commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability has solidified Kumeu River as a leader in the industry. Kumeu River blends time-honored winemaking traditions with a progressive approach, ensuring each bottle reflects heritage and innovation. With careful vineyard management and hand-harvesting techniques, the winery maintains an uncompromising commitment to quality. While staying true to its roots, Kumeu River has adapted to an evolving global market, refining its craft to meet modern tastes without losing sight of its origins. KUMEU RIVER ORIGINS The story of Kumeu River Wines began when Maté Brajkovich and his parents purchased a vineyard in Kumeu, just outside Auckland.“The property already had an established vineyard,” says Paul Brajkovich, Director of Marketing.“But to pay off the mortgage, my father and his family had to grow mixed crops like pumpkins and strawberries, and they even had cattle.” Maté also worked at a local winery, Soljans, where he developed a deep passion for winemaking. “He would bicycle to work at the start of the week, stay with the Soljans family, and immerse himself in the craft,” Brajkovich explains. “That’s where he realized he could do it himself.” In 1948, Maté built the winery’s first cellar, which housed production, storage, and sales. “Those four walls that he built back then are still part of the winery today,” says Brajkovich.“He was a gregarious man who built a loyal customer base, and soon people from Auckland drove out to buy wine directly from him.” Over the decades, the winery evolved. Initially known as Brajkovich Wines and later as San Marino Vineyards, it was Michael Brajkovich, Maté’s eldest son, who rebranded it as Kumeu River in the early 1980s to better reflect the winery’s identity and terroir.“Kumeu is the place, and the river runs behind the property,” Brajkovich explains. It made sense to tie our name to the land. A FAMILY-RUN ENTERPRISE Today, Kumeu River remains a family-run business. Michael, a trained oenologist and New Zealand’s first Master of Wine, oversees winemaking. Milan, 25 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 02 KUMEU RIVER WINES
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