Marlborough is situated at the top northeastern tip of New Zealand’s South Island at altitude of 40 degrees south of the equator, parallel to some of the worlds’ major wine growing regions in the Northern Hemisphere.

It is a clean, quiet sunny valley sheltered from the worst of New Zealand’s maritime weather by hills to the north and south. Its main town Blenheim regularly tops New Zealand’s record for highest annual sunshine hours. It has a growing population of 26,500 people, due to the wine industry, gourmet food industry, plus forestry from the nearby hills, and commercial mussel and salmon farming in the nearby picturesque Marlborough Sounds.

Experts find it hard to believe that the first grapes were planted in Marlborough as recently as 1973. Marlborough is now the largest grape growing and winemaking region in New Zealand with approximately 6000 hectares in grapes and 65 wineries. (www.nzwine.com)

The star grape is Sauvignon Blanc, which is said to benchmark the flavour and varietal character-standard internationally. The combination of shallow, stony, free draining soils, long sunshine hours, cool nights, and a long growing season develop a flavour concentration which is increasingly evident in other grape varieties as well as Sauvignon Blanc.

Year after year Marlborough wines win many international awards and the wines produced in this area have earned a reputation for distinctive, vibrant fruit flavours.