Martinborough is home to some of the country’s finest Pinot Noir producers: Ata Rangi, Dry River, Escarpment and Schubert for starters.
These producers have put this tiny town on the wine world’s map – don’t blink if you pass through Martinborough or you’ll miss it. The population is just 1300 but it has three hairdressers, a cinema and more antiques shops than the permanent population can sustain – thank God for wine tourism.
The wine-producing region encompassing Martinborough and the nearby towns of Gladstone and Masterton is Wairarapa.
While many wine lovers have heard of Martinborough but the Wairarapa isn’t so easy to get your head – or tongue – around. Just to make it even more complicated for non-New Zealanders, they throw in another wine producing region with almost the same letters – Waipara.
Even Kiwis are confused. Paul Mason, winemaker at Martinborough Vineyards, admits: “When I grew up in Auckland, I didn’t know where Wairarapa was!”
Realizing that the Wairarapa might need a bit of an image boost, the region’s producers are now collaborating to raise its profile with its first regional tasting.
Mason explains that the climate is similar to Marlborough, and remains relatively dry – on average it receives 700mm of rainfall each year – thanks to the nearby ranges (that are also pretty unpronounceable) acting as a rain shadow.
There’s even an embryonic attempt to explore sub-regionality between Martinborough, Gladstone and Masterton. However, there appear to be more similarities than differences: same grape varieties, same climate, same soil.
John McNab of Gladstone-based Fairmount Estate, says: “Most of you know Martinborough but we are an emerging sub-region. The soils are very similar: free draining, alluvial on the old river bed, low lying generally. We normally have a cool spring, hot and dry summer, and long dry autumn. There’s not a lot of difference climatically between the sub regions. Masterton maybe takes a little more rain.”
Tasting 30 Pinots from around the region, it does seem too early to make any judgments on the basis of sub-regional sensory characteristics. There does appear to be more floral/violet characteristics and a finer texture in the wines of Martinborough than the towns to its north – perhaps due to the soils but it’s too early to make any sweeping statements.
The hand of the winemaker plays a significant role in the style of the wines, as much as place of origin – whether that’s bacon fat nuances imparted by oak or greater savory perception from no fining nor filtering.
The Wairarapa chapter is just starting to be written.
