More than 20 years after Duncan and Judy Smith sent two bottles of Chardonnay to the then Prince Charles, Whakatāne author Duncan Smith has sent the King a copy of the book that tells the full story behind the wine.

When the Smiths bought a small lifestyle block in the Gisborne ranges in 1989, they were looking for a new way of life.

Like many people who take on a small rural property, they tried a number of ways to make it pay.

Eventually, their efforts led them to plant a tiny organic vineyard in the Waimata Valley, about 27 kilometres inland from Gisborne.

The vineyard became “Tiritiri Estate”, named after a hill visible from their property.

At only 0.27 hectares, it was what they believed to be, probably New Zealand’s smallest commercial organic vineyard at the time.

“It was tiny by Gisborne standards,” he said.

“But we were determined to show that a small family vineyard could produce good wine.”

Their Chardonnay went on to win recognition and attract some unexpected admirers.

During a visit to Gisborne, the Duchess of Bedford first tried their organic Tiritiri Reserve Chardonnay at a local restaurant. She later discovered where the Smiths’ remote cellar door was, in the Waimata Valley.

“She told us it was the best Chardonnay she had ever drunk in her life,” they recalled.

“So much so, she bought two cases to take back to England with her.”

That was remarkable enough for a tiny vineyard, but another unexpected connection followed.

Prince Charles, as he then was, had a well-known interest in organic farming and his Highgrove estate in England.

Duncan Smith decided to write to him, explaining that he and Judy were growing grapes organically and producing their own wine at their small Gisborne vineyard.

“I thought there was no harm in being a little cheeky,” Smith said. “I told him about our farm and tiny vineyard and asked whether he might be interested in trying some of our Chardonnay.”

To their surprise, a letter arrived from the Prince’s office at St James’s Palace in London. It thanked them for writing and said that His Royal Highness had been interested to hear about Tiritiri Estate and would be delighted to receive a bottle of wine.

The Smiths carefully packed two bottles of their Tiritiri Reserve Chardonnay and sent them to London.

A few weeks later, a further letter arrived thanking them for the wine.

Their story featured in the Gisborne Herald under the headline “Cheeky grape grower earns a royal tasting”.

The article described their small vineyard and showed Smith holding the letter from Prince Charles’s office alongside the bottles destined for St James’s Palace.

“Some of the local growers and wineries thought we had a nerve,” they said. “But I think, secretly, a few of them rather wished they had thought of it first!”

The Smiths eventually sold Tiritiri Estate and moved to Whakatāne.

Yet, the years spent building their farm and vineyard remained a major part of their family story.

Smith began writing down their memories initially for the benefit of their two sons, Jack and Tim.

However, the project grew into his memoir, The Tiny Vineyard That Defied the Odds.

The book tells the story of the family’s efforts to make a life from their remote block: the hard work of developing an organic farm and vineyard, the setbacks and financial pressures, the successes, the wine, and the often unpredictable reality behind their own version of The Good Life.

When the memoir was published, Smith decided there was one more cheeky letter worth sending.

“I thought King Charles III might be interested in learning what happened to that tiny organic vineyard after we sent him the wine all those years ago,” he said.

“The book filled in the gaps between those two bottles of Chardonnay and where life took us afterwards.”

Smith sent a copy of the book to King Charles and later received an appreciative reply.

For him, the correspondence is not about claiming royal endorsement. Rather, it is a treasured reminder of the unlikely places a small venture can lead.

“We started with a rough lifestyle block in the Gisborne ranges, a few Chardonnay vines, and plenty of optimism.

Originally, and ironically, we only wanted to produce one barrel of wine a year for ourselves, but it blossomed into something far greater than that – 12 barrels.

“To have our story acknowledged first by Prince Charles and then, years later, by King Charles III, is rather special,” he said.

Copies of The Tiny Vineyard That Defied the Odds are available from Paper Plus in Whakatāne, and online.

Book link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW5DVGLJ

For every book sold, $2 will be donated to Child Cancer.

Book signing tomorrow

With the support of patisserie and cordon bleu chef Roberto Chanca from L’Atelier, pictured left, and Dream Bean barista Ollie Dobbin, right, Duncan Smith is holding a book signing for his book The Tiny Vineyard That Defied The Odds at L’Atelier café on Commerce Street in Whakatāne, tomorrow between 9.30am and 11.30am.

Books will be available for purchase and signing with eftpos available.

The trio invite everyone down for a French pastry, coffee and literary chat.

Photo supplied