Marlborough
Cool maritime
The top of the South Island and New Zealand's largest wine region, whose pungent Sauvignon Blanc redefined the grape in the 1980s.
Overview
About Marlborough
Marlborough's first commercial vines were planted in 1973, and the region's breakthrough came when Cloudy Bay released its first Sauvignon Blanc from the 1985 vintage. Its vivid, tropical, herbaceous style — passionfruit, gooseberry, cut grass — was unlike anything the grape had produced, and it made Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc one of the world's most recognisable wines.
Marlborough now accounts for about two thirds of New Zealand's vineyard area, split between the Wairau Valley, the drier, windier Awatere Valley and the clay-rich Southern Valleys. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and traditional-method sparkling wine are also made.
Marlborough is marked on the map.
New Zealand
Shaded: Marlborough District. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool maritime
One of New Zealand's sunniest and driest regions, with cool nights. Long ripening preserves acidity and pungent aromas in the fruit.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Free-draining, stony alluvial gravels and silty loams on the Wairau plain; the Southern Valleys have heavier clay-loam soils, which tend to give fuller, less herbaceous wines.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Marlborough is a single registered region, with informal sub-regions and no quality classification.
Marlborough GI
At least 85% of the grapes must come from the region.
Sub-regions
The Wairau Valley, the drier, windier Awatere Valley and the clay-rich Southern Valleys, each with a slightly different style.
No quality tiers
Quality is judged by the producer and the vineyard.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.