It started with a VW van, a harvest in Beaujolais, and an evening of wine that Ollie describes as immediately hooking him. Years later, his Chateau Garage Lulu Rosé has just been named NZ's top rosé for 2026 by The Real Review. We caught up with him to talk winemaking and eyewear (of course!).
How did you find your way into winemaking? Or was it always the plan?
Even though I had grown up in a family very passionate about local wineries and great food in Hawke’s Bay, I hadn’t ever thought of the wine industry. Until my OE, and time spent tasting international wines and travelling the wine regions of France and Italy in an old VW van with Rebecca. My UK visa was coming to an end, and I had a brainwave that perhaps I could study winemaking in NZ and enter the wine industry…
You've harvested grapes across NZ and France. Is there a vintage or a place that still sticks with you?
The grape harvest of 1999 in Beaujolais, France, would have to be the answer to this one. Before applying to study winemaking, I thought I’d best at least experience a harvest. We just happened to meet some Aussies in London who were about to go to Beaujolais to make wine. “Just give Jean Saint Charles a call if you’re keen!” So I did, and he said “come on over”.
On the first night at the Chateau, we all got together in a small courtyard at dusk to meet each other. The wine started to flow, and as each bottle was finished, Jean would instruct someone to go down to the cellar and extract another bottle. Each wine would be poured to stories of the weather of the season and the quality of the vintage, woes or triumphs, the people who were there. I couldn’t believe it and was immediately hooked… and maybe slightly intoxicated… The next day, I filled out the application forms to come back to Hawke’s Bay and study Viticulture and Winemaking, and took them to the local post office and sent them off.
Chateau Garage’s Lulu Rosé was named NZ's top rosé by The Real Review for 2026, congratulations! For anyone who hasn’t tried it yet, how would you describe it? What makes it stand out?
Thank you! Lulu really is a unique rosé in the world of wine… with four Italian grape varieties and Merlot grown on our wonderful Hawke’s Bay soils. Carefully harvested, the fruit is pressed, with the juice going straight into large format oak vessels. No yeast is added, so the juice ‘wild ferments’, producing exciting and exotic aromas and flavours. The resulting wine has wild strawberries, orchard fruits, blood orange, and floral aromas, perfectly balanced with a complex and crisp dry palate. We just love the expression people make when they try Lulu for the first time – complete wonderment! 
You've come a long way from that Chateau in Beaujolais. What does the dream look like from here?
Our dream is to continue to handcraft delicious wines from Hawke’s Bay and share them with people who love wine and a good story. It was that evening in Beaujolais that inspired us, and we want to share the magical moments of winegrowing and making with passionate, fun people. We’re hoping we will also be able to travel back to Europe again and soak up the amazing tradition and craft of winemaking.
How did you first come across Index, and what keeps you coming back?
I, of course, saw their groovy Instagram, but it was the connection to the Charity Wine Auction that made me want to check Index out and support another contributor. Yep, I do keep calling in just to say hi and show off my eyewear or drop off some vino! Such a fun experience with Lynne selecting frames and then Geoff making sure my lenses were dialled right in, which they are!
As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors in vineyards, what do you need from a pair of frames?
Definitely some real comfort and hold fastness as I’m on/off tractors and picking up bins of fruit etc, the transitional lenses are a game changer and now I just wear the same glasses all day which means they stay with me and don’t get put down anywhere!
You’re wearing the Cutler and Gross 1394 frames with Essilor Transition lenses. Why did you choose them?
I loved the classic design and large size with big lenses to take in the scenery, but it was really the comfort of these glasses that made the final decision so easy. Oh, and plus, Rebecca gave them the thumbs up, which was really the final decision point.
Find out more about Chateau Garage and shop their wines at chateaugarage.co.nz.
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Visit us in-store.
5 Havelock Road,
Havelock North,
Hawke’s Bay
4130
06 211 7433