Fresh artesian water at our Tory Street Site.

In the early 1900’s Moore Wilson’s Tory Street site was occupied by Thomson Lewis & Co., Wellington’s major soft drink producer of the era. Thomson Lewis Lemonade, Soda Water and their then famous Camroc Dry Ginger Ale were the mixers just about everyone used. In the 1920’s, the owner of the business  Mr. A.M. Lewis became convinced there was artesian water running underneath Tory Street. To test the theory Mr. Lewis employed Bill Brogden a renowned water diviner from the Manawatu.

Bill Brogden duly arrived at Tory Street and did indeed divine water on the site but was unable to estimate the depth - which he normally could for the relatively shallow bores he divined in the Manawatu. Undeterred Mr. Lewis employed the Richardson Drilling Company (also from the Manawatu and still in business today) to drill a test bore. At normal depth nothing was found but because of his faith in Bill Brogden, Mr. Lewis told them to keep drilling. Eventually at some 497ft they struck water, installed a pipe and Thomson Lewis now had their own continuous supply of pure artesian water.

The Tory Street water, from an underground river believed to originate in the Wairarapa, was used by Thomson Lewis to produce aerated soft drinks for the next 53 years or until the business was purchased by Coca Cola and the building sold. During that time the water was capable of flowing at 500 gallons an hour and was tasteless and odourless. Continuously monitored by the Health Department the water was always found to be remarkably pure and never needed filtering. The only time it ever discoloured was following the Murchison earthquake of 1929. When Thomson Lewis sold their business the bore was capped but the water is still accessible today inside the Moore Wilson building.

This story has been captured by renowned Manawatu artist Paul Dibble in the form of a sculpture which you’ll see in the Piazza of our Tory Street store.

Today the Artesian Bore is free for our customers to enjoy a quick drink or fill up a bottle to take home. We do ask that if you’re filling a bottle you make a donation for the Wellington Free Ambulance. Since we opened the bore in 2009 over $18,000 has been raised for the Wellington Free Ambulance.

Create this stunning Tropical Trifle Cake with Kate Marinkovich from Tomboy Cakery.

Woodhaven is a local Horowhenua business that was established in 1978. It is a family orientated business and its objective has always been to produce the best fresh produce possible. Started by John Clarke, he is now working together with his daughter Emma and son Jay leading special projects.

What this objective means is that Woodhaven quickly embrace advances that are proven to add freshness and quality to the products they grow. They grow as many as 12 different fresh veggies, the majority of which you will find at Moore Wilson Fresh. The veggies range from spring onions to fennel, as well as all the major green veggies such as spinach, cabbages,
cauliflowers and leeks.

From Moore Wilson’s perspective, Woodhaven’s proximity to Wellington is hugely important. Everything they grow for us travels only a minimal distance to reach our stores. Woodhaven have adopted the advanced principles of cool chain management so we know that all their produce is chilled immediately it is picked. Because we have  daily pick ups from Woodhaven in most cases the produce arrives at our stores within hours of being picked. As a result we believe we offer a level of freshness that is hard for anyone to beat.

It is John’s packhouse and team that feature in the fresh market produce area.

Recreate this beautiful spring dish from Jacob Brown and Sarah Bullock from The Larder in Miramar.

Founded in 2007, owners Ned and Mina became the Head Potatoes in 2010.  They have worked with a dedicated team of potato professionals, to cultivate Proper Crisps from seed to success.

The Proper Crisps story started 10 years ago when English couple Stuart and Kathryn Franklin decided New Zealand was being short-changed in the crisp market. They set up a fledgling business in a small food factory at Upper Moutere and Kiwis quickly fell in love with this hand crafted product, so much so they soon outgrew the premises.

However, for a couple who had poured all of their resources into starting a small business the success was a double edged sword. The business simply got too big too quickly for them so in 2011 they sold Proper Crisps to Mina Wilke-Smith and Ned Smith, who became the Head Potatoes.

Born in South Africa to an English father and a French mother, Mina’s love of food is driven by the European influences. From an early age she developed a love for different foods and travel.

Ned is a trained chef who started in the food business as a kid, where he started washing the floors in a neighbour’s restaurant. Moving to California saw him switching to a bakery where he developed into a commercial cheesecake business.

After many successful years in the bakery industry, Ned and Mina decided to sell their business and travel the world for two years before buying a home in Nelson in 2010.

Ned said they were looking for investment opportunities rather than buying a business to run.

They discovered Proper Crisps, later found the business was on the market and were eventually tempted into looking at it "because I am a foodie, not because we wanted to buy it and we found a nice little setup in Upper Moutere".

Having had a very successful food business in the United States that was based on similar philosophies Mina and Ned quickly saw the potential in this crisp producer.

Stuart and Kathryn set out to make the best crisps on the planet and Ned and Mina thought they had the perfect product.

At Proper Crisps they only use natural ingredients, their flavourings aren't a list of "e" numbers and artificial additives, just real Marlborough garlic with smoked, sweet paprika or maybe Marlborough sea salt with pure cider vinegar, and it goes without saying they use natural fresh, whole potatoes too.

They have developed the business into the fastest growing snack food business in New Zealand, but most importantly it is a family established and owned business.

"Building a company is like making a family of its own, we want to create an environment where we all work hard, have fun and we all make money, no one is clock watching, if it means staying an extra 15 minutes to complete a job they will, and be happy to do it because they feel they are part of the business," Mina says.

As one of New Zealand’s iconic wine companies Palliser Estate has a prestigious heritage and exciting future. It is an unlisted public company, proudly owned by a small number of loyal and passionate New Zealanders, who believe in investing in super premium producers.

“We are old school and we are proud of it, acting with honour, choosing to be strong leaders and practicing exceptional craftsmanship is par for the course at Palliser. We are avid pursuers of excellence. That’s never going to change. It’s who we are.”

The most important part of any vineyard (besides the people) is the land.

The Martinborough Terrace, where they grow their grapes, is a small but very special area of land located at the southern end of the North Island. Framed by the Ruamahanga and Huangarua Rivers which helped carve out the Terrace centuries ago. The land is a stony silt loam overlaying varying depths of ancient free draining river gravels. The climate is dry with frosts and strong winds challenging them at every turn but when the harvest comes all the hard work is more than worth it.

Palliser Estate own seven vineyards on the Terrace. Although they are within walking distance of each other they are all producing quite distinctive wine styles reflecting the differences in soils and micro climates. It’s a perfect combination that, for them, creates perfect wines.

Palliser isn’t just about their past, they are also planning ahead for their future history.
After completing the process of converting the Winery and Wharekauhau vineyards to organic management, other vineyards will follow in due course (OmSanti vineyard has begun conversion).They feel this will provide the truest representation of sense of place as well as improving the soil for future generations.