Marlborough

One of New Zealand's most innovative and delicious white wines, Chiaroscuro is a co-fermented field blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier and Gew?rztraminer, all harvested together and fermented together to create a wine of harmony where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Inspired by the great whites of the French Alsace winemaker Marcel Deiss. The name adds another twist to the story of this wine because it's an Italian word, meaning dark-light and referring to the contrast that the different grapes each bring to the table for this interesting full bodied dry white. 

Organic certification

The organic story at Seresin

One of the greatest things about Seresin Estate is the organic certification. This came relatively early on for Seresin, who was dismayed by the amount used and the impacts of man made chemicals, which were routinely and frequently sprayed on vines. His early adopting philosophy of organic certification paved a positive path for the integrity of the wines as well as leading others to follow suit.

Dry and deliciously good Kiwi roses don't get this good very often. If you notice Whitehaven Rose is paler pink than previously, it is and this wine also happens to be the driest style ever made, with under one gram of residual sugar per litre. It's made from earlier picked Pinot Noir grapes to retain fresh acidity. Minimum skin contact time provides a pale colour a lively red fruit flavours with a long finish.

The story of Whitehaven Wines

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery.

Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Nautilus Albarino is a limited edition wine made by Clive Jones at Nautilus winery where the cool temperature fermentation preserves the briny, salinity of Albarino's refreshing dry flavours. A brief period of ageing on yeast lees following fermentation adds a creamy balancing textural note to the taste and mouth feel of this lovely wine. 

The Albarino grape is originally from north west Spain and north west Portugal, where it's known as Alvarinho; same grape, different name. In Portugal it is used to make refreshing light bodied whites such as Vinho Verde and an increasing number of great dry single varietal white wines. 

Daniel le Brun is the first person to make traditional method sparkling wine (that's code for made the same way as champagne) in New Zealand. He has since sold his own brand name and created another sparkling wine company. 

This wine remains one of New Zealand's most loved and well known bubbles from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes grown in Marlborough. It has extended lees aging time to gain its fresh bakery flavours and long finish. A well known wine that delivers on body, dryness, depth of flavour - and all at such a modest price. No wonder it's a fave for so many New Zealanders.

Elemental Distillers - Distilled by our own fair hands from only six botanicals including Gisborne grapefruit, wild Kawakawa fruit, foraged gorse flower and organic Motueka hops.

We work closely with New Zealand independent farmers, foragers and cooperatives to ensure we get only the finest quality botanicals from those who know & grow them best.

It's easy to see why this wine has won gold medals in its long history; the intense aromatic appeal of Turkish Delight and old fashioned red roses is deliciously well balanced in this lovely white from Marlborough.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery. Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Koparepare Sauvignon Blanc represents Marlborough's most popular wine; it's fresh, it's crisp and it's a great match for seafood. Speaking of which, $1 from every bottle of Koparepare wine goes towards LegaSea, a not for profit organisation set up by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council in 2012 to raise awareness of the marine environment and inspire public support.

The name Koparepare is Maori for gift. 

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step - set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.

Winemaker Simon Waghorn is one of Marlborough's most experienced producers of high quality dry aromatic whites and, increasingly, of Pinot Noir, which is the grape used to make this lively, lovely, fresh and dry new Durvillea Rose. The pale pink colour comes from a short time on grape skins (aka minimal skin contact) which provides texture and body to this fresh, medium bodied pinkie. We love it. 

The story of Astrolabe... and Durvillea

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

A winner in so many ways from its dry, full bodied, zing to its outstanding freshness - this wine is released regularly as a freshly disgorged bottle of bubbles that pays homage to both Maori language with its lovely name; MiruMiru is Maori for bubbles, and also to French winemaking tradition. This blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier is made the same way as champagne. It spends 12 to 18 months on yeast lees and is freshly disgorged to retain its complexity and zing.  

Hunter's MiruMiru won top prize for New Zealand wines at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships for the third year in a row in 2023.

Koparepare Chardonnay shows just how excellent Marlborough's second most planted grape can be. It's creamy, refreshing, full bodied and offers great value for money. 

A portion of the sale of every bottle of Koparepare wines goes to support  LegaSea, a not for profit organisation set up by the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council in 2012 to raise awareness of the marine environment and inspire public support.

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step - set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.

Barrel fermentation adds a noticeably delicious depth of flavour to this zingy, dry and refreshing Chenin Blanc from one of those who know the grape like the back of their proverbial winemaking hand - Simon Waghorn. He is an ardent fan of Chenin and gives it all the bells and allows its own personality to shine in this wine. 

Grapes were grown on the sunny, north facing Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough with partial barrel ferment to add body while wild yeasts add savoury flavour notes. 

This is a deliciously complex Chenin at an extremely affordable price with flavours of green apples, liquid honey and notes of dried grass, which make it feel like a hot sunny day with a cool crisp dry white. 

This wine drinks beautifully now and can certainly age for up to a decade, potentially longer. Longevity is one of the hallmarks of the Chenin Blanc grape variety and the wines made from it.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Here's a Pinot Gris that tastes noticeably drier than many and is all about fresh pure, white fruit flavours of pear and peach. The refreshing acidity comes from the cooler climate grapes contained in the wine, which is made from a blend of grapes grown in three sub regions of Marlborough. The cool climate Awatere Valley has 73% with the remaining 17% from the Waihopai Valley and 10% from Kekerengu on the southern coast.

Grapes were fermented at cool temperatures to preserve fruit freshness and dry flavours. 

Residual sugar is 3.8 grams, making it dry in style - and also in flavour. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Winemaker David Clouston blended grapes from The Spring and Brookby Hill vineyards to make this full bodied, creamy, big Chardonnay, which was fermented using indigenous yeasts with lees stirring and full malolactic fermentation.

Maturation for 11 months aging in new and seasoned French oak barrels as well as a concrete egg adds smoothness and savoury flavours to this wine, which was bottled unfiltered. 

If you're a fan of big buttery styles of Chardonnay, try this taste sensation from Marlborough.

Albari?o is a classic Galician white grape variety from north western Spain, which thrives in New Zealand and tastes of fabulous aromatic lemon zest with green olive and freshly picked apple aromas. Forrest Estate winemaker Beth Forrest first encountered it in Spain and was smitten immediately. This led to Albarino being brought into New Zealand by Riversun Nurseries in Gisborne and, eventually, to growing in Marlborough where Beth and her famous winemaking father, John, Forrest, both love it and produce this fabulous dry white wine.

This wine shows all the classical Albari?o elements with a New Zealand touch of vibrant acidity, white peach, pear, apricots and quince, with an orange zest undertone.