our PLACE
When you come over the Remutaka Ranges from Wellington, there’s this dry open valley.
Martinborough is a special place that captures people. Once known for its sheep farming, this pioneering region captured the imagination of a new generation who were becoming passionate and interested in wine.
Our winemaker, John Kavanagh, came to Martinborough specifically for Pinot Noir.
A tiny place at the foot of New Zealand’s North Island
Once known for its sheep farming, this pioneering region captured the imagination of a new generation in the 1980s.
Today, its reputation around the world belies in its tiny production – less that 2% of New Zealand’s wine production.
Protected from the harsh elements by a range of mountains to the southwest and west, Martinborough has a mild, breezy, dry climate, ideal for cool-climate grape growing. Our ideal confluence of geology and geography is the perfect climate and terrain to produce exceptional Pinot Noir.
our VINEYARDS
With four vineyard sites in the Martinborough appellation, we have an array of aromatics, flavours, textures and styles to work with.
The Martinborough Terrace is home to our Home and McLeod Vineyards and some of the oldest vines in the region. Once a riverbed, it features 25m of deep ancient gravel and alluvial soils around 2,500 years old. It’s a soil type that is unique and definitive for the varieties we have become famous for.
Out of town, our Rua and Springrock vineyards are cool and elevated, with more extreme conditions. This intense environment gives greater balance to our wines and helps us deliver a remarkable elegance and uniquely Martinborough style.
our WINERY
Down the end of Martins Road, you’ll find our winery. Nestled amongst our Home and McLeod vineyards, our winery’s close proximity to the vines helps reduce our carbon footprint of incoming grapes during Harvest. It also sits on John Martin’s original landholdings, once home to sheep.
our home THE RUNHOLDER
Nestled between vineyard rows and the edge of the Martinborough Terrace, The Runholder is our new home.
Discover our iconic wines along with Martinborough Vineyard wines & Lighthouse Gin in the tasting room, feast on a menu celebrating local produce in the restaurant, cosy up beside a roaring fire with a perfectly aged bottle from the cellar, and see Lighthouse Gin’s distiller at work while sipping the perfect Gin & Tonic.
Open 7 days for tastings and lunch, and on Fridays & Saturdays for dinner. To book please visit therunholder.co.nz/book
