September 26, 2026

Who Makes Boulder Bay’s Wine? Justin does!

Justin Atkinson is the head winemaker/viticulturalist Marsden Winery. Here’s his story in his own words.

I studied Wine Making and Viticulture in Marlborough back in 2002/2003. From there I worked a few harvests as a cellar hand in New Zealand for Kim Crawford followed by a year in Margaret River, West Australia. 

My partner and I decided to go traveling and South America was our main destination of choice. I had a winemaking job in Chile working for Vina Santa Carollina for two years which was an amazing experience, learning Spanish and living a completely different way of life. From there we did a stint in Canada’s Okanagan Valley where we both worked for Jackson Triggs & Inniskillin winery where we had the opportunity to make Ice wine.

After travelling around, it was time to come home. I had a position at Sacred Hill Winery in Hawkes Bay for a year and then a full-time position became available at Kirkpatrick Estate in Gisborne, so I took it. I love surfing so it only made sense to move to the beach. Four years in Gisborne and a new baby, we decided to move back north to be close to the grandparents. I landed a job at Marsden Winery working for Rod and Cindy MacIvor. They have since sold the business and I have continued as the head winemaker/ viticulturalist. I have now been here for fourteen years, so I have a good grasp on Northland wine. 

We are the main contract winemaking facility north of Auckland and have about thirty clients, Boulder Bay being one of them. Boulder Bay’s vineyard is unique, being based out on Moturoa Island in the heart of the Bay of Islands. It is a great location for a vineyard and being coastal has much less humidity, it is hot, and it has good, constant airflow. Each year the grapes arrive to the winery via barge and truck which is logistically quite challenging!

The great thing about making wine and growing grapes in Northland is that unlike most other regions, we have so many varying soil types and so many different micro-climates due to the topography of the land here. We get to ripen and see varieties that other wine regions in New Zealand do not often see and one vineyard can produce completely different tasting wines to another vineyard even if they are only two kilometres apart.