About Us

It's in the genes!

We are the fifth generation of our family to grow grapes and make wine for a living.

(Darryl's Great grandmother Rakelina Matusich, 2nd from left, with her parents and siblings, Yugoslavia early last century)

(Darryl's Grandfather Frank Soljan with his brothers Paul and Peter boiling the billy, Henderson)

(Rex Soljan, Darryl's dad, at the crusher, Henderson)

In 1994 we made a new start and began our quest to find a special piece of land from which we could produce world-class wine. Our search lead us to Matakana, one of New Zealand's "hottest" emerging wine regions, where over two long years (1996 and 1997) we planted our vineyard on a magnificent single, steep hillside.

(Dominic, Bridget, Darryl & Emma 2002, Matakana)

The iron-rich Matakana clay, warm maritime climate, and superb northerly aspect at Ascension have produced wines that are both widely acclaimed in the press, and keenly sought by wine enthusiasts.

Peter Saunders, wine critic and author of A Guide to NZ Wines has described Ascension as "the regional star of Matakana".

Daring to be different
Life is too short to drink boring wine! Our philosophy has evolved to craft small quantities of distinctive, terroir-driven wines from both traditional and very unusual varieties. There is no boardroom at Ascension. Our vineyard and winery decisions are driven solely by a passion to grow the very best grapes, and make the finest wines.

Expensive techniques regarded as "special" by many wineries, such as cane pruning, extensive leaf plucking, crop thinning and hand harvesting, are standard here.

Small is good
We don't churn out wine in bulk quantities. We're not mainstream and we like it that way. Our small 7,000 case production and loyal customers ensure you will only find our wines in some of New Zealand's more enlightened specialist wine stores and restaurants. Of course the best way is to buy some from our Cellar Door before you leave Ascension!

The best way to experience Ascension is to visit us! We look forward to sharing Ascension with you because it is not just a business for us. It's our life.