The Marlborough community is justifiably outraged by recent media stories relating to some RSE employees in our community. A Labour Inspectorate investigation is underway, and we await the results. If any of the recent allegations are upheld, we should all be concerned.

It is critical to everyone that the RSE scheme ensures the win-wins it was set up to achieve are strengthened for the workers, businesses and communities involved. We fully support the move to push ahead with a review of the RSE scheme.

The Young Winemaker competition aims to help ambitious and passionate young people become future leaders of the NZ wine industry. It is a fantastic opportunity for emerging young winemakers to grow, develop and advance their careers. We are pleased to introduce you to the young Marlborough contestants competing in the Marlborough competition 21st August 2022.

Congratulations to Tahryn Mason from Villa Maria who became the 2022 Marlborough Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year on 7 July at the competition held at Giesen House in Rapaura. He will now go through to the National Final which will also be held in Marlborough at the end of August.

Produced by Whitehaven Wines, the Kōparepare wine range has been created to support the protection and restoration of New Zealand’s marine environment. All sales of Kōparepare benefit the work of LegaSea, a non-profit organisation dedicated to restoring the abundance, biodiversity and health of New Zealand’s marine environment.

When Dominic Pecchenino arrived at Matador Estate in 1993, Marlborough winegrowers were plagued by phylloxera and sceptical of plant science. Three decades on, the viticulturist has been recognised for his tireless work - using innovation, research and collegiality, to improve the way we grow wine.

The Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year competition celebrates the future of viticulture. We are pleased to introduce you to the young Marlborough contestants competing in the Marlborough competition 7th July 2022.

A stalwart of the Marlborough wine industry, Dominic Pecchenino, has been honoured by the board of Wine Marlborough with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award, which recognises service to the development of the Marlborough Wine industry, was presented to the viticultural consultant during the Winter Pruning Field Day held at Matador Estate today [Wednesday, 25 May].

When it comes to the Marlborough wine scene, Pinot Gris is a relatively new kid on the block. But it hasn’t taken long for it to make its mark in the region.

On May 17, we’ll be celebrating International Pinot Gris Day and Marlborough’s second-most produced white wine, following Sauvignon Blanc.

Marlborough’s 2022 vintage was “edge-of-your-seat” stuff, with higher yields, inclement weather and the impact of Covid infections on crews, says Sophie Parker-Thomson, MW.

And it required a change in mindset from industry, following three consecutive drought years and light crops last year. “There has been a temptation to replenish the very empty pipelines with the bountiful yields - principally Sauvignon Blanc,” says Sophie, who owns and runs Blank Canvas Wines with her husband Matt Thomson.

Marlborough: Its long days of sunshine, crisp mornings, towering mountain ranges, meandering riverbeds and the sunken valleys of the Marlborough Sounds, glistening with crisp, emerald green waters.

If Marlborough came in a flavour there’s no doubt it would be Sauvignon Blanc, the wine that put the region on the map more than 30 years ago.

When covid-19 put an end to international wine tours for Wellington man Trevor Garrett, Marlborough moved to the top of the hit list.

Previously spending weeks walking and biking around some of the world’s oldest wine regions, including Burgundy and Chablis in France, Trevor opted to do Marlborough by bike.

For Sauvignon Blanc lovers, the thought of putting their aromatic, fruity and uniquely Marlborough drop in oak can be intriguing and tantalising.

Pioneering Marlborough winemaker Kevin Judd has been using different styles with Sauvignon Blanc for years – fermenting it in oak barrels and using wild yeasts. Doing so provides a significant savouriness and a totally different mouthfeel from the classic crisp and clean Marlborough Sauvignon.

Méthode Marlborough executive board and technical sub-committee member Andrew Parley says the annual celebration is a chance to celebrate Marlborough’s sparkling wine harvest.

“We start the Marlborough harvest with the first grapes coming in for our traditional method wines, so it’s a time to celebrate the new vintage kicking off,” he says.

Sixteen years ago, Damien Yvon moved to Marlborough from his homeland of France for a three year stint working at Clos Henri. Needless to say, he never left.

For all but one of those 16 years, prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the company’s founders, the Bourgeois family of France, have joined him at work during harvest.

As one of the pioneers of wine in Marlborough, Saint Clair Family Estate has built a large array of traditions over the years, not least of all during harvest.

Acknowledging the help they receive from people across all corners of the globe to get fruit into bottles, the team at Saint Clair places huge emphasis on making those people feel as welcome and at home as they can.

When it comes to Riesling, the Germans have long been onto a good thing.

The first known written reference to the drop was in 1402, termed then as ‘Rüssling, in the city of Worms, Germany. It’s no wonder, then, that German winemakers are a source of inspiration for one of Marlborough’s avid Riesling producers…

Each winery has its own, slightly unique harvest traditions, but for the most part the idea remains the same: to celebrate the arrival of fruit from the vineyard into the winery, as well as the people behind tending to the grapes both throughout the year and during vintage.

For the most part, celebrations have been social in nature, and as such have seen some changes since the arrival of covid-19 on New Zealand shores in 2020.

It is hard to imagine the Marlborough landscape without hundreds of thousands of vines. But it hasn’t always been this way. In reality the march of vines across the plains and gently sloping hills of the region only began back in 1973. Prior to that Marlborough was better known for its abundance of sunshine and its production of barley and lucerne. No one could have imagined that a little known wine company based in Auckland would change the face of Marlborough forever.

For more than 30 years, we’ve spent the week putting the final touches on the iconic Marlborough Wine and Food Festival, which historically takes place on the second Saturday of February.

Here are a few of the events happening around Marlborough on Saturday 12, and Sunday 13 February 2022.

Once again Saint Clair is at the forefront of the wine review pages in the Cuisine Magazine. Any regular reader will often see Saint Clair wines in the line-up. In January 2021 issue, Saint Clair excelled in the tasting with five of the seven 5-star rated Sauvignon Blanc wines. The Cuisine issue number 205 that hit the shelves in April 2021, showcased excellence from Saint Clair within the Pinot Noir tasting. This time February 2022, it is the Saint Clair aromatic wines which rise to the top.