Wine from Marlborough

A special place called Marlborough

New Zealand's largest and most famous wine region.

The combination of a cool yet high sunshine climate, low rainfall and free-draining, moderately fertile soil produces wines of unmatched intensity and aroma across a wide range of varieties and styles.

Marlborough put New Zealand on the international wine stage with its exquisite Sauvignon Blanc in the 1980s.

Key to Marlborough’s success is its ancient glacial deep free-draining stony soils. The extensive braided river system left a threaded legacy of stony sandy loam over very deep gravels.

Marlborough subregions

The diverse soils and meso-climates are revealing the three main subregions:

1. Southern Valleys: stretch across the valley floor and rise up towards the Wither Hills and Black Birch Range. The soils are older, heavier in clay, and hold more moisture than the Wairau Valley subregion. The rolling hills and valleys mean the majority of sites have good northerly orientation which assists ripening on this cooler, drier side of the Wairau Valley. Pinot Noir is widely planted in the Southern Valleys, often on the lower slopes of the rolling hills. This area provides a different flavour profile and structure due to the clay-based soils.
2. Wairau Valley: vineyards are planted in the old, gravelly, riverbed soils of the Wairau River which now form the base of the Richmond Range. The humps and hollows are very obvious down vine rows running from North to South, showing where the river has changed its course and flowed over many centuries. The soils here are naturally free draining and range from old stony riverbeds to fine, deep, alluvial soils. The Richmond Ranges and Wither Hills protect the Wairau Valley from incoming rain. They create a zone of high sunshine as clouds are buffered by the hills, preventing any rain from spilling over into the main valley.
3. Awatere Valley: Marlborough’s driest, coolest, and windiest subregion is also dominated by its river and flood plains. Flanked by Black Birch and the Kaikoura Ranges, the Awatere Valley is the most geographically distinct subregion and stretches a long way south to the edge of Marlborough’s Geographical Indication. Dramatic river terraces have been carved out, creating free draining sites with alluvial gravels along the banks of the river and clay and sandstone subsoils on the wider river plains. This terroir alongside cooler, winder conditions influence the profiles of wines produced here, making them highly regarded and distinctive.

Marlborough's wine produciton

Over 75% of NZ wine is produced in Marlborough. The superstar is the pungently aromatic, vividly pure Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It is New Zealand's signature wine.

1. Sauvignon Blanc (86%)
2. Pinot Noir (6%)
3. Pinot Gris (4%)
4. Chardonnay (3%)
5. Riesling (>1%)

Plantings: