Marlborough

The largest wine-growing region in New Zealand, located on the north-east Tipp of South Island. The vineyard area totals 11.488 hectares, located in the wide river valley of the Wairau River, centred around the principal town of Blenheim. The soils are sandy with gravel, with some quite large stones near the surface, the principal varieties planted here are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. The summers are dry, with relatively low rainfall overall, necessitating irrigation. The multinational company Montana was the first to establish vineyards here in 1973, laying the foundation for viticulture on South Island. The region has grown rapidly, and has become internationally famous principally fort he white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is also well-known for its sparkling wines and botrytis Riesling wines. A special service provided here for customers outside the region are the Custom Crush Facilities#Custom Crush Facility. These are locally-based cellars that produce must or young wine, and then supply these to the producers who will finish off the wines for sale. Well-known producers include Alta Rangi (famous for Pinot Noir), Cloudy Bay (Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin), Fromm, Goldwater Estate, Gravitas, Highfield, Hunter´s, Isabel Estate, Jackson Estate, Montana, Morton Estate, Saint Clair, Allan Scott, Selaks, Seresin, Villa Maria, Wairau River and Wither Hills.