Wairarapa Wines… Serious Pulling Power
Would Wairarapa be Wellington’s favourite playground were the region not premier wine country? Yes, of course it would, the Wairarapa has so much to offer visitors, but there is no denying that just on its own, the region’s superb wines have serious pulling power.
Wine-thirsty Wellingtonians come in droves, Martinborough keyed into their GPS. There are around 40 wineries surrounding the town, plus a smorgasbord of eateries and places to stay. Just being a short drive over the Remutaka Hill, it’s also an easy destination.
There is no other wine region in New Zealand like Martinborough. Relative to other wine producing areas; wineries are small and largely family owned. Closely knitted together, getting from one vineyard to another is easy walking distance, or better still, a quick pedal with Cycling The Vines, popular among visitors.
Like all success stories, it began with a few bold and resilient visionaries willing to take a punt. A traditional meat producing area, government scientists in the late 1970’s identified the area as having wine growing potential. The soils and climate, they declared, mirrored that of Burgundy and were ideal conditions particularly for the Pinot Noir variety.
And so, paddocks became vineyards and within a few years Martinborough wines were winning accolades. Alongside the growth of the new-found wine success was an extraordinary transformation of the town and wider community. Cellar doors, vineyard restaurants and swanky accommodation, ‘Marty’ is more than just wine town, its fine dining and winding-down town.
The Martinborough wine region is actually one of three fine wine sub-regions of the Wairarapa, including Gladstone and Masterton. All are linked by the Ruamāhanga River which flows through the valley, but each has its own distinctive characteristics.
The smallest of the three regions, Masterton, can stake claim to being the first wine growing area of the region. William Beetham and his French wife, Hermanze, regarded as New Zealand's first commercial winemakers, planted the first known Wairarapa vineyard at Lansdowne, near Masterton, in 1883. A few years later Masterton was given the nod from the government’s wine expert, Romeo Bragato, only for its potential to be cut short by the arrival of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement.
Thankfully, commonsense prevailed, and today there are now over 60 wineries and vineyards in the Wairarapa, with the majority being in Martinborough. Wairarapa celebrates its wine heritage with a number of festivals: Toast Martinborough in late Spring, and Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival, as the name suggests, the end of Summer. If neither of these dates fit your schedule, don’t despair, this is a region that can be enjoyed 12-months of the year.
Whether you’re travelling SH2 north or south, Wairarapa is at the heart of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail. A great way to experience Martinborough is on a bike, there are loads available for hire. Grab a Wairarapa Wine Trail map with the cellar door info from the staff at the Martinborough i-SITE.