Hawkes Bay, Sections for Sale

November 2010 

With the turn of the season, Hawke’s Bay is enjoying a lovely warm spring after a mild winter with plentiful rainfall. As a result, Parkhill Farm is looking absolutely stunning. Beautiful mature trees are bursting into leaf while the lush, grassy slopes are covered with immaculate, sprouting grape vines. Verdant pastures are home to possibly the world’s most contented cattle.

 

Each year the farm reaches an even more beautiful level of maturity, and this year it is particularly noticeable. Parkhill Farm is now home to six families, so the day-to-day activity of everyday living has added a new dimension to the surroundings. With a total of 14 sections now sold, construction of further homes is underway or in the planning stages.

 

Despite the media’s best efforts to spread doom and gloom about the property market, buyer interest in Parkhill Farm is strong and genuine. Spring is bringing a new surge of enquiries, so anyone interested should view our available sites and contact us now to secure one before it's too late.

  

The Hawke’s Bay A&P Mercedes-Benz Wine Awards have just been announced and Sileni's Parkhill Farm grapes have come out on top!

 

After hundreds of Hawke’s Bay wines were sniffed, swirled, sampled and spat, the judges made their decision – the Champion Pinot Gris Trophy goes to Sileni Estate Selection Parkhill, Pinot Gris 2010.

 

As the Sileni tasting notes say: This wine is from the award-winning, sustainable Parkhill Farm Vineyard in coastal Hawke’s Bay. The afternoon sea breeze maintains a warm, even ripening temperature that provides intense fruit flavours. The Parkhill Pinot Gris has rich, aromatic stonefruit flavours.

 

You can download a pdf of the full tasting notes, or click here to buy the Sileni Estate Selection Parkhill, Pinot Gris 2010

 

What a great thrill for our estate-grown wine to achieve such success and we congratulate Sileni Estates. We enjoy a great relationship with Sileni, who operate the vineyard for their Estate Selection label.

 

Sileni Estates is enjoying enormous sucess at present, with an unprecedented nine awards at the prestigious Mundus Vini International Wine Awards in Germany, and four medals at Selections Mondiales des vins Canada – North America’s largest wine competition.

The Hawke’s Bay Mercedes-Benz Wine Awards is New Zealand’s largest and most significant regional wine competition. The awards represent the best of the best from the local wine world and have significant relevance, not only because they are subject to tough judging criteria, but also because they are pitching like against like, with wines limited to a single region.

 

There can be no argument that it is a fantastic feeling to be sitting in your Parkhill home, enjoying a glass of award-winning wine produced from the vines you are overlooking. This could be you - talk to us now to find out how!

 

A remarkable Hawke’s Bay regional initiative has swung into action, and Parkhill Farm is proud to be in the starting line-up.

 

In late September, a selection of regional businesses put their names to a unique sponsorship that’s set to unite the region like never before. Hawke’s Bay has been unveiled as the principal sponsor partner for the two Black Sticks Hockey teams as they go for gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

 

The announcement, held in Auckland, was a jaw-dropper because instead of an international corporate being aligned with a national sporting team; it instead was a heartland province – keen to punch above its weight.

 

Parkhill Farm is delighted to be involved, as we have a long-held belief in showing commitment to the region and working together for the greater good of the community. It’s a win-win partnership - the Black Sticks will not only get the support and energy of our whole community, but Hawke’s Bay will gain excellent international exposure for tourism and business. This is just one of the many great community initiatives that makes Hawke’s Bay such a great place to live and do business in.  

 

Please get in touch if we can give you any more information about living in Hawke's Bay at Parkhill Farm.

 

Parkhill Farm are now offering house and land packages, having teamed up with Landmark Homes, a well known and respected national residential building company.

 

Dan and Maria Miller are the Hawke's Bay Landmark franchisees and house builders. They bring a wealth of experience in the building industry and administration to their business, and are passionate about expanding Landmark with beautiful homes throughout Hawke's Bay.

 

Landmark have already commenced construction on two homes for owners at Parkhill Farm, with one nearing completion. They offer several options. Choose from their extensive collection of ready-to-build plans, make use of their design and build service, or work with them to construct your home from your own architect's plans.

 Parkhill Farm in Hawke’s Bay was the proud recipient of two prestigious accolades at the NZ Institute of Landscape Architecture (NZILA) Resene Pride of Place Landscape Awards announced on Friday 16 April in Wellington at a gala dinner held at Te Papa.

 

Enlisting the talents of Auckland-based landscape architect Patrick Corfe proved a wise move by Parkhill’s developers as he took the stage to accept a Gold Medal and a rare and prestigious Sustainability Award of Excellence for Parkhill Farm in the Rural Design Category.

 

Five years in the planning and execution of design has created what is arguably one of the most stunning rural subdivisions in New Zealand. 35 elevated, freehold sites sit amongst 48 hectares of working vineyard and farmland, most of which look out across the stunning Haumoana & Te Awanga coastline. Parkhill Farm is located mere minutes from top winery restaurants Elephant Hill and Clearview and the world-famous Cape Kidnappers golf course. Havelock North, Hastings and Napier are just a 10-15 minute drive away.

 

Developers Lyn Williams and Rebecca Turner together with business partner Gavin Yortt have lived and farmed in the region for many years, and it was their love of the surrounding natural landscape which spurred them to purchase the 71 hectare farm on their boundary to preserve and protect it from “other, less environmentally and aesthetically aware” real estate developers. The focus of the design brief was to gain approval for a low density residential Farm Park, and in order to achieve this, the site had to sustain the productive nature of the land and retain the rural character of the region. The challenge was to achieve a sense of balance between rural land use and residential development using sensitive design which incorporated consultation with local iwi, adjacent farmers and vineyard owners, the neighbouring school and kindergarten and of course the Hawke’s Bay District Council.

 

“We needed someone with vision. Patrick immediately grasped our dream, injected some inspired thinking and was fundamental in assisting with our re-zoning process” says Rebecca Turner. “From the outset we wanted Parkhill to reflect aspects of kiwi life that we love” attests Lyn. “Families can live amongst a working farm and vineyard, and the local school can run their cross-country races across our paddocks”. Lyn and Rebecca also went a step further than other developers. “Virtually every day for two years we walked the farm, with a measuring pole and cellphones, checking the views from each site and putting ourselves in the shoes of each lot owner to make sure every site was perfectly situated for sunlight, views and privacy – so we got very fit”.

 

“We’ve also ensured that no further subdivision can occur, and that the vineyard and pastoral land within Parkhill remains just that. Sileni Estates manage the Certified Sustainable vineyard (Sileni’s chief winemaker also lives on-site) and we manage the farm” says Lyn, “it’s truly rural living without any of the hassle of managing a rural block”.The organic design layout also incorporates roads that sweep up the site behind the knolls and ridgeline and combined with the pattern of vines builds up a ‘patchwork quilt’ effect. Covenants controlling building height, tree planting and individual site landscaping, ensure each residence will blend seamlessly into its surroundings.

 

Parkhill’s design is understated, informal and relaxed, yet acknowledges the growing attraction of hospitality & tourism features and the increasing sophistication of Hawke’s Bay’s urban centres.