Pinot Noir is the jewel in the crown of the evocatively named Mount Beautiful Wines and this producer makes several different styles.

This is the signature wine, made in the highest volumes and from a very different vintage; 2018, which was warmer, more humid and earlier than any other year on record with hand harvesting of the grapes starting 10 days earlier than usual on 21 March. For the 2018 vintage, 100% of the grapes were destemmed and the wine was gently plunged twice daily. This PInot Noir was aged in French oak, 20% new, for 11 months.

It's a ripe, fruit driven Pinot Noir with earthy flavours and represents great value for money.

Kirsten and Richard Searle are great champions of Chenin Blanc in Gisborne and theirs is made with grapes from the Briant's vineyard in the Patutahi region just across the river from Matawhero. Aromas in this wine are all about rich citrus blossom, supported by white floral and honeysuckle flavours combined with fresh acidity and a medium body. A stunning alternative medium dry white - great drinking, lightly chilled, year round. 

If you like a lighter style of Chardonnay, you'll love this tasty Gisborne white.

Gamey, savoury, deliciously refreshing Pinot Noir from Martinborough's next new big thing - Te Muna Valley, a dramatically majestic sub region for grapes that is situated 9 kilometres east of Martinborough village. 

Big Sky Wines is on the high alluvial terraces of Martinborough's Huangarua River at Te Muna, 9 kilometres east of the village. Low yielding deep gravels, hot days and cool nights result in wines that are deep and complex. This is their flagship wine from a low vigour, low cropping vineyard.  Hand picked, crushed into two tonne open fermenters with 10% whole bunch fermentation and minimal crushing and with wild fermentation followed by 12 months in French oak, 12.5% of which was new. And therein lies the beauty of this insanely delicious Pinot Noir with its ripe berry fruit flavours of dark cherries and plums, balanced by mouth filling savouriness, warm spice, and silky tannins. 

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees. 

Dry red berry and creamy smooth rose from Big Sky Vineyards in Martinborough's Te Muna Valley. The intense summer berry flavours and interesting savoury complexity in this wine echoes the stunning landscape from which it's made. It's entirely Pinot Noir and is a relatively new addition to the Big Sky range.

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees. 

Palliser Estate Pinot Noir is one of our favourites here at Regional, made with hand picked grapes grown on three vineyards in Martinborough - Hua Nui, home block and Pencarrow. Flavours of red fruit, smoky oak, a velvet texture and full body all make this incredibly elegant wine a keeper for up to five years. It also drinks beautifully now with its smooth texture and freshness. 

The grapes were given 5% whole bunch fermentation which adds structure, which is accentuated by French oak aging for 10 months.

Bottled in March 2023.

What the critics say

"Silky, smooth and powerfully elegant Pinot Noir from Palliser Estate."

Joelle Thomson, wine writer and wine programme director for Regional Wines

Rosé is on the rise and Terrace Edge is a quirky blend of Syrah and Pinot Noir, a gold medal winner and certified organic. Its taste lives up to its delicious win with its medium body, dry flavours of summer berries (think: strawberries with a hint of creamy texture) and a lively fresh finish. 

Terrace Edge is a family owned, certified organic winery based in the Waipara Valley wine growing region. This Syrah has a nose of ripe blackberry and plum with notes of liquorice and spice. The palate is rich with dark fruit, supported by elegant ripe tannins.

Terrace Edge was named the New Zealand Organic Vineyard of the Year in 2018 and this year was named Aotearoa New Zealand Organic Winery of the Year.

Named after the imperial Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku, the ‘footprint of the rainbow’ or Mt Tapi, as the locals call it.

This sparkling wine is made with the Charmat method which involves the secondary fermentation taking place in tank whereby the bubbles are trapped under pressure. The wine is bright, fresh and fruit froward and stylistically straddles prosecco (made in the same way) and method traditional.

Zesty and concentrated Riesling from Carrick Winery's stunning certified organic vineyard in Bannockburn, where the elevated site produces grapes with delicious juicy intensity and lingering acidity to balance a light touch of residual sweetness from the grapes. Super concentrated aromas of grapefruit and mandarin add to the stylish, off-dry flavours in this beautifully balanced wine, which is tasty now and will evolve positively for at least another 10 years. 

Chenin Blanc is one of the great white grapes of the wine world and is beautifully expressed in this dry white from North Canterbury, which rocks with flavours of crisp and crunchy green apples, a note of spice and a honeysuckle impression on the bone dry finish.

Trademark wines are only made in a good vintage, with fairly small print runs.  They're drinkers and keepers.  Made from 100% Hawke's Bay gold.

Ripe fruit from three of our Trademark Syrah vineyards planted on limestone hillsides and an old riverbed. It shows admirable ripeness and depth of flavour, retaining vibrancy and great complexity on the nose and palate with typical violet, spice, black cherry and subtle white pepper notes. Supple chalky tannins provide a structure that promise time in bottle will be rewarded.

Black Estate - This Riesling is grown on the rolling slopes of our Damsteep Vineyard.  The site's dense clay and mineral limestone provide weight, texture and salivating freshness.  A true character.

Albarino is a grape from the Galicia region in Spain. It is known for making fairly pale, high acid wines with distinctive aromatic stone-fruit qualities. This is a new varietal for North Canterbury, which has shown promising results for this grape. The nose on this wine is rich with classic stone-fruit, spice and citrus notes. The palate is concentrated and juicy, with great acid brightness.

Grapes from three organic vineyards are cofermented together to make this wine, hence the name Treble. And it gets more complex because five different grape varieties are used to make this wine, including Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling.

The taste is fresh and has a nervy edge, thanks to the crisp character contributed from the Chenin Blanc and RIesling grapes, as well as that southern acidity in the wine. 

Flavours of strawberries, rose hip, cranberry and savoury spice combine in this deep coloured rose, which was bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

Volumes made were small.

Organically certified, hand picked grapes from two vineyards make their way into this full bodied, complex and savoury Pinot Noir. Cairnmuir and Arthur’s Vineyard in Bannockburn are the vineyards and all the grapes were fermented with wild  yeasts, which tends to broaden the range of flavours that develop in great Pinot Noir (and in other wild yeast fermented wines). The finished wines were all aged for nine months in French oak, 20% new, then blended to create this refreshing but dark Pinot Noir which has a long life ahead. Stash it in the cellar or decant and serve in a large glass to open up its flavours now.