Chard Farm
CENTRAL OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND
Rob Hay first saw Chard Farm in 1986 when he was a failed computer scientist. After a stint learning winemaking in Germany, Rob and his wife Gerdi went to see Chard Farm when it was an orchard, which they then bought and grew apples. Then one night Rob realised that it could be run as a vineyard.
Some funding from his father and some help from his brother and a bunch of friends, Rob and Gerdi managed to get the place up and running as a winery, even though everyone thought them daft. Two decades on, you be the judge... I think they did a pretty good job!