New Zealand Falcon

The creators of the original Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc are releasing a special range of wines to celebrate Montana's ongoing efforts to protect the natural environment that gives the wines their special character - from replanting native vegetation to revitalising wetlands and returning indigenous bird species to Marlborough.

The Montana Living Land Series consists of four premium quality wines - Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, all from Marlborough, and a Waipara Pinot Gris. All these wines are from the outstanding 2009 vintage.

To celebrate Montana's ongoing commitment to the environment, they have created the Montana Living Land Fund. Montana will donate $1.00 to the dedicated fund for every bottle purchased from the range, with proceeds being used to support a range of environmental initiatives.

The Montana Living Land Fund will initially support the Marlborough Falcon Conservation Trust which aims to restore and reintroduce the native New Zealand Falcon population in Marlborough. On the brink of extinction, the Falcons are effective at deterring other birds that feed on grapes in the vineyards.

"We are thrilled that Montana is supporting the conservation of Falcons through its Living Land Series" says William Yates, Trustee of the Marlborough Falcon Conservation Trust. "The Living Land Series raises awareness to the plight of the native Falcon in the Marlborough region and this awareness is something we value greatly."

Patrick Materman, chief winemaker for Montana comments "As people who work with the land, we've been running environmental programmes over many years. Since the late 1990s we've been making a very conscious effort to limit any impact on the environment, which we are now communicating and celebrating through our new Montana Living Land Series."

Back in 1995, Montana was one of the main movers behind the project now adopted across the industry as Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ). Montana's own vineyards have long been run following these winegrowing principles and from this vintage, Montana's entire grape resource, including contract growers, will have adopted these practices.

Montana has also made a significant positive contribution to the environment by planting 35,000 native plants on its land holdings in the South Island alone since the year 2000.

While vineyards take pride of place in Montana's environmental efforts, the rest of the winemaker's operations are equally committed to environmental responsibility.

All Montana sites conform to the ISO 14001 International Environmental Standard. Part of the ongoing improvement targets include the aim to reduce Montana's water use by 25% by 2011.

The packaging for the Montana Living Land Series was developed with the environment in mind. The Living Land Series cartons are printed on 100% biodegradable paper using water-based inks. The bottle itself is a lighter weight bottle, using less glass. These bottles are being introduced across the Montana range over time with the iconic Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 already using the lighter weight bottle.

"Given the special nature of the new Montana Living Land series, we selected fruit that expresses the natural qualities of each variety to great effect," says Patrick. "If we really wanted to honour the efforts of so many of our staff who worked to care for the land over so many years, we had to make sure the intrinsic quality of the wine reflected the same unwavering passion."

The Montana Living Land Series wines will be available from mid April 2010 throughout New Zealand from on-premise and leading wine retail outlets (RRP $19.95).

Falcon Facts:

* The New Zealand falcon is 'nationally vulnerable' and is a threatened species.

* The falcon is New Zealand's only endemic bird of prey.

* Falcon populations continue to decline nationwide.

* There are thought to be fewer than 4,000 breeding pairs in all of New Zealand.

* There are fewer New Zealand falcons than there are kiwi.

* The Falcon is New Zealand's fastest animal, reaching speeds of over 200km/hr

* Falcons would have been found across all of NZ before the arrival of humans: human activity and the introduction of land mammals has caused the falcon's range to shrink so that falcons are currently only found in more remote habitats.

* Falcons have eyesight eight times better than our own.

* New Zealand falcons are small: adult females weigh about 500 grams and are approximately the size of a kereru. Adult males weigh about 350 grams and are approximately the size of a magpie.

* Falcons lay between 1-4 eggs each year. Eggs hatch approx. 31 days after they are laid.

* Chicks are altricial when they first hatch, meaning that they are entirely dependent upon their parents for food, warmth and shelter. They can't even see. They hatch covered with a fine down that helps to keep them warm.

* After about 10 days chicks develop a thick grey down and are able to thermoregulate.

* In captivity some falcons have lived for 15 years. In the wild, we aren't sure what age they live to: the oldest falcons within the falcon conservation project are five years old.

* Falcons are a protected species, it is illegal to harm a falcon and is punishable by a $50,000 fine and jail.