Liquorland said stores around the country had also been inundated with customers wanting to honour the Jurassic Park star through his acclaimed winery.
Two Paddocks general manager Jacqui Murphy said said sharing wine had always been central to Sir Sam Neill’s philosophy. Photo / George Heard
At Liquorland Waiuku, one woman waited outside 10 minutes before opening to ensure she didn’t miss out on a bottle she planned to share with her best friend.
The pair had “many memories of sharing bottles of Two Paddocks”, one of their favourite Central Otago wines.
At Liquorland Albert St in Auckland, another customer asked staff about the winery and its different varieties before settling on the estate pinot noir.
She returned less than 10 minutes later to buy a second bottle as a gift, after saying she had only discovered the brand following Neill’s death.
Data provided to the Herald by wine marketplace Wine-Searcher showed global searches for Two Paddocks, which had typically sat between 700 and 1300 a month over the past year, climbed to almost 7000 in July.
Sir Sam Neill’s winery, Two Paddocks, is based in Central Otago, with its home vineyard and winery at Earnscleugh, just outside Alexandra. Photo / Ross Coffey
Daily searches jumped from around 10 to 35 a day before July 13 to 1864 on the day Neill’s death was announced – a roughly 70-fold increase.
At the same time, the number of bottles of Two Paddocks available for sale through New Zealand retailers fell by about 31% in the week after Neill’s death, suggesting stock was quickly snapped up before retailers began restocking.
Globally, the number of bottles available fell about 16%.
Murphy said Neill would have been touched by the outpouring.
“He would be really delighted to have seen this,” she said.
Sir Sam Neill’s passion for winemaking lives on, with fans raising a glass to the beloved actor. Photo / George Heard
“At Two Paddocks, we want to thank everybody for the show of support. We understand and empathise with how many people have been affected by Sam’s death.”
Many of the messages had come from visitors who had toured the vineyard over the years.
“A lot of messages [are] from people that have visited the farm and know the place and understand what Sam was trying to achieve with his Two Paddocks vineyards and winery,” Murphy said.
Murphy said sharing wine had always been central to Neill’s philosophy.
“He was a great advocate for people sharing a great bottle of wine around the table, always with food, always with friends and family,” she said.
“He thought we could drink less, but drink better, and Two Paddocks really fits along that model.”
She said the winery had been able to meet the sudden increase in demand because of its long-standing distribution network.
Sir Sam Neill founded Two Paddocks in Central Otago in 1993, building the winery into one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed pinot noir producers. Photo / George Heard
“It’s difficult to fulfil sudden and significant sales spikes unless you have extremely good distribution of the wines throughout the country,” she said.
“Thankfully, Two Paddocks has great distribution.”
Negociants New Zealand, which has distributed Two Paddocks domestically for more than 16 years, also reported an increase in orders from retailers.
General manager Dean McHenry confirmed there had been “a slight upswing in demand”.
“We have placed slightly more orders than we would have traditionally at the same time, just due to the orders that we’re receiving from our own customers,” he said.
McHenry said Neill’s connection to the winery was genuine and long-standing.
“It’s not like some celebrities just got a bit of money and decided to build a winery. It’s something that’s in his DNA,” he said.
“He loves pinot noir and he loves riesling … the wines are very authentic.”
McHenry said he was not surprised by the public response.
“The public wants to celebrate his life, and they know that his wine is available to do that with.”
The Winery New Zealand Ltd founder and owner Rick Nelson said both his company’s domestic and international websites had seen a very steady stream of orders, and it sold out of several Two Paddocks ranges last week.
Nelson said orders had predominantly been shipping to the USA, Australia and the UK.
“Speaking with a couple of customers the other day, they had selected Two Paddocks off the wine list at a restaurant the night before, and came into our Arrowtown store to purchase and send back to Australia … People are certainly seeing it as a way to connect.”
Independent retailer Glengarry Wines said it had also experienced increased demand.
Family business manager Aroha Jakicevich said the response had been heartfelt rather than frantic.
“We have seen a moderate increase in demand following the news, with a noticeable lift in both sales and customer enquiries,” she said.
“It has not felt like a sudden rush or panic buying.
“Rather, long-time customers have been returning to the wines, while others are choosing a bottle as a way of acknowledging Sir Sam and his contribution to New Zealand wine.”
Neill’s death has also prompted an outpouring of support for causes he championed during his lifetime. Sustainable Tarras, the group opposing a proposed open-cast gold mine near the actor’s Central Otago home, has received a surge in donations and new supporters since his death.
Sustainable Tarras said the organisation had been “heartened, but not at all surprised, by the outpouring of affection for Sam”, with many people signing up and donating in his honour.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.
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