MEDIA CONTACT: Suzanna Mannion [email protected] (707) 849-4234

Dr. David J. Teece

Mt. Beautiful Founder David Teece is the quintessential Kiwi: curious, adventuresome and utterly devoted to his home country. His family arrived in in the 1860s from Shropshire, England, eager to seize fresh opportunities in a country undergoing a massive gold rush. They landed in Lower Moutere, an area known for hops, sheep and dairy at the time, but which has since become regarded as an excellent region for viticulture.

Being raised by generations of farmers shaped David's work ethic, resourcefulness and business acumen from an early age; being a New Zealand boy through and through instilled in him a deep love of the outdoors, along with the desire to experience everything this rugged, expansive landscape offered. “It’s almost impossible not to be outdoorsy when you are in New Zealand,” David declares, recalling times spent boating, fishing, hiking and the occasional hair-raising river crossing by what he describes as “hanging on for grim death” to a set of wires.

That rough-and-tumble New Zealand boy grew up to be one of the world's most highly cited scholars in business and economics. In addition to founding Mt. Beautiful Wines and Teece Family Vineyards & Farms, David J. Teece is the Tusher Professor in Global Business at the University of California, Berkeley’s . He is also the director of Tusher Center for Intellectual Capital. David has authored over 30 books and 200 scholarly papers, and he is co-editor of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of .

The seeds for his successes were planted on his family farm, where he observed the entrepreneurial process first-hand. His father identified a need for reliable transportation from outlying farms to the marketplaces in the cities, and launched a trucking company that would do just that.

But his father's eye for opportunity didn't stop with heavy machinery. The empty quarter-acre plot next to their Blenheim home begged to be made into a profit center. David's father provided the seeds, David and his brother Bruce provided the labor—and a small family farm was born, with the profits split three ways. This farming venture led to David saving a tidy sum early on, whetting his natural instincts for economics. “I remember I took a chunk of my savings and went into the utility and asked to buy bonds—and I could hardly see over the counter! The teller asked me, ‘Did your parents say it was ok?’ But they sold me a bond!”

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David's natural curiosity and ability to recognize options and opportunities also made him an excellent student. His love of a course called Economic Geography sparked his interest in both economics and geology. But, he says, “I have to give accidental credit to my brother who was studying a Leland Bach book on economics and left it open on the dining table when I was 16. I picked up his book to start reading and said to myself, ‘this is jolly good stuff.’” The incident ignited a passion for the study of Economics, which he majored in along with Geology at the .

David would eventually have the opportunity to meet Bach, who became his mentor. The rest, as they say, is history, and David is now recognized by Accenture as one of the world's Top 50 Business Intellectuals.

But for a kid raised in the stunning natural landscape of New Zealand, a call to the land is, for David, "visceral." This love of nature, combined with his fervent belief that New Zealand makes some of the most captivating products in the world, evolved in David's mind as an opportunity to start a winery unlike any New Zealand had ever seen.

But where? As an Economist, David jokes that if something hasn't already been done, then it's likely not worth doing—and he wondered if for New Zealand, “the vineyard game was over.” Fortunately, David's friend Ron Sutherland was a geologist and vineyard consultant, and he had, quite literally, walked almost every inch of the northern part of the South Island.

David only wanted to plant in a place that offered something he couldn't find anywhere else and where no one had tried viticulture before. He and Ron started exploring, and about two years later, Ron called and said the fateful words, "I think I found something."

The general area was familiar to David, who had driven, biked and walked there during his University days in nearby . “I was initially skeptical,” he recalls. “I remembered it as rather hardscrabble and hardly meritorious from a landscape perspective." But when Ron discovered 23 different soil types in this small area, plus an array of microclimates that could be utilized for very specific clones, the tables turned.

There were a lot of unknowns, but Ron felt strongly that this place had vineyard potential unlike any other. David weighed the idea. “The nearest weather station was three or four miles away and that’s inaccurate because of microclimates all over the vineyard. We didn’t have a good way of recording risk of frost or heat days, so we made rough approximations. But at some point, you have to decide are you going to collect information or put a stake in the ground first and take the risk?” The final answer was, take the risk.

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The result is one of the most compelling winery stories to come out of New Zealand in the past twenty years. An internationally recognized scholar with a profound love of his heritage has applied the lessons he learned throughout a life of farming, study and achievement to build a winery destined to serve as New Zealand's most elegant ambassador to the world. He has poured every bit of his heart, soul and business savvy into Mt. Beautiful, attracting the best people, relying on only proven sustainable practices and crafting sublime New Zealand wines.

David Teece lives in Berkeley, CA with his wife Leigh, who is Founder and is Chair of World Mentor, a global web-based mentoring program for companies, educational institutions, and NGOs. She also serves as President of the Teece Family Foundation, which focuses on supporting educational excellence in universities and high schools. The couple has four children: Jocelyn, Teddy, Austin and Dennis.

June 2016 MEDIA CONTACT: Suzanna Mannion [email protected] (707) 849-4234

Beautiful wine comes from a beautiful place Mt. Beautiful wines are the expression of the wild, rugged and breathtakingly scenic region of North Canterbury, New Zealand. Only seven miles from the ocean, the vineyards are protected from harsh sea winds by their benevolent namesake, Mt. Beautiful. World-renowned scholar/entrepreneur and New Zealand native David Teece, together with his wife Leigh, spent two years searching for just this spot, where they could pioneer an undiscovered region and fulfill their dream of bringing the best of New Zealand to the world. Today, the fruit of their mission is a portfolio of certified-sustainable, estate-grown, and distinctively restrained wines that let the pure terroir shine through.

Inspired by New Zealand One of the world’s most highly cited scholars in business and economics, founder David Teece credits his New Zealand boyhood for his continuing deep connection to the land, farming and community. David’s first business was a small plot of his father’s land, where he and his brother grew and sold lettuce, cabbages, raspberries, boysenberries, garlic and onions. Only about 10 years old, the future economist noted the volatility of the garlic market and changed from selling whole bulbs to packages of cloves, with much success. Although he is known today as one of the world's Top 50 Business Intellectuals (according to Accenture) David feels his roots are in New Zealand farming and describes his feelings about farming as "visceral." …continued… Page 2 of 4 A hunch—and a mission two years in the making David and Leigh hold a deep-rooted belief that “New Zealand features the best products in the world, and the world should experience them.” With that in mind, they began to consider how to invest in David’s homeland in a way that would allow them to be dedicated guardians of the land, support their community, and in the process bring a bit of New Zealand’s magic to the world.

With degrees in both Economics and Geology, David had a hunch about the New Zealand wine business: that while Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir had become well established, not all the good viticulture land in New Zealand had been discovered yet. He explains, “From the beginning, I was highly aware of the fact that wine is a different kind of industry. So to do what others already do made no sense.” Determined not to “go where others had already gone,” he turned to vineyard consultant Ron Sutherland, an old friend from his University of Canterbury years.

Eschewing popular regions such as Marlborough and Central Otago, David and Ron began combing the northernmost fringe of the South Island’s North Canterbury region. After two years of searching, they discovered an area with great variety in the soils and microclimates, and abundant water. “It’s incredibly interesting from a topographical kind of view,” David remarks.

It’s lonely at the top In this untested region located about an hour and a half north of Christchurch and at the very top of the up-and-coming North Canterbury appellation, David and Leigh purchased four contiguous farms from 2003-2004. Planted to vines between 2003–2005, Mt. Beautiful became the first vineyard of a commercial size to be planted outside of an established New Zealand region in 20 years.

And to date, it is still the only one in the area and is likely to remain so: there simply aren't sites remaining within North Canterbury that could mimic the diverse topographical, climate and soil qualities of the Mt. Beautiful vineyards. To put it in perspective, the closest commercial winery to Mt. Beautiful is as far away as the town of Napa is from Santa Rosa—a distance of some 37 miles (60 kilometers).

In addition to winegrowing, the property is home to a diverse working farm four times the size of the vineyard that includes arboriculture (growing pine nut trees), a variety of crops, and a high quality sheep and beef finishing farm.

The “hand of God” David recalls the first time he flew in to see the property after the team started putting vines in. “The actions of man can sometimes improve what’s in nature, and this vineyard is something even better than I even imagined,” he says. “It was haphazard and scrappy before. But when I flew over the rows of vines, it looked like the hand of God had come down and stroked the landscape.” …continued…

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The vineyard sits in a unique spot between two braided rivers that is punctuated by a deep, old riverbed which divides it, affectionately called "The Chasm." With 23 different soil types and numerous microclimates, the vineyard team has chosen rootstocks and clones with care, matching each to the most suitable parcel.

As befits David and Leigh’s commitment to New Zealand and to David’s heritage, Mt. Beautiful is a certified-sustainable and long-term project that focuses on the adoption of sustainable practices to preserve the landscape for generations to come.

New winery built for Vintage 2015 Having established the vineyard in 2003–2005, Mt. Beautiful began making wine in tiny quantities in 2007. Since then the wine volume has steadily increased as the vineyard has matured. The new winery was built for the 2015 vintage and represents the next step in Mt. Beautiful’s evolution.

For consulting winemaker Sam Weaver, it’s a huge step forward to bring the ultimate level of control to the whole winemaking process back to the vineyard. “It’s been really exciting to have the flexibility and control to make snap decisions about picking different blocks of fruit and simply just taking them to the on-site winery,” he notes.

About the wine style Mt. Beautiful wines are not only different from most New Zealand wines by way of their North Canterbury location, but they are also different in style. The wine style captures the essence of New Zealand while embracing a more restrained approach, with harmony and balance: • Sauvignon Blanc that restrains grassiness while playing up the decadent tropical flavors and crisp finish • Riesling offering a textural adventure of bright acidity and off-dry floral and citrus flavors • Opulent, round Pinot Gris showing apples, pears and a touch of honey • Velvety yet crisp Chardonnay with notes of stone fruits and persistent minerality • Subtle, sophisticated Pinot Noir featuring black cherry and violet aromas

Consulting winemaker Sam Weaver describes the winemaking style as clean wines with "drive" and length of flavor. They show abundant fruit but “pull in the reins” to manage it with more balance.

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The Label Mt. Beautiful’s label features the handwriting of Allan Teece, long deceased father of owner David Teece. When Allan served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in North Africa, Palestine and Italy from 1940 to 1945 he wrote letters home to his family. These letters became the visual inspiration for the design of the Mt Beautiful label, which is composed from different fragments of his writing.

By creating a global brand that serves as an ambassador to this uniquely beautiful spot—and New Zealand as a whole—the winery’s owners are looking to build a world-wide community of Mt. Beautiful friends, fans and supporters.

June 2016

MEDIA CONTACT: Suzanna Mannion [email protected] (707) 849-4234

Mt. Beautiful Vineyards

Two years of diligent research unearthed the plots of land that would be woven together to become Mt. Beautiful—and this patient search was well worth the effort. A world renowned business intellectual and proud New Zealand native, David Teece and his American wife, Leigh, were on a mission to find a place—yet untouched by vines and “off the radar” of the wine industry—that possessed unique characteristics unlike any other vineyard site in New Zealand. Their purpose? To pioneer an undiscovered region and in the process build a winery that could serve as an inspiring global ambassador for New Zealand’s beauty and the quality of its products.

A piece of history What David and Leigh discovered was a hardscrabble piece of land in the South Island's North Canterbury region, located at the base of the Southern Alps, with the Seaward Kaikoura Range to the North and the Pacific Ocean seven miles to the East. It was in this very spot that William "Ready Money" Robinson bought a massive parcel, called "The Cheviot Estate," with a bag full of cash in 1856. This unusual exchange became known as the largest and most spectacular transaction of the kind ever undertaken in New Zealand. In 1893, however, the New Zealand government stepped in to divide this huge plot into smaller plots, which they sold off to encourage more small family farms in the region. …continued… Page 2 of 3

The history of this singular location, and the desire to reconnect formerly disconnected parcels, might have been enough to inspire David and Leigh to transform the land into vineyards. But this rugged outpost, with impressive views of the snow-covered Southern Alps also promised to be a thrilling vineyard site. Embracing the adventure, David and Leigh purchased four farms between 2003-2004 and planted them to vines from 2003-2005.

Pioneers take the arrows There were risks in putting down stakes in an untested parcel but the "knowns" were risky, too: powerful nor'westers that blow through unexpectedly (and stay for weeks at a time), scorching summers (with very little rainfall, if any) and winter frosts. It's a coarse and weather-beaten patch highlighted by deep chasms, flat spaces, slopes and hills—the kind of landscape that attracts pioneering types (now counting a globally-recognized economist among them). But the risks have paid off in spades.

Discovering 23 different soil types was just the beginning. Mt. Beautiful had other advantages: an array of diverse microclimates ideal for planting a range of varietals; the 1392-foot Mt. Beautiful, which protects vines from blasts of seaward winds; and the temperature-balancing influences of two rivers, the Waiau (North) and Hurunui (South).

The property features Phoebe soils: very deep, well-drained soils formed in glacial outwash mixed with volcanic ash and loess. In their research of every inch of the land, the team has also located a preponderance of limestone. Those looking to craft memorable Pinot Noir believe this is the holy grail of soil, known for its role in producing the great Burgundian wines.

Careful Clone Selection The benefits of having different clones of a particular grape varietal are many, ranging from flavor, color, bunch size, and berry size to tannins, phenolics, ability to grow and ripen, and susceptibility to diseases, drought, and frost.

In consideration of the diverse microclimates and soil profiles of the vineyard, the team approached clone selection carefully. Today the vineyard features almost 30 selections with six in Pinot Gris, three in Chardonnay, four in Riesling, four in Sauvignon Blanc and over 10 clonal selections in just Pinot Noir plantings.

Although Mt. Beautiful’s Sauvignon Blanc is its highest production wine (approximately 15,000 cases per year), the total Sauvignon Blanc volume produced from the Canterbury winegrowing region as a whole amounts to only 2% of that produced by its more renowned Marlborough neighbor. One of Mt. Beautiful’s commitments to developing North Canterbury as a respected winegrowing region is to produce wines that are distinctive from those produced in Marlborough. In doing so, they have planted a mix of clones that tend to give a definite lift to Sauvignon Blanc, with less cut grass and more tropical flavors providing a more artisan style, balanced, and elegant wine which compliments a range of foods.

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In addition to distinguishing their Sauvignon Blanc, the team at Mt. Beautiful is seizing the opportunity to create a unique flavor profile for their Pinot Noir, since there is no "New Zealand style" expectation for the variety. This also happens to be the second most heavily planted variety in the vineyard, representing 22 hectares (54.3 acres) and more than 90,000 vines. The Pinot Noir plantings feature a mix of clones specifically chosen for their flavor, with 50% of the vineyard planted in Burgundy clones. The aim of these selections is to build sound palate structure, providing a vibrant ruby-hued wine with ripe fruit, subtle tannins, great length and persistence of flavor.

Commitment to sustainability Sustainable farming methods are a core value behind Mt. Beautiful's success; the vineyards and winery are certified-sustainable. In the vineyard, the team uses minimal input—they tread very carefully, using things like motorbikes to pull the mowers and harvesting by hand. Lush ground cover acts as host plants for parasitic wasps that naturally keep pests under control. Flowers and other plants attract beneficial insects in and around the grapevine rows. Additionally, after these helpful plants have flowered and served their purpose, their organic matter adds nutrients to the soil.

With diverse growing conditions, highly coveted soil, meticulously nurtured vineyard and a brand new winery, Mt. Beautiful has embarked on a path many winemakers could only dream of. The result? Certified-sustainable, estate-grown wines that are the expression of this wild and rugged region, with distinctively restrained aromatic and flavor profiles that let the pure terroir come through.

June 2016