A view of vineyards in New Zealand. [Photo/China Daily]

Against the wishes of his father he insisted on being a winemaker, and in 1961, aged 21, he leased 2 hectares of land from his father in Auckland, and with less than half an hectare of vines he registered the name Villa Maria Wines in the same year.

In those days winemaking was almost a marginal activity limited to small family-owned vineyards. It was not until the late 20th century that the New Zealand wine industry really began to take off.

"A lot of people don't know the foundation of the New Zealand wine industry was very much based on Croatian people, who started making wines and selling them," he says.

Indeed, apart from Villa Maria, Croatian and Dalmatian names are behind many of the best-known labels in Auckland today, including the Selaks and Babich.

In 1963 Fistonich's business was given a great fillip when his second vintage won second and third prizes in the Royal Easter Show, the premier annual agricultural exhibition of the day, and over the next 50 years Villa Maria grew from a one-man show into a global brand.