Palliser Estate

About Palliser Estate

Palliser Estate is based in the renowned Martinborough wine village. Palliser’s first grapes were harvested in 1989. Excellent ratings proof the perfect growing conditions in one of the best-known regions in New Zealand. Martinborough has the most wineries per ha in New Zealand. They are small, family-owned boutique wineries.

Palliser vineyards

Palliser Estate is well established as a leading winery in the ultra premium grape-growing region of Martinborough. They own six vineyards on the Martinborough Terrace. The vineyard has spread across 85 hectares that produces predominantly Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling.

“I came to Pinot Noir via New Zealand. The first time I ‘got’ Pinot was with a Palliser Estate Pinot Noir from 1996, if I recall correctly. Stunning stuff from Martinborough that opened my eyes to the wonder of this variety. ” – Dr. Jamie Goode
 

The Martinborough Terrace 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.

Martinborough’s fertile and free-draining soil was created over the course of 20,000 years, as the Ruamahanga River and its contributing rivers exposed stony sub-soils, built up layers of alluvial river terraces and cast its silty river loam across the landscape.

The Palliser vineyards are within walking distance of each other. But they all produce quite distinctive wine styles, reflecting the differences in soils and microclimates. Together, they create wonderful wines.

Sustainability

Palliser has been sustainably producing wine since the beginning because it was the right thing to do, for the land, the people, the community and business. Kaitiakitanga - the māori concept of guardianship and protection of earth, water and sky - was the catalyst for Palliser becoming one of the first wineries in New Zealand to adopt sustainable vineyard and winemaking practices in the early 1990’s. To continue to produce these great wines, Palliser puts a lot of effort to protect the environment. Excellent soil to produce excellent wines is only possible in a healthy, fertile environment.

They closely monitor and minimise all the impacts the winery has on the environment – from the sprays applied in the vineyard to all the packaging materials used. In 2009, they were the first CEMARS certified winery in the world.