Nockie’s Palette Wines was created with a vision to combine Michael Nock’s love of wine with his passion for art. Nockie’s Palette believes the artist or artisan contributes the most value in the production of something truly great. Thus, we seek out winemakers that are considered among the world’s best in a range of different grape varieties.
Just as the artist has a palette of paints and colours, Nockie’s Palette offers a palette of handcrafted wines showcasing unique hues, textures, flavours, and terrior.
Nockie’s Palette wines exhibit the best terroirs in the Australasian region, from award winning Central Otago Pinot Noir to Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and Barossa Valley Shiraz.
Nockie’s Palette is also associated with the NockArt Foundation, which sponsors regional artist residency programs. To highlight the parallels between the art and artisan of winemaking Nockie’s Palette uses original artworks on its labels.
Michael Nock, John Duval, PJ Charteris
Michael Nock:
Michael Nock is a wine aficionado. Originally from Australia, Michael moved to Hong Kong in the 1980s with a passion for big, bold Australian red wines, where he became enamoured with the city’s thriving premium wine market. Over time, he began to explore the subtleties and complexities of old-world wines, with a particular focus on the Burgundian style. The layered and elegant taste of Burgundy wines captivated Michael, leading him to develop an interest in Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from both the old and new worlds. As an art lover and painter, Michael saw similarities between the skill of winemaking and art-making, which inspired him to found Nockie’s Palette in 2009. He enlisted the help of renowned winemaker John Duval to create a top premium Shiraz, and he chose Central Otago as the location for his vineyard due to its reputation for producing exceptional Pinot Noirs. Michael shares the belief of wine critic Jancis Robinson that New Zealand has the potential to produce the world’s best Chardonnay.
John Duval:
John Duval is legendary in the Barossa Valley and for 17 years was chief winemaker for Australia’s largest wine company which included brands such as Penfolds. In 1997 he developed a new Shiraz for the group called Red Winemaking Trial or what is today the iconic RWT label. The collaboration between John and Nockies Palette began with the recognition that to make a great painting it is the artist who makes the decision of what combination of colours, tones and textures to apply to a surface. It is the artist who is the creator, using the best resources he can find, but ultimately it is his or her talent that makes something great. Similarly, with the making of wine, it is the artisan, the winemaker, who makes the decision of how to combine the essential elements of terroir, weather, viticulture and processing to make a great wine.
