Bryce McIntyre: That Work-Life Balance

Just outside of Renwick on Northbank Road in Marlborough, we visited Bryce McIntyre, vineyard manager at Whare Hill. He has 38 hectares of grape vines growing, with another 10 to 12 hectares yet to plant.

As we came up the road, we were greeted by Bryce and his “number one vineyard dog”, Belle, to look at the new developments that were happening for this young vineyard in the heart of Marlborough.

The property is owned in partnership with Bryce’s wife, Hannah, her four sisters and their partners. Their hope for the future is that the younger generation come together and create a prosperous vineyard.

Originally a sheep and beef farm, it’s slowly being turned into rows upon rows of fresh Marlborough grapes. Thirty-eight hectares of the vineyard is predominantly Sauvignon Blanc, however they also have a 0.6 hectare corner which Bryce calls the “no-man’s land”. In this section they’re trialing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Albariño, Prosecco, Syrah, Tempranillo and a drought-tolerant Sauvignon Blanc. “It’s probably a bit of a farming thing. There's always that desire to see if there’s something that goes really well.

You’ve got to pay the bills and keep the money coming in, but it's not all about that. Sometimes you have a little bit of fun too,” Bryce said.

Bryce manages the vineyard along with finishing and breeding cattle on the other side of Blenheim. They finish 500 young cattle and have a breeding block with 200 cows. Between the vineyard and the livestock blocks, this keeps Bryce relatively busy.

Coming from a farming background, he found his way into banking where he had a bit to do with vineyards. It was during his time in the corporate world when he decided he wanted to try something new. Bryce likes the controllable nature of vineyards. The straight lines, numbers and seasonal work is where he takes great enjoyment in seeing the end result.

Along with Bryce, there are three other staff members: their viticulturalist; his sister-in-law Josie, who works in the industry and helps run the vineyard block with him; and brother-in-law Simon. They also work with a few contractors. Bryce tends to work on the cattle side of things himself, with the assistance from family members and friends every now and again.

The vineyard, farm and his family home are relatively spread out from one another but still a short drive between each destination. This helps Bryce to keep his work and home life separate so he can spend quality time with Hannah and their three kids: Lucy, Kate and Olivia. “I think it's an important part of just being able to clock off at the end of the day and then restart again when you need to in the morning.”

Another way Bryce likes to recharge is to get out and do what he loves, which is hunting and fishing. “It’s about being able to break away and not feel like you're tied down,” Bryce said.

As a family, Bryce and Hannah like to spend as much time with their girls as possible and that was one of the reasons why Bryce transitioned from the corporate lifestyle – having a little bit more flexibility when the children came along.

The vineyard had three different planting stages between 2018 and 2020. This was due to the availability of plants and posts. “In an ideal world, we would have planted all of them at the same stage,” Bryce said. “We will get all the vines to a certain level before considering any more planting.”

Bryce’s nearest Goldpine store is Blenheim and he deals directly with the store manager, Steve. “Goldpine has been fantastic. The last couple of years the developments have been a challenge with posts, but they've been fantastic to deal with and they’re flexible. We’ve had to think outside of the square to get posts when we wanted them,” said Bryce.

“Goldpine helped all the way through and frequently came out to see how the development was looking. They take a really active approach and role in our development.”