A family that's bigger than family

While Babich is one of the last truly family-owned wine businesses in New Zealand, in the early days of the industry it was quite different.

Henderson was home to dozens of family wineries, most of them Croatian, who saw each other not so much as competitors but as fellow travellers. In 1962, to mark their co-operative spirit, a group of seven families distilled New Zealand’s first (and possibly only) brandy. Labelled as 7 Cellars, and bottled a few years ago, it bears a roll-call of important wine names: Babich, Nobilo, Lincoln Vineyards, Golden Sunset, Delegat, Totara Vineyards and Selak.