THREE WINEMAKERS | ONE STANDARD | HAWKE'S BAY
The winemakers behind Radburnd Cellars
Radburnd Cellars is the work of three winemakers; Kate Radburnd, her daughter Penelope Radburnd, and Sara Macdonald.
Kate Radburnd, Founder & Managing Director
Kate Radburnd is one of New Zealand's most decorated winemakers, with a career spanning more than four decades in Hawke's Bay wine.
She arrived in New Zealand in 1983, fresh from Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia, and joined Vidal (then part of the Villa Maria Group) as a young winemaker. It was at Vidal she fell in love with New Zealand's cool-climate viticulture, a relationship that has defined her work ever since.
From Vidal, Kate moved to Pask Winery as winemaker, where she became a shareholder and Managing Director, leading Pask to become one of Hawke’s Bay’s most respected names.
Radburnd Cellars is the realisation of Kate's long-held vision, a winery built without compromise, where her full attention is given to crafting the best wines Hawke's Bay can offer.
Kate's Legacy
Today, Kate stands among the most awarded winemakers in New Zealand history. Her wines have won gold medals and trophies both nationally and internationally.
Kate is an inductee of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame and Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Hall of Fame, a Fellow of New Zealand Winegrowers, Senior Wine Judge, and former Chair of Judges for the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards for ten years. She has also held board roles with New Zealand Winegrowers and the Eastern Institute of Technology, served as a wine consultant to Air New Zealand for eight years, and played a pioneering role in the introduction of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ).
Kate also chaired both the Hawke’s Bay Charity Wine Auction and Women in Wine New Zealand for five years respectively, and is the recipient of the Sir George Fistonich Medal recognising her contribution to the New Zealand wine industry.
Penelope Radburnd, Winemaker & Director
With a decade of vintages across New Zealand, Australia and the United States, Penelope Radburnd has established herself as an esteemed winemaker in her own right.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology from the University of Adelaide in 2017, Penelope worked vintages with Craggy Range, Kumeu River and Clearview Estate – experiences that sharpened a particular passion for Chardonnay winemaking.
Penelope joined Radburnd Cellars in 2022 as Winemaker and Marketing Manager and has since stepped up to Director. In 2024, she released her first label under her own name, the Penelope range. She is also an active committee member of the Hawke's Bay Charity Wine Auction, continuing the family's long-standing involvement with the auction's work.
Sara Macdonald, Winemaker
Born in the UK, Sara Macdonald's curiosity and dedication to her craft have earned her a string of industry recognitions and the chance to work with some of the wine world's most celebrated names.
She was runner-up New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year in 2017, dux of her Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production at EIT Hawke's Bay, and has worked vintages with Moët & Chandon, Cloudy Bay and Monowai Estate.
At Radburnd, Sara has a particular interest in Chardonnay, drawn to the infinite ways a single variety can be expressed across site, season and oak. She's also the kind of winemaker whose favourite part of vintage is digging skins out of fermenters – and the wines are better for it.
“I couldn’t make the wines we make without a great team around me. Every step requires everyone to be totally dedicated – and we are. We all know what we’re doing is exactly what we want to do, the way we want to do it and it’s incredibly exciting.”
kate radburnd, founder & winemaker
