Wairarapa serves up the perfect pinot noir and has a foodie culture to match.
Over the hills and (not so) far away from Wellington, New Zealand’s lush Wairarapa wine region bottles-up perfect pinot noir, with foodie culture to match.
Wairarapa is the sprawling tract of land northeast of Wellington, just a one-hour drive over the craggy, mist-shrouded Remutaka Range. The unhurried lifestyle here is a real gear-shift down from Wellington’s urban buzz - but it’s the local vineyards and attendant foodie haunts that have turned the region into Wellington’s favourite naughty-weekender.
Laid out in the shape of a Union Jack around a leafy square, the town is laced with gorgeous heritage architecture and surrounded by a patchwork of pastures and pinstripe grapevines. It’s possible to walk between the big-ticket wineries here, but the classic Martinborough sight is of pelotons of cheery cyclists becoming increasingly wobbly as their wine-tasting afternoon progresses.
Nearby Greytown and Clareville offer some excellent cafes and bakeries, while the wineries around Gladstone and Masterton are also on the up (... and don’t miss the Gladstone Inn!).
Interestingly, the Wairarapa wine industry was nearly crushed in infancy. The first vines were planted here in 1883, but in 1908 the prohibition movement put a cap on that corker of an idea. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that winemaking took off again.
A few commercial vineyards soon sprang up, the number since ballooning to around 30 across the region. Pinot noir is Wairarapa’s raison d’etre, but sauvignon blanc also does well here, as do aromatics and syrah.
The Wairarapa’s well-oiled cellar doors swing open for tastings. Most wineries charge a tasting fee (usually waived if you buy a bottle), although some will let you taste for free. Some have a cafe or restaurant; others will rustle up a picnic platter to enjoy outside.
Martinborough Vineyard
Start your Wairarapa foodie tour in Martinborough, with a visit to the first vineyard to plant pinot noir here - an event that transpired way back in 1980.
The founders conducted a detailed survey across New Zealand to determine the best place to grow pinot noir vines, seeking to match the climate of Burgundy in France, the home of perfect pinot - warm days, cool nights, low rainfall and free-draining soils.
The Wairarapa wine industry was born, and Martinborough Vineyard is now a local legend with a sterling international reputation.
The cellar door is on-site at Te Kairanga vineyard.
VISIT
Te Kairanga Cellar Door, 89 Martins Rd, Martinborough
(06) 306-9122
www.martinboroughvineyard.co.nz
Open 11am-4pm daily
Coney Wines
Sure, Martinborough does a fine line in stylish, upmarket cellar doors, but there’s also room here for a little quirkiness and offbeat humour.
Welcome to Coney Wines! Fingers crossed that your tasting host will be the inimitable Tim Coney (older brother of NZ cricketing legend Jeremy) - an affable character who makes a mighty shiraz and may randomly burst into song. It’s also home to the excellent Trio Cafe; bookings recommended.
VISIT
A107 Dry River Rd, Martinborough
(06) 306-8345
www.coneywines.co.nz
Open Friday-Sunday (Dec-Mar), 11am-4pm; Saturday & Sunday only (Oct, Nov and Apr-Jul), 11am-4pm
Mesita Wine Bar
Hankering for another vino and the last cellar door has closed for the evening? Make a beeline for Mesita, a tiny side-street wine bar in central Martinborough (follow the vintage rock from the main street).
Inside are excellent wines - mostly locals with some far-flung stars - plus craft beers, killer cocktails and Mexican-inspired nibbles.
Four-pinot tasting flights are a good way to sample the vineyards that got away.
VISIT
14c Ohio St, Martinborough
(06) 306-8475
www.mesita.net
Open Monday, Thursday & Friday, 4pm-late, Saturday & Sunday, from 2pm
Martinborough Brewery
It’s hard to go anywhere in New Zealand these days and not find a craft brewery bubbling away in the corner. Martinborough is no exception - and if you’re more into pilsner than pinot, this little side-street brewer is the place for you.
Actually, the vibe here is more complementary than contra when it comes to Martinborough’s wineries: the beer here is awesome (try the Black Nectar oatmeal stout), but no-one is under any illusions as to why the Wairarapa is on the foodie tourism map!
Sip a tasting paddle or a pint on the sunny terrace out the front. Tours by arrangement.
VISIT
10 Ohio St, Martinborough
(06) 306-6249
www.martinboroughbeer.com
open Monday & Tuesday, 2pm-7pm; Thursday-Sunday, 11am-8pm
Food Forest Organics
In recent years this picturesque slice of New Zealand’s rural heartland has gained an unlikely Hollywood connection, with blockbuster movie directors Sir Peter Jackson and James Cameron both putting down Wairarapa roots.
The ecofriendly sentiments in Cameron’s Avatar series aren’t an aberration: Cameron is a committed vegan, and this health-food store in photogenic Greytown, 18km north of Martinborough, features organic products from the Cameron Family Farms (www.cameronfamilyfarms nz): fresh Wairarapa produce, honey, candles, moisturisers ...
Call in for a not-chicken pie, a salad bowl or some borscht for lunch. There’s also apartment accommodation upstairs if you feel like a snooze.
VISIT
101 Main St, Greytown
(06) 304-9790
www.foodforestorganics.co.nz
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 9.30am-4.30pm
Clareville Bakery
On the highway just north of Carterton, around 8km north of Greytown, this outstanding little bakery-cafe is a Wairarapa institution, famous for sourdough bread, lamb-cutlet pies, steak sandwiches and lavash-style crackers.
If you’re looking to shake off the remnants of yesterday’s cellar-door pursuits, look no further.
There’s also garden seating, a kids’ play zone, regular live music and an ocean-sized car park (a huge car park being the primary indicator of a bad pub or a good cafe).
Shovel into some Basque eggs and tune-in to the local conversation: fields, vines, fields with vines in them ... I could go on forever.
VISIT
3340 SH2, Clareville
(06) 379-5333
www.theclarevillebakery.co.nz
Open Monday-Saturday 7.30am-4pm
Gladstone Inn
Gladstone, 15km east of Clareville, is less a town, more a state of mind.
There’s actually very little here except a handful of vineyards, some sheep-filled paddocks, a few fences and this classic old timber pub - actually a replacement for the original 1871 boozer, which burned down in 1934.
These days it’s a haven for thirsty locals, back-road bikers, Sunday drivers and lazy afternoon sippers, who hog the tables in the glorious garden bar by the river.
There’s plenty of craft beer on tap, plus bodacious steaks and pizzas.
A Wairarapa foodie classic.
VISIT
571 Gladstone Rd, Gladstone
(06) 372-7866
www.gladstoneinn.co.nz
Open Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-late
Wairarapa Farmers’ Market
Drive 16km north of Gladstone and wind up your foodie tour in Masterton, Wairarapa’s biggest town and service hub.
It’s a far cry from Martinborough’s gourmet offerings - Masterton is more business than boutique - but there’s a great little cinema here (www.thescreeningroom.co.nz) plus the region’s best farmers’ market.
Near the Waipoua River, this effervescent mart fills the trestle tables to overflowing every Saturday morning, rain or shine.
Bring your hunger, and an appreciation for buskers of varying repute.
VISIT
4 Queen St, Masterton
(06) 377-1107
www.waifarmersmarket.org.nz
Open Saturday 9am-1pm
GETTING THERE
The Wairarapa is best explored with your own wheels... and getting here is half the fun!
The drive over the Remutaka Range from Wellington is jaw-droppingly beautiful.
Alternatively, regular Metlink (www.metlink. org.nz) commuter trains run to Masterton from Wellington via Carterton. Metlink buses join the dots to Greytown and Martinborough (your best bets for accommodation).
WHERE TO STAY
• MARTINBOROUGH HOTEL
After a hard day’s wine tasting, work your way into a quiet beer at this handsome 1882 pub — Martinborough’s pride and joy. A handful of plush suites await upstairs.
www.martinboroughhotel.co.nz
• CLAREMONT
A classy accommodation enclave 15 minutes’ walk from downtown Martinborough, the Claremont has self-contained units, mod studios and sparkling two-bedroom apartments. Bike hire, too (handy).
www.theclaremont.co.nz
WHAT TO DO
• MARTINBOROUGH WINE WALKS
Martinborough’s compact wine zone can be explored on foot ... and you won’t need to nominate some poor sucker to drive! Walking tours visit three or four cellar doors and include tastings and lunch (with wine).
www.martinboroughwinewalks.com
• CAPE PALLISER LIGHTHOUSE
Burn some calories on the 250-step climb to the base of this candystriped lighthouse (1897) on Wairarapa’s southern fringe. Fab views!
www.wairarapanz.com/cape-palliser
www.wairarapaharvestfestival.co.nz
• TOAST MARTINBOROUGH
A hugely popular wine, food and music event held on the third Sunday in November; book accommodation a long way in advance
www.toastmartinborough.co.nz
CELEBRATIONS
• WAIRARAPA WINES HARVEST FESTIVAL
Celebrates the start of the harvest (mid-March) with an extravaganza of wine, food and family fun. It’s held on a remote riverbank 10 minutes from Carterton; shuttles depart from major Wairarapa towns.
