With a love of wine, Ruud nurtured a dream of owning his own vineyard and creating wines that could take on the world, well before he ever decided to head for New Zealand. With his aim for perfection he sought land that could offer something a little different – a locale that would allow him the opportunity to fulfil his dream of making individualistic wines. His attention to detail is renowned in winemaking circles – especially his desire to understand his vineyard and the composition of every metre of it.

At the helm of Staete Landt he is very much hands on. He makes the wines and promotes not only his own brand but also the Marlborough wine growing region.

Ruud is a member of the Wine Marlborough Board and holds a position on the marketing committee of New Zealand Winegrowers.

As a youngster, Marlborough born Charlie earned pocket money working in the very first vineyards to appear on the landscape of the region. Little did he know back then, that the wine industry would become his passion and viticulture would be his career. Initially he was helping out Ruud in the development of the vineyard – as a contract worker. But it didn’t take him long to realise that Staete Landt was on to something special. When offered the chance to take on the viticultural responsibilities he jumped at it. The intensity of managing 21 individual parcels within a 22 hectare estate is something he thrives on - “I love the attention to detail that we have here, in terms of viticulture and winemaking. It ensures a high focus on quality”.

Scott joined the Staete Landt team as assistant winemaker in 2008. Having graduated from Lincoln University in 2006 with a degree in viticulture and Oenology , he working experience began as a cellarhand in Sonoma. His overseas experience includes stints in Australia and Canada and Marlborough. He quickly realised after working for some larger companies, that the hands on aspect of a family owned company better suited his aspirations of watching the wine’s creation from the vine through to the bottle - “I love the challenge of captering the true character of a wine with each sip you take, something a big corperate often can not achieve”.

While Ruud is hands on in the winery, it is Dorien who has her finger on the pulse of the marketing / sales of Staete Landt Wines. Her background as a marketing manager in larger companies and her love for wine certainly gives her the edge when it comes to understanding this intricate side of the business.

Her bright and bubbly personality make her a true asset to the company. Along with Ruud, her philosophy is to produce wines of character and integrity – words that sum up her attitude to all she does for Staete Landt Wines.

Originally from a Portuguese grape growing family, Catia now lives in Marlborough, New Zealand. In our small company her accounts and office experience is essential.

Where would we be without them? All the pickers who came from afar to help us at harvest time, early mornings, sticky hands, aching backs.

Running through the rows of vines, filling up bins, collecting full bins, not stopping for lunch until we’ve finished....

Thank you to all of you young ladies and men from France, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Holland, Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Thailand, Spain, Brazil, Sweden, Chile, Portugal, South Africa, Ireland, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary.....watch this space!