Providing wines for a cross-section of businesses, from one-off restaurants and bars to major distributors and retailers, at a local, national and international level, is our business.
From our vines to your glass, we take pride in every process that goes in to delivering
world-class wines now and into the future.
Family values root to success
For centuries, the Giesen family’s passion for wine and food has played a major role in our European heritage. Previous generations have also been involved in the restaurant and wine trades, as sommeliers and restaurateurs. Growing up in Germany, Theo Giesen
himself had a hobby vineyard, and in time his devotion to grapes spread to his siblings Alex and Marcel. When the brothers moved to Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand in their twenties, their passion was reignited when they planted the world’s southernmost vineyard at the time, in Burnham on the outskirts of Christchurch.
With strong connections to Canterbury and making the most of Marlborough’s idyllic grape growing climate and soils, Giesen Wines now splits its operations between Christchurch and Marlborough.
Employing the best staff from an international pool of skills and knowledge, the brothers provide a positive, thriving working environment, in line with their strong family values. The Giesen brothers work closely with the winemaking and vineyard team and are all involved in growing the grapes, making the wine, bottling it and then marketing and selling it.
Local company, global reputation
We are proud of our New Zealand links and of our European family heritage, which is perhaps a
contributing factor to our success at both a local and international level. Our worldwide distribution
reaches as far afield as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Ukraine, Canada, the USA,
Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Asia. Actively promoting and marketing our
wines is imperative to our growth, therefore we exhibit at and attend trade shows across the globe.
Giesen Wines is proud to be British Retail Consortium accredited across our vineyards,
winery and bottling line. In the UK and across Europe, this accreditation is regarded by
all retailers as essential in order for trade to take place.
Sustaining a bright future
The Marlborough region is unique in its variety of growing conditions and soils, and the Giesen brothers are committed to sustaining the natural environment for generations to come.
All of our vineyards, along with our contact growers, are Sustainable Winegrowers New Zealand accredited, along with our Winery and Bottling facility. At our Marlborough Ridge vineyard, we continue to explore organic processes. Here, from the very first planting, our vines are 100% organic. Dillon’s Point Vineyard, the largest of our vineyards, is also in the transition to becoming organic.
We are committed to reducing our carbon intensity (green house gas emissions per bottle) and are currently working towards Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) certification. This is part of the Landcare carboNZero programme, which focuses on how New Zealand businesses can reduce their carbon footprints. Our primary motivation for undertaking this process is our acceptance of the concept that green house gas emissions are going to have a significant impact on global climates. We have a social responsibility to do what we can to reduce this impact.
