Martinborough
Martinborough
Martinborough is a small wine village located at the foot of New Zealand's North Island, about an hour's drive from Wellington, New Zealand's capital city. Based around the blink-and-you'll-miss-it town of the same name, what Martinborough lacks in size it makes up for in the exceptional quality of its wines, particular Pinot Noir, but also Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling. The combination of geology, climate and human effort has led to the region becoming one of New Zealand's premier wine regions. The cool climate, with an average daily temperature of 15 degrees Celsius during harvest and a long, dry autumn, provides the ideal ripening conditions for Pinot Noir on the gravelly-loam soils. The wines here have the exuberant quality common in New Zealand wines, but also an elegant, refined edge. Pinot Noir from Martinborough has a savoury character not often found outside Burgundy, while the Sauvignon Blanc is typically softer and more graceful than its full-noise cousin from Marlborough.