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.

The Young Winemaker Competition provides a fantastic opportunity for future winemakers 30 years or under to upskill, grow in confidence, widen their network and start making a name for themselves within the industry. The winner of the regional competition will compete in the National competition against other regions. We are pleased to introduce you to the contestants competing in the Marlborough competition taking place on Wednesday 31st July.

Congratulations to Anna Kelland from Constellation Brands who became the 2024 Marlborough Young Viticulturist of the Year after a challenging competition held on 4 July at Whitehaven in Rapaura. Liv Bishop from Delegat came second and Laura Hammond from Babich who came third.

Framingham Wines is pleased to announce today that it has been recognized in Tripadvisor’s® Travelers’ Choice® Awards Best of the Best for 2024, ranking amongst the top 10% of things to do worldwide.

Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (OWNZ) is thrilled to announce dates for the main event of Organic Wine Week (OWW). Down to Earth will take place at Prefab Hall in Wellington on 17 September 2024 and at Brad’s Warehouse in Auckland on 19 September 2024.

WinePRO is on in Blenheim from June 25 to June 27 and the Conference Programme offers more than 21 expert speakers and panellists including CE of Rewiring Aotearoa Mike Casey, Chief Transformation Officer at Ministry for Primary Industries Jenny Cameron, social scientist Professor Paul Spoonley, New Zealand Story’s David Downs, and Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year 2024 Dr Jim Salinger, a climate expert who’ll discuss the outlook for viticulture.⁠⁠

Explore the full three day programme here.

During the week of 27 - 31 May, the Marlborough Wine industry shared their initiatives on Instagram using⁠ #WellnessWeek2024 and #MarlboroughWine.

Marlborough’s 2024 vintage could have been “dialled up” for winemakers, says Blank Canvas co-owner Matt Thomson of low yields, warm days, ultra dry conditions, and an autumnal shift to cold nights in March. “You couldn’t have asked for better from a timing point of view.”

Recognising that great wines begin in the vineyard, the Young Viticulturist of the Year competition celebrates the future of viticulture. We are pleased to introduce the Marlborough viticulturists competing in the Marlborough competition this 4th July 2024.

As winter approaches, not only is there a nip in the air, but also a sense of anticipation and excitement as the wine industry builds up to the Young Viticulturist of the Year competition season.

Now in its nineteenth year, this programme helps grow New Zealand’s future viticultural leaders. Previous contestants, many now senior leaders in the wine industry, still appreciate how Young Viticulturist of the Year gave them support and a stepping stone to help advance their career.

With the ‘electrification’ of wine, AI, vineyard redevelopment, understanding the wine industry’s workforce and automation in agriculture just some of the conference sessions on offer, WinePRO promises to be a world-class event at the Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000 in Blenheim from June 25 to 27.

International Sauvignon Blanc Day on 3 May is an opportunity to recognise the contribution of the Marlborough viticulture industry, and to reflect on another year of excellence for this iconic varietal wine.

Wine Marlborough General Manager Marcus Pickens describes why Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has earned its place on the world stage.

“Marlborough-produced Sauvignon Blanc made a massive impact from the very first taste all those decades ago. It sort of shocked and surprised everyone with its intensity of aromas and flavours,” Marcus says.

Wine industry professionals, vineyards owners, managers and workers are invited to the inaugural WinePro, the most extensive showcase of equipment and suppliers for the wine industry, taking place 25th - 27th June at Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000, Blenheim.

Set against the stunning backdrop of New Zealand's largest wine-producing region, this event promises to be a must attend for everyone connected with the world of wine. Preparations are well under way as Marlborough prepares to roll out the red carpet to welcome national and international visitors to the region in the industry's biggest trade event.

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 Marlborough wine industry has been extremely kind to me,” says James Healy, 32 years after he pulled up in an iridescent green Holden Premier packed with his family and belongings.

James had cut his oenological teeth with Corbans in Auckland and Gisborne, but found his people and place at Cloudy Bay when he started there in 1991. Experimentation was embraced, the work was “vital and free”, and his colleagues – including viticulturist Ivan Sutherland and winemaker Kevin Judd – were kindred spirits in crafting wines. “It was just a perfect bunch of people together,” says James, who was awarded a Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award in November last year, for his extraordinary contribution to the region’s wine industry. “If you had an idea, you just tried it out on a few barrels. You just did it. Which fits completely with how I feel. As soon as you start getting to, ‘we’ve always done it like that’, I feel like shooting myself.”

When Tessa Anderson raised the idea of a Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award, she never dreamed she would one day receive one.

“I would like to reiterate that it was for services, not for consumption,” she says with a characteristically warm laugh, having been recognised for 27 years telling extraordinary stories of the Marlborough wine industry – including as wine reporter at The Marlborough Express, a longstanding editor of Winepress magazine and Winegrower magazine, and the author of two books – Jane Hunter, Growing a Legacy, and 50 Years, 50 Stories, which was released this year to commemorate a half century of wine in the region.

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.