Named after New Zealand’s largest quartz deposit that lies beneath our vineyards at Bendigo Station, Quartz Reef has become the vessel for what winemaker Rudi Bauer calls - his search to make wines which exhibit “a symphony of flavors” that “capture attention and entertain so that you forget everything else”. Austrian-born Rudi Bauer is the winemaker at Quartz Reef winery in Central Otago. Born in Salzburg, Rudi gained his degree in viticulture and winemaking in Austria and Germany before coming to New Zealand in 1985 on a 6 month working visa. Here he fell in love with the country, the wine and a “Kiwi girl” (not necessarily in that order of significance) and the net result has been the New Zealand wine industry’s gain! Widely considered as a far-sighted pioneer of the Central Otago wine region and one of the most charismatic producers in the country, Rudi worked at Mission Vineyard in Hawkes Bay until 1989, doing vintages in his off-seasons in California and Oregon. The Oregon experience gave Rudi a taste for Pinot Noir, and he moved to Central Otago to make the region’s first gold and trophy pinot noir at Rippon Vineyard in 1991. He moved on to Canterbury, producing consistent medal-winners at Giesen for five years, before returning to Central Otago. It was here in 1996 at Bendigo that Rudi created Quartz Reef; specializing in Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Méthode Traditionnelle.

https://www.quartzreef.co.nz/