Our allocation of Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is always limited, and it always sells out. Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is a Pinot Noir from the Bannockburn area of Central Otago, made by Yoshi and Kyoko Sato. It is fermented on wild yeast with only a trace of sulphur added at bottling. It suits anyone who likes Central Otago Pinot Noir made with a light touch.
This is Sato's Bannockburn Pinot Noir from the 2025 vintage, a season Central Otago growers describe as moderate and dry. Cool nights through ripening helped the grapes hold on to their natural acidity.
It is a good way into the Sato wines. Yoshi and Kyoko Sato buy Pinot Noir from organically farmed vineyards in Bannockburn to sit alongside the wines from their own estate on Mount Pisa.
Food to enjoy this with
Central Otago Pinot Noir is best enjoyed with good food. Good matches include:
- Roast lamb with rosemary and garlic
- Seared duck breast with a berry sauce
- Mushroom and thyme pie
- Grilled salmon
- Pork and fennel sausages
- Teriyaki chicken: Pinot Noir's gentle tannin suits the sweet-savoury glaze
Who makes it
Sato is the work of Yoshiaki (Yoshi) and Kyoko Sato. They met in 1998 while working for a Japanese bank in Tokyo, and spent more than 10 years in banking in Tokyo and London. In 2006 they moved to New Zealand to study viticulture and winemaking at Lincoln University. Both started their wine careers at Felton Road under Blair Walter. Yoshi went on to make wine at Mount Edward from 2009. That was also the year of the first Sato wine: 190 cases of Pinot Noir. Kyoko spent 12 years at Felton Road before joining Sato full-time in 2018.
Their training also took them to natural and biodynamic producers in Europe, including Jean-Pierre Frick in Alsace, Jean-Yves Bizot and Domaine Matassa. At Sato every fermentation runs on wild yeast. No sulphur is added during winemaking, and only a trace (10 to 15 parts per million) goes in just before bottling. About 60% of the wine comes from their own vineyard. The rest comes from organically farmed vineyards in Bannockburn and Bendigo.
About the vintage
Joelle Thomson's overview of the 2025 Central Otago vintage describes a frost in early November, right at flowering, which trimmed yields a little. Superb weather through the rest of flowering gave a good fruit set. The summer stayed moderate and dry, with no extremes of heat or cold.
Warm days and cooler nights let the grapes keep very good acidity, which growers in the report linked to longevity. Yields ended up very similar to 2023 and 2024, only marginally down.
Technical details
| Winery: |
Sato Wines |
| Wine: |
Bannockburn Pinot Noir |
| Vintage: |
2025 |
| Variety: |
Pinot Noir |
| Region: |
Bannockburn, Central Otago |
| Country: |
New Zealand |
| Fermentation: |
Wild yeast |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is available from our winenz.com website. For delivery within New Zealand, buy it from thewineryonline.co.nz. You can also buy it at our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores (7–9 Ballarat Street, Queenstown and 27 Ramshaw Lane, Arrowtown), alongside a large range of New Zealand and international wine. On both websites and in both stores you can build a mixed case from a large range of wines, and if you are visiting from overseas, we can ship it home for you.
Questions we are often asked
Who makes Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025?
Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is made by Yoshiaki (Yoshi) and Kyoko Sato, who trained at Felton Road and have made Sato wines in Central Otago since 2009.
What was the 2025 vintage like in Central Otago?
Joelle Thomson's vintage overview describes an early November frost that trimmed yields slightly, then a moderate, dry season with cool nights that kept very good acidity in the grapes.
Does Sato use wild yeast?
Yes. Every Sato fermentation runs on wild yeast, and only a trace of sulphur (10 to 15 parts per million) is added just before bottling.
Where does Sato source its Bannockburn fruit?
Alongside their own estate vineyard on Mount Pisa, Yoshi and Kyoko Sato buy fruit from organically farmed vineyards in Bannockburn and Bendigo.
Where can I buy Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025?
The Winery ships Sato Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 internationally from winenz.com to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, and delivers within New Zealand from thewineryonline.co.nz. You can also buy it in our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores, at 7–9 Ballarat Street, Queenstown and 27 Ramshaw Lane, Arrowtown.
