Welcome to our cellar doors

In Martinborough, a number of tasting rooms are just a stroll or leisurely bike ride from your accommodation. Grab your wine map from the i-SITE or any cellar door and head for experience the region at these cellar doors:

Click here to check out the Winter hours for our cellar doors.

  • At Te Kairanga, visitors are welcomed seven days a week into the tasting room, the refurbished 140-year old cottage built by John Martin, founder of Martinborough. Pick up a t-shirt or hat to go with your wine purchase.
  • Down the road at Vynfields, Kaye and John won the title of ‘Organic Producer of the Year’ in 2009 from the national organics organisation. The award recognises their strong commitment to organic and bio-dynamic principles plus a Gold medal for their 2006 Pinot at the national Romeo Bragato wine awards, the first organic wine to do so.
  • Marion Deimling is your host at Schubert Wines where German ex-pat Kai Schubert is turning out an intriguing range of wines. The 2008 Pinot Noir Block B has won the Trophy for best overall NZ Pinot at the 2010 International Wine Challenge in London. The 2008 Pinot Noir Marion's Vineyard also won Gold.

    And don’t overlook the Tribianco, made from chardonnay, pinot gris and müller-thurgau – no, that last one is not a typo. This blend is crisp and dry, well-structured and flavourful, with hints of mandarins, apricots and honey. Try it as an alternative to a straight pinot gris.

  • Next door to Schubert, Toby is the perfect host at Tirohana Estate, with its charming cottages (and five-star accommodation). Beautifully sited in the vines, and with the Cellars restaurant next door, Tirohana’s cellar-door is cool and the wines are hot!
  • Next stop is Ata Rangi, one of the region’s founding vineyards and still the international flagship for Martinborough pinot noir. (Their name means ‘new beginning’.) The chardonnays, rieslings and rosé are just as good as the pinots, and for a supple, unctuous alternative do sample the Célèbre, a cab/merlot/syrah blend, now in its 22nd year.
  • Right on the corner is Margrain Vineyard, well known for their interesting range of wines, such as the piquant chenin blanc, the only one made in the region, their pinot rosé and the fragrant gewürztraminer.
  • Tim Coney is a delightful host at Coney Wines, a little further out of town, to the south. For a real treat, plan your tasting around lunch time so you can relax a while at the Trio Café.
  • If you are looking for a more in depth vineyard experience why not take a Grape to Glass Tour at Murdoch James Estate. For just $35 per person, take a personalised tour hosted by either the winemaker or owner of Murdoch James Estate. Start amongst the vines and taste as you go, learning about the unique growing features of the Murdoch James Vineyard. Continue to the underground barrel caves on this fun and educating tour! 11.30 daily - book at the Martinborough i-SITE 06 306 5010. Afterwards enjoy a delicious lunch at Bloom Restaurant, open daily (except Tuesdays)

For more vineyards, follow the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail north, out of Martinborough, to the Gladstone district, east of Carterton, where you’ll find Gladstone Vineyard is yet another of the region’s sustainable wineries, and produces award-winning wines. These can be sampled at the tasting room, next to the Café, every day. They are one of the few in the region to make a fumé sauvignon blanc (i.e. aged in oak barrels) which changes the character of the wine quite considerably...

Around the corner in Dakin’s Road are two more vineyards to drop into...

At Johner Estate you’ll find two huge pinot fans in Patrick and Karl-Heinz Johner, the latter having practised wine-making in the UK(!). The estate has made three pinots in this current vintage and even a dessert pinot, which has a touch of botrytis to give it that hint of sweetness you need to go with chocolate cake!

And at Urlar organic and bio-dynamic principles are to the fore, giving life back to the soil and managing the vineyard as a balanced sustainable farming unit. Another European import to the region, owner Angus Thomson is fanatical about how his organic methods improve the quality of the product and the consumer’s experience. Drop in and try the full 2009 range, especially the sauvignon blanc and the pinot noir.

North of Masterton, in the Opaki appellation, the effervescent Ian McGovern grows pinot (noir and gris) merlot, chardonnay and riesling at Loopline Winery. (The riesling is consistently good and is perfect with lighter Asian dishes or as an aperitif.) Drop in any day, from a civilised 10am, for a tasting and a chat.

The closest vineyard to Masterton is Paulownia Wines. Just at the edge of Masterton near the airport, they tend to be a little cooler than their southern neighbours, so bud-burst in spring is often a few days later and harvest can be two – three weeks later than in Martinborough. This additional time on the vine helps to ensure that the fruit develops strong varietal characteristics that are carried through to distinctive wines.

  • You can find all the wineries on the Wairarapa Wine Trail Map; pick one up at the i-SITE, from a friendly cellar door.

    • A cellar door of a different variety is at Tui Brewery , the most northerly of our region’s waterholes on the Classic NZ Wine Trail, in Mangatainoka. Pull off SH2 for tastings and a tour (and you get to steal your glass too!). The café is always buzzing and at the shop you can pick up a new outfit or fun gift for the beer-drinker in your life (who may be you). As they say at Tui: “I’m just here to see how the beer’s made.” “Yeah, right!”