Barrel fermented, dry style of Pinot Blanc which is aged for 11 months. What more could you ask for in an alternative white wine from Te Muna Road in Martinborough? Winemaker Larry McKenna models this Pinot Blanc on the great dry whites of Germany's Kaiserstuhl district where spicy wines are made to complement rich food. 

This wine is made from vines planted in 1999 on Te Muna Road in Martinborough. It's bone dry with less than one gram of residual sugar and the finished wine spent 11 months aging in barrel prior to bottling. It can age for up to five years and drinks well now too. 

Patsy was the favourite aunt of winemaker Jenny Dobson, who made this wine as a tribute to her. We're big fans of the story as well as the wine, which is made from the  Cabernet Franc grape, which adds a touch of firm tannin to its finish, accentuating the dry style and adding grip and structure. 

This tasty little numberh drinks well on its own but also tastes great with salmon and fresh summer salads. Chill lightly and enjoy. 

A field blend of organically grown Sauvignon Blanc (33%), Riesling (33%) and Gewurztraminer (33%). Hand harvested and whole bunch fermented as one and left to its own devices and in peace until bottling with no additions apart from a touch of sulphur dioxide – 100 % orange.

Field Notes:
Vineyard | Brawn Vineyard Estate
Picked | 27th March 2024 a Leaf Day
Skin Time | 108 days
Alcohol | 12%
TA | 4.5
pH | 3.66
RS | 0
Colour | orange
Palate | breakfast negroni impersonator | fresh | saline | juicy tannins
Ben Says | “Perfect late at night at the bar with quiet conversation, thoughtful prose and slightly secret intent”
Bottle Date | 6th November 2024 a Fruit Day
Bottles | 4945

This is Astrolabe winemaker Simon Waghorn's delicious take on Albarino and it's made from grapes grown in a quirky location, to say the very least. All grapes in this wine were hand picked from their coastal home at Kekerengu, south of Blenheim. It is the southernmost vineyard in the Marlborough region and only Astrolabe makes wine from the small vineyards planted there. This cool location provides slighter higher acidity and zestiness to the wines made from there.

Whole bunch pressing and fermentation on solids followed by lees aging provide this wine with depth and body, which balances the naturally high acidity that is innate to the Albarino grape - a native grape to north west Spain and Portugal and now at home in New Zealand. 

Flavours in this wine are all about green apples and lemon with a green olive note on its dry finish. 

This is the ultimate wine to drink with seafood on a hot day.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

The 2025 release clocks over a decade of crafting this irresistible, sun-soaked Albariño - still utterly moreish, still mouthwatering, still our unofficial taste of summer.

Think warm evenings, bare feet, and salt on your skin.
A lifted nose of lime zest, sea spray and that first breath when you step onto the beach. The palate echoes the aromatics, woven together with bright, crystalline acidity that gives the wine its signature savoury edge.

Hints of oyster shell, fresh fennel and a cool, saline minerality glide through the glass, all wrapped in a dreamy, sun-drenched haze. There’s beautiful form here - poised, graceful, quietly luxurious.

Vineyard:

Site: Rosie’s Block - Upper Moutere, Nelson

Aspect: 90m Elevation, North Facing

Soil Type: Moutere Clay Gravels

Soil Composition: Deep sandy loam with clay content (19%). Little stone content.

Vineyard Established: 1999

Farming: Dry Farmed

Variety: 100% Albariño

Clonal Selection: 635, 636, 637

Hand Harvested: 100%

Seasonal Detail: The season began dry before shifting to a wetter-than-usual October, with an exceptionally warm December bringing ideal flowering conditions. While the Christmas and early January period posed some challenges, a return to warm, settled weather through February and March improving ripening. Occasional rain showers kept canopies refreshed, leading to a smooth, trouble-free harvest. The season produced wines of both volume and generosity.

Winemaking:

Harvest: 29th - 31st March 2025

Processing: 70% whole bunch press, 30% crushed fruit. Cool settled for 48 hours and racked

Fermentation: 100% Wild Yeast

Fermentation Vessel: 70% Stainless Steel, 30% Neutral Puncheon

Malolactic: None

Fining: None Filtration: Sterile Vegan: Yes

Bottling Analysis: 13.5% Alc, 3.29 pH, 6.7 g/L TA, 3 g/L RS

Full Bottle Weight: 1,265 g

Arneis and Pinot Gris sourced from the Dolce Vista vineyard. Hand harvested Arneis barrel fermented and aged. Pinot Gris fermented on skins and then pressed to seasoned oak. Blended and bottled after 12 months in barrel. Delicate white flowers and peach, intense citrus with minerality and rich texture.

Tasting Note: Co-fermented blend of Riesling and Pinot Gris; floral and citrus aromas. A savoury and full palate, balanced with appealing Waitaki minerality. Harvested 9th May 2021. 12g/l residual sugar, 3.15pH, 8.8g/l total acidity. 80 cases total production.

Incredible Albariño grapes harvested from Doug Bell’s vineyard in Gisborne. These are the very first 18 rows planted in New Zealand – make that Australasia! Planted in 2009 with a mass selection of Albariño vine plantings and dry-farmed on clay loam soils.

This Marlborough Viognier is one of New Zealand's most outstanding examples of its type with its full body and dry flavours balanced by weighty ripe peachy notes and a long, refreshing finish.

Viognier originates in the northern Rhone Valley in France where it typically makes high quality, 100% varietal wines (made solely from this grape, without blending) but can also be used in full bodied dry white blends. 

Churton founder and winemaker Sam Weaver cut his teeth on the classic wines of the world while working in fine wine retail in the United Kingdom. His background is in microbiology and he was raised on a farm, so when he and his wife Mandy founded Churton Estate, it combined all of his passions. The couple and their adult sons, have created one of this country's most high quality small wineries, which lives up to the dream of creating 100% estate grown grapes, 100% certified organic production and 100% bottled on site, nearly all of the wines without fining or filtration. All grapes are hand picked and natural yeasts ferment the majority of Churton wines. These incremental qualitative decisions impact at every step of their winemaking provides exceptional quality grapes which in turn express themselves in outstanding wines.

Albarino is a lively Spanish white wine from Galicia in north west Spain; the region also known as green Spain because it has a higher than typical rainfall for that country. This may be why Albarino has adapted so well to New Zealand’s maritime climate and this bright and tasty wine comes from a small, sheltered vineyard in the Upper Moutere hills of Nelson, where cool nights preserve the acidity that drives every succulent sip.

"Albarino is lively, like the Spanish people; lemony, punchy, aromatic and layered..." says winemaker Trudy Shield. 

And what's not to love about all that. 

With a solid Silver at the Bragato Wine Awards this cheeky little Albarino offers distinctive fruit coupled with a hint of sweetness balanced by crisp acidity. A perfect match for paella.

Pegasus Bay whites have the X factor and this awesome blend of four grapes is no exception. It's made from Semillon and Chardonnay which add toasty, rich, dry and creamy notes to this off beat wine style. Ultra ripe Semillon from 33 year old vines was fermented naturally with its solids to add some funky complexity, and then aged on lees in old oak barrels for 2 ½ years. A little Gewurztraminer and Muscat add aromatic interest and appeal. 

The longer than usual period in oak has given this wine a toasty and nutty character, with extra richness on the palate. There are also hints of citrus blossom and some floral notes. Skin contact during the fermentation has added savouriness, however, the wine still has crisp acidity that provides for a lively and refreshing finish. A full bodied and complex wine, not for the faint hearted. Funkier than a night on the town with James Brown!

An absolute show stopper dry white wine made from the great Albarino grape - this wine has succulence, body and intense lemon, hazelnut and oatmeal flavours, all of which add to its full bodied appeal.
Thick skinned grapes in loose bunches with tiny berries are the story of the great white Albarino grape. These factors make it ideally suited to New Zealand’s maritime climate, which is similar to that of its homelands in north west Portugal and Spain. This grape’s intense acidity and later ripening combine to make a full bodied, dry, intensely deliciously succulent, refreshing white.
Winemaker Gordon Russell softens the high acidity by ageing the wine for one year in bottle in the cellar, pre release. He's also learning about optimum picking times, since it's still pretty early days for Albarino in New Zealand.

Full bodied, funky, dry and orange tinged, thanks to eight months of skin contact which provides colour and flavour. Clockwork Orange is all about texture and skin contact is its defining attribute. Flavours here are of zesty acidity thanks to the inclusion of Albarino, Riesling and Chenin Blanc - three great white grapes that all contribute zesty, zingy aspects from their naturally  high acidity. 

It's full bodied and, yes, has some orange tinges to its colour thanks to skin contact during the fermentation of this wine. 

It's a style that owes its origins to Georgia, possibly the oldest wine region on Earth.