In 1989 the unlikely combination of two windsurfing mates restauranteur Chris Gambitsis and police detective Phil Binnie decided that enjoying wine was not enough and what they really wanted to do was grow grapes and make wine. In true kiwi fashion, they jumped in the deep end, and set about establishing the notoriously stony Falcon Vineyard. They named their fledgling operation Lake Chalice Wines, after the wilderness lake in the Richmond ranges, and adopted the stunning New Zealand Falcon (Karearea) as the emblem. Today Lake Chalice are a key sponsor of the Wingspan Trust preserving NZ's birds of prey.