Fino Valley is a family owned winery nestled in the Henderson Valley of Auckland carrying more than 100 years of family winemaking history and tradition.

Establish in 1966 by Croatian Immigrants Ivan and Milka Tvrdeich and their three sons. From humble beginnings they eventually purchased their parcel of land in the then, rural Henderson Valley in West Auckland and relocated an old Ponsonby house right in the middle of property which eventually became their home. This original homestead still stands in the middle of the vineyard today.

Before the winery was developed, the land was initially used as a Dairy Farm then eventually converted into Strawberry Fields and Peach Orchards. Eventually Ivan decided to plant some grapes, something he was very familiar and already highly experienced with back in his home country of Croatia.

The original vines were planted by the 3 very young sons using basic equipment to clear then till the soil and erect a very basic vineyard trellis with hand-made concrete posts (common in those days) and even using tree branches from nearby forests to complete the trellis when money got tight. 

The grape varieties of the 1960's and 1970's were very basic (some hybrids)  but with good wine making experience, high quality wine was made from these varieties and the wine business exploded with huge growth and the introduction of modern aromatic table wines such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Chenin Blanc took the market by storm in a market where Fortified Wines such as Port and Sherry played a prominent role. Rapid expansion took place in the 1970's and that has continued with good steady growth into overseas markets.

Today the winery is very unique and boarded by suburbia on the Henderson Valley rural-urban fringe and is now one of the oldest wineries in Auckland, with a capacity to produce over 250 000 liters annually. The home-block vineyard remains at 4 hectares making it one of the most valuable vineyards in New Zealand and in the world (by acre), being only a 20 minutes drive from the Auckland City centre. The majority of grapes today are grown in our Hawkes Bay and Marlborough vineyards and then transported to our winery in Auckland for processing.

Fashion and consumer tastes have changed throughout the years which has meant it has been crucial for the business to adapt. This means today we produce mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and increasingly complex Bordeaux Blends from the Hawkes Bay area. We are also finding ourselves increasingly producing more Fortified Wines, especially Port style wines as modern and young consumers step into the fascinating world of Port Wine.

We continue to export to major markets around the world such as the United Kingdom, United States (all States), China, India, Australia and the Asia/South Pacific.