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New Zealand · People, vineyards & the wine they make
Kumeu River — The Brajkovich Family & Chardonnay
A family carried its winegrowing experience from Croatia to west Auckland. Follow the Brajkovich story into Chardonnay, then compare the vineyard name with the name of the maker.
From San Marino to Kumeu River.
Mick and Katé Brajkovich brought vine-growing and winemaking experience from Živogošće in Croatia. With their son Maté, they worked in New Zealand vineyards and orchards before buying a Kumeū property in 1944. The business became San Marino Vineyards; Maté and Katé continued after Mick’s death in 1949.
Maté and Melba’s children — Michael, Marijana, Milan and Paul — grew up around the winery. The producer dates its change to the Kumeu River name to 1986, alongside a Chardonnay direction influenced by Burgundy. A family’s practical knowledge met a new generation’s education and experiments.
A family story with different responsibilities.
The winery identifies Michael as winemaker, Milan as vineyard director, Paul with sales and marketing, and Marijana with hospitality and marketing experience. Long-serving Nigel Tibbits also belongs in the cellar story. These contributions reach from the vines to the people encountering the bottle.
New Zealand Winegrowers records Michael graduating from Roseworthy in 1981 and becoming New Zealand’s first Master of Wine in 1989. Its account describes an early interest in Merlot giving way to Chardonnay as the latter proved more dependable in Auckland. He also moved the wines entirely to screwcaps in 2001.
Kumeū is the home; check the vineyard too.
Start west of Auckland in our Auckland region guide →. Then look closely at a bottle’s vineyard name. In 2017 the Brajkovich family acquired Ray’s Road in Hawke’s Bay →, extending its growing story beyond Kumeū.
The producer describes Ray’s Road as a dry-farmed limestone hillside. Its 2024 Chardonnay account specifies hand harvesting, whole-bunch pressing and wild-yeast fermentation in older French oak. The maker’s name remains Kumeu River, while this wine’s growing place is Hawke’s Bay.
One grape, a vineyard and a sequence of decisions.
Hunting Hill first contributed to the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. The winery dates its first planting to 1982 and replanting to 2000. The current product page presents the following details with the 2025 wine:
| Follow this clue | What it tells us |
|---|---|
| Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2025 | Hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed; indigenous-yeast fermentation. |
| Fermentation | 100% barrel fermentation in French oak and 100% malolactic fermentation, as stated by the producer. |
| Maturation | 11 months in barrel. This figure belongs to this wine’s published account; it does not establish the proportion of new oak. |
Whole-bunch pressing and whole-bunch fermentation describe different operations. Here the producer says the bunches were pressed before the juice fermented. Similarly, a Chardonnay made from several vineyard lots can remain a single-grape wine. Use Chardonnay Wines → to explore those choices alongside the grape itself.
A small Cork Dork discovery.
Let the maker’s account join your tasting.
Compare Hunting Hill 2025 with Ray’s Road 2024. Put grape, growing place, pressing, fermentation and maturation on separate lines. The vintages differ, so treat this as a reading exercise rather than proof that any flavour difference comes only from place.
A closer look at Kumeū.
Explore Kumeū’s smaller wine origin within Auckland. Follow Chardonnay and the Brajkovich family’s Kumeu River story, while keeping the winery’s home separate from Ray’s Road fruit grown in Hawke’s Bay.
Where shall we wander next?
Behind this introduction.
Editorial sources checked 26 October 2026. Historical events and individual wines are dated where relevant. Producer descriptions explain their own practice; they are not universal rules or independent rankings.