Suffoir Winery

Pieter and Michelle Badenhorst are both expatriate South Africans, who came separately to Australia with very different agendas. Pieter has a Masters degree in molecular genetics from Stellenbosch University, leading to a research career in molecular plant breeding, and after five years, he applied for a job offered by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries in Hamilton. The job interview was conducted over the phone, and he left South Africa two weeks later. Michelle came for a year of backpacking her way around Australia, and her cousin introduced the two, suggesting Michelle call in to stay with Pieter on her travels. End of story. They have planted 1ha of pinot noir on two very different soil types, giving rise to the possibility of making two Pinots each year. -JAMES HALLIDAY