Internationally regarded as one of Australasia's most respected winemakers and international critics, John Belsham founded Foxes Island in 1992 to focus on exquisitely made, regionally expressive wines; exactly what he had learned to do in France. The first Fox was a 1992 Chardonnay from his Rapaura vineyard on the Wairau Plains of Marlborough
In search of a premium Pinot Noir site, Belsham identified a neglected 20 hectare Awatere property in 1998 and envisaged the Belsham Awatere Estate. With seven distinct terraces the land is planted primarily to Pinot Noir with select blocks of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc