Winemaker
Ursula Schwarzenbach
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- Nelson, New Zealand
i. Biography
Owner and Marketing Manager at Blackenbrook Vineyard in Nelson, Ursula Schwarzenbach is the Swiss name attached to the estate’s identity, public voice, and measured approach in the cellar. She founded the vineyard in Tasman, Nelson, and has shaped it around stewardship and presentation, with an eco-conscious, soil-focused philosophy that favors restraint, intention, and close attention to place. The gravity-fed winery sits at the center of that approach, built to keep interference low and let the estate’s character come through with as little handling as possible. The effect is a style that reads as practical, polished, and tied closely to the land it works.
The Climb
Since 2001, Ursula Schwarzenbach has held the combined responsibilities of founder, owner, and Marketing Manager at Blackenbrook Vineyard. The role set points to both hands-on involvement and long-term continuity. From the outset, the estate has been built as a working expression of Tasman, Nelson: attentive to the soils under vine and to the seasons above them, rather than treated as a fixed project. That split between making the estate and presenting it gives Schwarzenbach a distinct position within the business. As owner, she shapes direction; as Marketing Manager, she shapes how the vineyard is described and understood. Those functions meet in the same place: Blackenbrook Vineyard, framed through a philosophy of clarity, restraint, and respect for process. The gravity-fed winery belongs in that logic as well, a practical choice that relies on natural flow rather than unnecessary intervention.
Today
The work remains centered on Blackenbrook Vineyard in Nelson, where Ursula Schwarzenbach continues as Owner and Marketing Manager. That position sits at the point where ownership, communication, and farming-and-cellar philosophy meet, turning the estate’s values into a public identity that is consistent and clear. It requires both oversight and detail: a way of holding the larger shape of the vineyard while keeping track of the elements that give it definition.
Recognition
Ursula Schwarzenbach’s recognition is tied to founding Blackenbrook Vineyard, as well as to the ownership and marketing leadership that followed. The association runs through the estate itself: her name is linked to the vineyard’s start in 2001 and to the ongoing work of defining how it looks, sounds, and is understood. The recognition, then, rests on continuity as much as title—on a long relationship with Blackenbrook Vineyard and with the eco-conscious principles that continue to guide it.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Ursula
What is Ursula Schwarzenbach's current role?
As of 2026, Ursula Schwarzenbach is Owner and Marketing Manager.
What is Ursula Schwarzenbach known for?
Champions an eco-conscious, soil-focused approach and uses a gravity-fed winery to minimize interference with natural processes.
