The name Koparepare is Maori for gift. 

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step - set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.

Win-win dry Pinot Gris with a medium body and dialled up flavours of fresh white pear held in a smooth wine - and it's certified organic. Tastes good and is good. 

Organic certification

The organic story at Seresin

One of the greatest things about Seresin Estate is the organic certification. This came relatively early on for Seresin, who was dismayed by the amount used and the impacts of man made chemicals, which were routinely and frequently sprayed on vines. His early adopting philosophy of organic certification paved a positive path for the integrity of the wines as well as leading others to follow suit.

Pinot Gris for the Exiled comes from the St Helena clone of Pinot gris grown on both Waiheke and Ponui Islands. Lightly crushed and pressed then settled in tank before being racked with light solids into tank for fermentation. A mixture of un-inoculated and cultured yeast ferments are used with each vineyard fermenting slowly until the desired balance of acid, tannin and sugar is reached. The wines are then chilled to below zero to stop the fermentation before blending, the blend is held at low temperatures in the cellar until bottling to retain as much of the natural carbon dioxide as possible.

Off-dry in style.

Tasting Notes
Nashi pear, nectarine, mead and spice greet the nose with a dry, textural and weighty palate, creating a complex and flavourful wine. Made in a dry style.

Vineyard
Moy Hall & Blue Earth vineyards
From low cropped 22 to 28-year-old vines

Vinification
Whole bunch pressed.

This wine is pale lemon in colour with fragrant aromas of fresh apples, meyer lemons and a hint of almonds. The palate displays citrus characters with subtle floral characters and creamy texture with a crisp and refreshing finish. Opawa Pinot Gris is a versatile food wine and matches well with a variety of dishes especially lightly spiced Asian influenced cuisine.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery. Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

When winemaker Kevin Judd was still head honcho of winemaking at Cloudy Bay, he decided to register the name Greywacke, just in case. 

It turned out to be a foresighted thing to do and the brand has now taken off with his wide and rich experience translating into some of Marlborough's highest quality wines, both white and red - and sweet, as in this half bottle of deliciousness. This luscious Pinot Gris has lots of tasty botrytis, which adds a honeyed texture and rich layers of flavour. Think liquid marmalade and you're on the right track.

Looking for a treat? Here it is... with cheese or your favourite pud'.

VINEYARD - The fruit from this wine was sourced from a single Waipara Valley vineyard.  The fruit is left on the vine to ripen until the berries start to lose moisture and shrivel, concentrating the flavours and producing a rich style of Pinot Gris. 

SOIL TYPE - Alluvial gravels

WINEMAKING - The fruit was hand-picked and meticulously hand sorted. The juice was fermented warm by indigenous yeasts in aged French oak barriques.

TASTING NOTES - Wonderfully fruited and fragrant, the bouquet shows mango, golden peach, poached pear and rich floral aromas, leading to a splendidly flavoursome palate offering opulent fruit flavours with spicy nuances, finishing long and delicious. Gorgeously styled with rich tones of ripe fruit intensity backed by juicy acidity. Sam Kim - Wine Orbit.

This is a great wine from the home of Pinot Gris. The aroma is lively, floral and complex with notes of elderflower, citrus and green apple. The palate is rich, balanced and spicy, with crisp, pure fruit flavours.

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note Dry, medium-bodied and luscious, with pronounced notes of fresh yellow apple and pear, white peach, melon and honeysuckle.

VINEYARDS

Vineyard: Davishon (69%)

Subregion: Alexandra Basin 

Elevation: 160m 

Clone(s): 6, Mystery clone 

Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand, silt and gravels derived from schist and sandstone 

WINEMAKING

Brix: 22.3

Fermentation: 80% stainless steel and 20% neutral French oak

Aging: Four months in stainless steel Cases

This is a bright, bone dry Pinot Gris with an underlying salinity. The nose is zesty and layered with lemon and grapefruit notes. These flavours continue on the palate, and are met with a mineral touch and bright acidity. 

From the Winery: 

Colour / Appearance: Bright, elegant rose-gold in colour from 24 hours juice skin contact.

Aroma / Bouquet: Freshly cut stonefruit such as nectarine and apricot, and overlapping notes of rose petal, white florals and baking spice on the nose. 

Palate: Juicy core of ripe nectarine, pear and baking spices, with a gentle twist of orange zest. Dry to taste, this wine is full in body and finishing with fine, peppery tannins.

Cellaring:  We recommend drinking our 2024 Skin Contact Pinot Gris while it is young and fresh, but the wine can develop nicely beyond five years if carefully cellared.

Food Match: This Pinot Gris is made to be enjoyed with food.  We recommend dishes featuring richer seafoods, mushrooms, light game and poultry.

Serve: Lightly chilled.

This is a wonderfully exotic wine with aromas of flowers, pear and melon. The palate has nectarine and tropical fruit richness which is balanced with a smooth refreshing finish. Great on its own this Pinot Gris is incredibly versatile with a variety of food, our favourites being chilled furry peach and red curry mussels.

Vineyard
Fruit for this wine was selected from mature vineyards in the North Island that consistently produce outstanding Pinot Gris grapes. The 2021 vintage has delivered exceptional quality with low yields and a temperate dry growing season producing clean ripe fruit with great flavor intensity.

Winemaking
The focus in the winery is to capture the pure fruit flavours that come in from the vineyard. The grapes were harvested at optimum ripeness then gently pressed and the juice fermented at cool temperatures with selected yeasts to enhance aromatic potential. After ferment the wine rested on lees to enhance mouthfeel before blending and preparation for early bottling.

Stone fruits and green fruits such as pear and apple combine beautifully with some phenolic texture in this luscious wine.