Fruitful Eskdale

Published: Aug. 30, 2011, 5 a.m.

The fertile soils around Eskdale produce apples, stonefruit and grapes for winemaking. Hawke's Bay is dubbed the fruit bowl of New Zealand - it was the site of vineyards planted from 1851 by French Catholic missionaries (the forerunners of present-day Mission Estate winery), and of Wattie's canning and food-processing business, established in 1934.