By AMANDA HURLEY

It may have gained a reputation as a 'minx of a wine to grow', but there is one region that is proving pinot noir is no challenge to New Zealand wine-makers.

In only its third decade of wine production, Martinborough, situated in a sheltered dry river valley of the North Island 's picturesque Wairarapa, has fast become renowned for its rich red pinot noir and crisp white sauvignon blanc wines .

It generates just two per cent of the country's total tonnage, but the region is over-represented in any wine list of the nation's best. For instance, some 30 of the Air New Zealand Wine Award medals were given to Martinborough producers in 2005.

Martinborough’s superior wines also draw high praise internationally, and grace some of the finest tables around the globe, including those at Peter Gordon's ‘The Providores and Tapa Room' restaurant in London.

(Pictured at right: Martinborough's Vynfields vineyard in autumn. www.vynfields.com).

Ata Rangi marketing manager, Phyll Pattie, says the region is fortunate to have a well-established market niche for its flagship varieties.

“Australia is dumping a lot of very good wine at the moment, but we’re not competing against the Australian chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons like some of the other regions in New Zealand are," she says.

"Pinot noir and sauvignon blanc are hard wines to do well, so it's good we have that advantage. But it's still a difficult business in Martinborough. You need to be doing it for passion and quality, not to make a bundle of money."

Statistics
New Zealand Winegrowers statistics indicate that in 2005, Martinborough wine-makers produced 1,649 tonnes of wine, compared to 22,493 in Gisborne; 28,098 from Hawke's Bay; and 81,034 from the Marlborough region.

Cath Hopkin, executive officer of local wine marketing body Wines from Martinborough, says it is the quality of the tiny region's wines that sets it apart.

"This is a little wine town that takes passion to a whole new level," she says. "Martinborough wines are punching well above their weight, considering the volume coming out of the region."

Accordingly, local winemakers have taken steps to define and protect their product, creating the Martinborough Terrace Appellation; a quality control standard that dictates the criteria for which wines can claim a 'Made in Martinborough' label.

Chief winemaker Dr Neil McCallum of local label Dry River Wines says the motivation was to group together wines of homogenous quality and style, created within the particular and unique Martinborough climate and geography.

"The area crops low even at the best of times, which is a good discipline for wine-makers," he says. "We're all rugged individualists here."

The number of wineries in the Martinborough region has swelled in recent years to 54 - more than double the 24 operating in 1995 - but many are small boutique vineyards producing less than 20 tonnes a year.

Many of these were developed by local farmers impressed by the success of the first four vineyards established in the region - Dry River Wines, Ata Rangi, Martinborough Vineyard (pictured above) and Chiffney - who subsequently converted the land they used for sheltering stock during winter to wine production.

Others who grew grapes on contract to the 'Big Four' vineyards have now begun experimenting with their own styles and varieties.

Characteristics
These small vineyards are also experiencing wide success, including Vynfields whose stand-out organic wines attracted a Royal Easter Wine Show gold medal for its 2003 Pinot Noir and a second gold medal at the Bragato Wine Awards for its 2004 Classic Riesling.

Dry River Wines was one of the first vineyards established in the area. Like his colleagues who also pioneered the region's wine industry, Dr McCallum was drawn to Martinborough in 1979 by a DSIR report which suggested it was one of the most suitable places in New Zealand for wine production.

After 25 years, the selection from Dry River Wines is now so sought-after there is a waiting list to join the winery's mailing list, through which it turns over 85 per cent of its annual sales. The remainder finds its way to selected restaurants and collections scattered around the world.

Martinborough's vineyards are planted on high alluvial river terraces, with deep stony and free draining soils. The region's soil is so good that it has been compared to that of the famous French wine-producing region of Burgundy .

Climatically, the area is similar to Marlborough with low rainfall, high sunshine hours and cool nights. Its long warm summers create ideal conditions for fruit ripening, and mild autumns assist with harvest.

"The most important quality protection we have here is the region's unique conditions," Dr McCallum says. "People put great faith in the pre-draining soils, plus Martinborough has one of the most reliable autumns in the North Island, which is its main advantage."

Terroir
As the winery's name suggests, Dry River was established on an ancient river terrace of gravelly loam - a rich soil perfect for pinot noir.

It is a structural composition that also works well for other varieties. Dr McCallum first planted gewürztraminer and sauvignon blanc, which the vineyard continues to produce successfully.

The vineyard's capacity has since widened to include syrah, chardonnay, riesling and pinot gris on the 24 acres it has under vine, but it is pinot noir that makes up a third of its 55 tonne output.

The winery uses a dry farming approach to concentrate flavour in the grape, rather than increasing volume on the vine. It is a technique adopted by other Martinborough winemakers, whose focus is firmly on quality, not quantity.

Mother Nature, however, has been doing her best to slow the region's run. Cold spring seasons in three of the past four years have led to significantly lower yields.

Claire Mulholland, chief winemaker at Martinborough Vineyard, says last season's crops were just under half of the vineyard's regular crop; a direct result of cool spring flowering and heavy rains later in the season, which caused berry burst.

"In the past few years we've been hit hard, particularly in 2003 and 2005," she says. "The cool springs have meant low vintages for the whole region, and while that means you have lovely wines, there are just not enough of them."

Dr McCallum attributes the intensely flavoured wines with high colour and structure that characterise recent vintages to the poor weather, but says small volumes have tightened operating margins.

Economics
The consequent concern for Martinborough's smaller producers is highlighted by Wines from Martinborough's Cath Hopkin. She thinks some of the boutique wineries may eventually be bought out by bigger operators in the region, where land is now reaching premium prices.
The lean seasons mean wineries are also looking to add value to their businesses by supplementing returns through wine tourism.

Many have diversified by offering accommodation, restaurants and wedding and function venues in addition to their usual wine-tasting and cellar door sales. With its smart town centre nestled amongst the vines – as well as plentiful accommodation, cafes, bars and restaurants – Martinborough has plenty of potential for destination tourism.

Traditionally a service town for the sheep-farming hinterland with well-preserved colonial buildings, Martinborough and its town centre – with its streets emanating from the centre to replicate a Union Jack – is now tramped less by the gumboots of rural locals and more by the high heels of urban visitors. And the stock of its shops is now more related to interior design, fashion and antiques than farming supplies.

Ata Rangi's Phyll Pattie says while wine tourism is a good spin-off industry; it is one heavily reliant on weekend visitors taking a break from the neighbouring Capital.

"We're lucky to be so close to Wellington but we don't have a strong local population base to support food and accommodation producers," she says. "We need to boost tourism in Martinborough and make it year-round, rather than weekend-based."

Marketing
The region's main tourism event is 'Toast Martinborough', an annual festival held on the third Sunday in November to promote local wines and produce. The town's population swells to more than 11,000 as revellers are ferried from vineyard to vineyard, sampling the local fare.

"Toast Martinborough is a fantastic way to put Martinborough on the map and to showcase all the new release wines," Ms Hopkin says. "It associates fine wine with fine food from the region with the top restaurants and good music – it’s a celebration."

The region will also play host to Pinot Noir 2007 - a conference late next January that will feature prestigious wine producers, tasters and writers from around the world. And each March, the annual 'Round the Vines' fundraising race attracts a diversity of costumed and serious runners who beat their feet around the vine rows of the local vineyards to the town square finish line.

With an eye to the weather's pressures, Dry River Wines' Dr McCallum predicts a period of transition for Martinborough, with the number of wineries condensing as a result of market pressures.

The Martinborough river terraces are now fully planted so growers are looking to expand into other areas of the Wairarapa. Dr McCallum reports that interest is growing in Timuna, which has similar soil to Martinborough and is already attracting the attention of larger producers such as Craggy Range .

It is likely Mother Nature will also be a factor in the future direction of the Martinborough wine industry. Dr McCallum suggests that the varieties of grape grown may alter as weather patterns continue to become less predictable.

"It's that bugbear of global climate change. A small change in temperatures will affect varieties," Dr McCallum says. "The vineyards will survive or fail on the quality of their fruit, and only time will tell which."

Article compiled August 2006