get soaked up. The ground there is obvious due to the high levels of river bed rocks.

The Gimblett rd area is renowned for its reds but John and one or two other wineries have proven that whites when handled properly can make great wines.

This was the first vintage of Pinot Gris released.

Colour: soft gold
Nose: Soft nutty character, with obvious peach and pear notes. Complex smokey characters also evident.
Palate: Silky with long length and powerful fruit intergration. The acids are hidden by reasonable residual sugar and high alcohol (14.8%).
Overall: A 88 on the Jeremy Scale and a b+ on the QPR.