Torlesse Winery, one of the Waipara Valley's pioneering wine labels, has been producing wine in the region for more than thirty years.

Owned by the Tomlin, Pharis, Fabris, Blower, and Rayner families, Torlesse began producing wine in Waipara in 1991 and opened its cellar door in 2000.

The Rayner family have run the operation since its inception, and for regular visitors to the winery, Maggie Rayner is a familiar and welcoming face.

"I think what makes Torlesse special is that we have been here so long and have put our heart and soul into the business, and its family orientated and family run."

It has been a challenging year for the Rayner family, with Maggie's husband, renowned Torlesse winemaker Kym, passing away in July last year.

"He had such a sense of humour.

"He had great conversations with customers, whether it was Aussie Rules or politics, or was this or that.

"He would just keep topping up their glasses; he had a great personality.

"We still get people that come in and ask, where is the old guy?' Maggie said.

With Kym's sudden passing, the community stepped up to help keep the vineyard wheels turning.

"The North Canterbury Wine Growers Association were fabulous.

"They organised all the wineries and vineyard workers to come and prune the vineyard.

"I was babysitting; it was my nana day, and I looked out the window, and there were cars parked all the way down our long driveway and all the way along State Highway One.

"The whole community came out to help."

The vineyard encompasses around 80 acres in four blocks, each with a unique terroir.

"We have four vineyard sites, with heavy clay loams, river terraces and limestone hills.

"With those four blocks, plus the block at the winery, we can make a huge range of wines."

Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are the biggest varieties grown by Torlesse.

Some wine is exported to the U.K. and Canada, although most is sold locally.

Torlesse began offering platters at their cellar door around four years ago. With the business open seven days a week and tour buses stopping at the winery regularly, the Rayner family is kept busy with both domestic and international tourists.

"The highlight for us is making good wine and selling it to the public who you know will enjoy it. That's the beauty of having a cellar door.

"You are dealing directly with the public, and you get their reaction to trying your wine, which is fabulous."

This season's harvest has been challenging, with drought conditions meaning higher quality wine but a lower yield.

"My husband always said viticulture won't make you rich; it's a lifestyle.

Every vintage is different, and some are better than others."

All wine is fermented and bottled on site in an expanded and modernised building behind the cellar door that began its life as a farm woolshed.

The cellar door is a purpose-built space that opens onto an outdoor area where guests can enjoy the sun with a glass of wine and look out over the vineyard and a picturesque olive grove.

The Rayner's sons, Pete and Ben, have been involved in the winery since they were children and have stepped up to become an integral part of the business from vineyard to bottle, working alongside Maggie to keep Torlesse moving forward.

"We are very lucky.

"We are a close-knit family; we are so lucky they live here.

"Some people have family living all over the world, but mine are here; I get to see them every day, and that's fabulous."

Pete Rayner says the key to Torlesse's success is their gentle approach to winemaking.

'We handcraft everything, from the plant to the fermentation process.

"We are self-sufficient, so we bottle everything on-site.

"Everything from plant to bottle, we 100 per cent craft ourselves."

Pete says the small scale of the operation is an advantage.

"We are able to do a lot of varieties.

"We've got one the biggest ranges in the Waipara Valley, so we can do niche batches rather than just big commercial ones."

Torlesse makes bigger batches of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, but smaller batches of less main-stream varieties.

"That's our point of difference," Pete said.

Pete enjoys the variety each harvest brings.

"Every year brings different fruit, different flavours and different challenges."

by Claire Inkson