25 years ago, on Bastille Day 1999, Adele and Daniel Le Brun released Cuvée No.1, the first Marlborough Méthode Traditionelle from their company No.1 Family Estate.

As we usher in the Year of the Dragon, symbolizing power, strength, and good fortune, we reflect on the spirit that ignited our journey from our Swiss wine estate to establish Hans Herzog Estate in Marlborough three decades ago.

In 1994, fuelled by a pioneering vision and a thirst for adventure, my husband Hans and I embarked on a daring expedition across oceans and continents. With the dream of crafting the finest wines in a land renowned for its beauty but relatively uncharted in the world of winemaking – Marlborough – we took the leap of faith that would forever change our lives.

The tale of Hunter's Marlborough began back in 1979 with the daring vision of Ernie Hunter, an Irishman hailing from Belfast. In a bold move, he decided to plant approximately twenty-five hectares of grapevines on Rapaura Road. Within that expanse, he allocated three hectares to cultivate Sauvignon Blanc, a relatively unknown grape variety with untapped potential at the time. The pivotal year came in 1982 when Hunter's produced its maiden vintage, which prominently featured Sauvignon Blanc. What's noteworthy is that all these wines received accolades at the National Wine Show—a remarkable feat for a previously obscure winery. 

Pioneers of Méthode Traditionelle in New Zealand for 40 years, Adele and Daniel Le Brun launched No.1 Family Estate, their family-owned winery, in July 1997.

Steeped in history and tradition, Daniel crafts his wines using the same process perfected over 12 generations, by his champagne-making family in France.

The No.1 Family Estate winery and vineyard is set in Marlborough’s beautiful Wairau Valley and is the only winery in New Zealand committed exclusively to producing premium Méthode Traditionelle.

First Sip An AVIS Ford Falcon appeared at Cape Mentelle’s cellar door in 1983 and changed the world of wine forever. None of the five New Zealand winemakers on board knew it at the time, of course. Neither did the man they had come to see, winemaker David Hohnen. He took the five on a brisk tour capped off with barrel samples of his famous Margaret River Cabernets. The visitors were suitably impressed. Then, perhaps as a nod to his guests’ taste for white grapes, he let them try something he was pretty pleased with: a 1982 Semillon- Sauvignon Blanc blend.

In 1978 Phil and Chris Rose bravely began hand-planting vines in Rapaura whilst raising their family of five young children. After contract growing grapes for some years, they made a bold decision to produce their own wine, and in 1991 and the award-winning Wairau River label was born. That first vineyard, Home Block, has over time been joined by another 13 vineyards, which together make up the Rose Family Estate.

In 1979 Ivan and Margaret Sutherland planted their first vines at the foothills of the Southern Valleys on Dog Point Road.

After work and in the weekends, Ivan and Margaret along with cousin Robin and Bernice Sutherland excitedly began developing their land on Dog Point Road which they had purchased from Bill Walsh, planting over three successive years Muller Thurgau, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

Lawson’s Dry Hills was one of the few wineries in Marlborough when it opened in time for the rain-besieged 1995 vintage. Its owners Barbara and Ross Lawson, who planted Gewürztraminer on Alabama Road in 1981, had put in decades of hard work to get to this point. But that wet vintage took the cake, Barbara says. “We’d planned to do 100 tonnes. Suddenly we had winemakers from all over New Zealand here.”

Te Whare Rā is the oldest little winery & vineyard in Marlborough - first established in 1979. Both the winery and vineyard are certified organic. Since 2003 it has been owned and operated by two winemakers - Anna & Jason Flowerday. She's an Aussie from South Australia and he's a kiwi from Marlborough. Both have wine in their veins literally & metaphorically, and after years of working for other people they made the leap to doing their own thing. The Flowerdays have spent the last 20 years bringing their old vines back to life by farming organically with a regenerative mindset.

Rapaura Springs is proud to be a Marlborough based, New Zealand family-owned and operated business with intergenerational strength. The team is a down-to-earth bunch who have been hands-on in building vineyards and significant winery infrastructure from the ground up. The story begins with two families brought together by premium Marlborough produce. Together they have forged a strong friendship and business partnership.

Named after the majestic Catalina flying boats and the iconic Marlborough Sounds at our doorstep, Catalina Sounds produces wines that are true to the region and our vineyard sites while building an extra textural dimension –wines that are uniquely Catalina Sounds.

More than a decade after a grape growers’ cooperative began in Marlborough, it continues to help lift returns, says one of its founders. Ross Flowerday says the 2008 global financial crisis flattened grape prices in the region, but also kickstarted the grower-owned Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative (MGGC). “We are there for the good of the industry. Without the co-op, the industry wouldn’t be what it is today.”

Patrick Materman began wine work in 1990, riddling Montana’s first release of Deutz Méthode Champenoise, a blend of Chardonnay and several ‘Pommard’ and Swiss Pinot Noir clones. Little did Patrick realise that within a few years he’d be overseeing the production of quite possibly more Pinot Noir than any other winemaker in the world.

August 2023 marks 50 years since the first vines were planted to launch the Marlborough wine industry. BRENDON BURNS looks back at some of the major challenges and monumental achievements over the past half century. These stories were first published in our Winepress Magazine in 2023.