Marlborough

It’s been said that there's no wine anywhere in the world that tastes like the wine of Marlborough in terms of its balance of purity and intensity of flavors.

With over 23,000 hectares of grapes under vine, Marlborough is responsible for 76% of NZ’s wine production, including our much acclaimed New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. The warm, dry summers and cool-to-freezing night time temperatures make these wines truly unique.

Marlborough is made up of two sub regions: the Wairau Valley & the Awatere Valley. Wairau is the bigger of the two and tends to have warmer and richer soils, crafting juicy fruit-driven wines with tropical flavours. The Awatere valley is slightly cooler, crafting more herbaceous wines with higher acidity.

The Wine

• Marlborough put New Zealand on the international wine stage with its exquisite Sauvignon Blancs that are pungently aromatic, vividly pure fruit, herbaceous and exotically tropical with mineral depths.
• Pinot Noir are going from strength to strength displaying dark cherry and plum with a red-fruit spicy background, mid-weight and fine tannins.
• The small production of high-quality Méthode Traditionelle wines is critically renowned. The bright citrus fruit with fine body and acidity provides excellent value for world class quality.
• Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer reflect the region’s purity and vivacity. Styles range from dry to sweet, taut to lush, including late harvest and botrytised wines.
• Marlborough produces well-structured Chardonnay with excellent intensity and complexity. Stone Fruit and citrus abound.
• Grüner Veltliner shows promise, Viognier and Syrah have their champions too; everything from Arneis to Tempranillo is being explored as Marlborough continues to push its boundaries.
  
  

Visiting Marlborough

Days spent here are filled with wine tastings, brunches & lunches at any one of the 33 cellar doors. Explore the native bush, look out for tui, bellbirds, fantails and the native kingfisher. Find joy in the vines at the annual Marlborough Wine & Food festival.

For craft beer aficionados, there are boutique breweries to visit. International chefs are drawn to the high quality ingredients and lifestyle here, cooking up plenty of succulent seafood: King (Chinook) salmon, scallops, crayfish, Greenshell Mussels, oysters, clams, blue cod and snapper.