Journey on a guided tour with an experienced local guide to the Martinborough region from Wellington. After meeting your guide, you will enjoy a scenic drive over the Remutaka Ranges, with a brief stop at the summit, before descending into the Wairarapa region.
Sample from 3 of the 80 local vineyards including Moy Hall, B.wines and Margrain to name a few and enjoy a custom made lunch for the occasion. Meet Shawn Brown the master of Pinot noir who makes wine he loves to drink or Christine at B.wine and see how the Swiss have their angle on Burgundian winemaking.
Martinborough began in 1870 as the township of Wharekaka, close to the Māori settlement of Waihenga. In its first decade churches, a school, hotel, general store and post office opened. In 1879 John Martin, a wealthy local runholder, purchased neighbouring land and founded a new town, naming it after himself.
Martinborough was New Zealand's first Private town and was mainly settled by ambitious Scots who were accustomed to working the land with sheep and dairy farming.
After the discovery in 1986 that Martinborough was akin to Burgundy with climate and growing conditions the region developed a reputation for producing superior award-winning wine which is the talk of Wellington and the envy of more established wine regions worldwide.
“Martinborough is still widely considered to be one of the country's prime wine regions. Its claim to fame is the exceptional quality of its Pinot Noir wines, produced by some of the most highly regarded wineries in New Zealand.”