About Blank Canvas Wines

Blank Canvas embodies the story of a husband and wife team; international wine-making consultant Matt Thomson, and solicitor turned Master of Wine student Sophie Parker-Thomson. Together they have amassed a phenomenal amount of international experience in all areas of the wine industry. Their collective goal is to create distinctive small-batch, single vineyard wines that reflect the best sub-regional sites in New Zealand. The Blank Canvas philosophy embraces using as little manipulation as possible to uphold, over everything else, the wine’s sense of place.

Our Blank Canvas Syrah is from Dominic and Rachelle Smith’s Element Vineyard, a family dedicated to the land and to producing premium fruit. We work with them throughout the growing season to craft our own interpretation, inspired by the great cool-climate Syrah’s of the world. We like to challenge winemaking orthodoxy which is why we use whole-bunch fermentation, and co-fermentation with Gruner Veltliner skins, a world-first, which we feel adds a desirable white pepper aromatic profile to our savoury, structured Syrah.