As the name suggests, Hans Herzog's roots lie in Switzerland where the family has grown wine since 1630. There Hans & Therese Herzog established their own vineyard and winery in the Zurich wine country. From humble beginnings in the couple's garage, they became one of the foremost estates in the country. Therese, a committed epicure, ended her marketing career in 1992 to open a restaurant on the estate. She is a natural, vivacious host and people were soon queuing up to experience the combination of fine food, impeccable service, ambience and of course Hans' wines: serious, handcrafted food wines. The restaurant won high praise and a prestigious Michelin Star. Despite their success in Switzerland, Hans still sought the ideal place to produce great Bordeaux-style wine and other varieties not possible to grow in the cooler climate of Switzerland. In pursuit of his dream to find the perfect land to grow the wines he loved, his search led him to New Zealand. He found the perfect conditions in Marlborough and bought a precious plot of land which had originally been an apple orchard in 1994. The single vineyard was planted in 1996 and the winery followed in 1998 for the first vintage.

When you combine more than 20 years’ experience with an inquisitive spirit, the result is a perfect balance of knowledge and innovation. These two traits can be found in every bottle of Lawson’s Dry Hills wine – wonderful, top quality fruit from our carefully nurtured vineyards transformed into imminently drinkable wines using modern winemaking techniques. The original company vineyard was planted in 1980 by Ross and Barbara Lawson, who launched the Lawson’s Dry Hills label some twelve years later, in 1992. Today, the company’s wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and our famous Gewurztraminer, all made from fruit grown in Wairau, Waihopai, Omaka and Awatere Valleys. These different regions and carefully selected vineyard sites provide varying characteristics derived from the different soils and microclimates, giving many options when it comes to blending to that much-anticipated Lawson’s style. The dedicated bunch of people that make up our small team at Lawson’s Dry Hills are very ‘hands on’, living and breathing every part of the viticultural and winemaking process. We do a lot of talking and tasting before pouring our shared inspiration into every bottle. The resulting wines offer an authentic expression of the place and the grape variety they are made from together with a certain special something that we believe can only come from passion. It would seem that the combination of elements that go into each of our wines is a winning formula. We have lost count of all our gold medals – the certificates cover the walls in our cellar door while the shelves are buckling with the weight of all our trophies – both local and overseas. But actually we’re not ones to boast so that’s enough of that. We’d rather roll our sleeves up and get stuck in to making the best wines possible, after all, that’s what we dream of, talk about and well, it’s actually what we do.

Originally part of a 220 acre sheep farm, our 25ha vineyard in Marlborough's Brancott Valley was planted in 1982 by Ken and Jill Small and the first wines released under the Fairhall Down’s brand in 1996. Since our purchase of the property in 2014, the focus has been on vineyard improvement, introduction of sustainable management, working towards the application of organic and biodynamic principles. Uniquely free-draining, the soil is a nutrient rich top layer over a gravel clay base, making deep root penetration easy - perfect soil for growing grapes. The Fairhall River-Brancott Valley has its own microclimate, with even cooler evenings and even warmer days than is typical. It is not unusual for a day/night temperature variation around 20oC allowing the grapes to build brix levels during the day, yet with fruit acids being retained due to cooler nights over the long dry autumn ripening window. Combining this with a lower rainfall than most parts, we can safely claim our piece of dirt is truly a sub-region within a sub-region, indicative of terrior reflected in single vineyard Marlborough wines already enjoying a world-renowned reputation for exceptional quality.

Winegrowing at Fromm follows a simple philosophy: quality over quantity. From the beginning we have been very conscientious about the health of our vineyards. We do this not for commercial or publicity reasons but for genuine concern for our lands, plants, environment and the health of our team. We also believe that organic wines, by virtue of there being no artificial chemical substances put on or near our vines, will be much purer expressions of their terroir and vintage. We achieve our results by having closely planted vines, frugal irrigation and low cropping to create textural, intensely flavoured wines. Our vineyard practices also create a quality result for the environment as we aim for zero irrigation, and transform winery waste into compost to go back on to the land to retain water and feed the soil. The vines were planted in traditional European style: very densely spaced, closer to the ground, and tressled for more open, less powerful canopies.

Doctors John and Brigid Forrest are Forrest, a small, very much 'hands-on" producer of premium quality white wine from their home vineyards in Marlborough. Whilst in partnership they produce the Cornerstone Bordeaux red from their vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels Region of Hawke's Bay and premium Pinot Noir from their vineyards in Bannockburn and the Waitaki Valley, Otago. Leaving behind careers in molecular biology and medicine, John and Brigid returned to Marlborough in 1988 to establish their first vineyard at Renwick - at the heart of the stony Wairau River Valley. Vintage 1990 saw the first Forrest wine and immediate success with a trophy at the national wine awards - success that has been repeated many times both nationally and internationally over the subsequent vintages. To the often asked question "why did you do it?" the answer is, a mixture of the wine 'passion' and a desire to achieve and be recognised and rewarded for one's efforts. In hindsight we struck upon a career which suits our personalities - a perfect blend of art and science. Grape growing and winemaking is an exacting science, however it must have the artistic touch to give the wines 'soul'. That individual expression of style is the trademark of our wines - rich aromatic white wine, and powerfully scented reds - all impeccably structured and a joy to drink.

Drylands holds the distinction of being one of New Zealand’s first wineries to produce vibrant and intensely flavoured Sauvignon Blanc from the famous Marlborough region on the South Island. In 1980, when the Drylands Home Block vineyard was planted, only 300 to 400 hectares of vineyards existed in all of Marlborough and only a fraction of that was planted to Sauvignon Blanc. The Drylands Home Block vineyard is located in Marlborough’s esteemed Golden Triangle of the Wairau Valley. The Golden Triangle is a special area that claims the most hours of sunshine and a lower-than-average rainfall, delivering small yields of excellent fruit. We blend each Drylands wine from premium parcels of Marlborough fruit that we’ve selected for intensity, structure, and balance. These high-quality grapes provide Drylands’ wines with their distinct and sought-after flavour.

As one of the first independent wineries to be establish in Marlborough in 1990, Allan Scott Family Winemakers have made a name for themselves in this highly competitive industry. Allan has nearly 40 years in the wine business, which makes him one of the most experienced people in Marlborough when it comes to growing, making and marketing wine. When Allan and his wife Catherine decided to settle here in 1973, (Cathy is a fifth generation Marlburian) Allan took a job with Montana working in their new vineyards. In 1980 he was head-hunted by Corbans to oversee the establishment of their Marlborough vineyards. He soon became their Senior Viticultural Manager, which not only gave him responsibility for the company’s entire national grape intake, but led him to become part of the winemaking team. All this stood him in good stead for the family’s foray into winemaking. Back then, there weren’t any boutique wineries to speak of in Marlborough. In 1975 Allan and Catherine purchased a block of land and got into contract growing. Then, when the first independent winemakers started to emerge in Marlborough, Allan and Catherine were in a position to become a part of this new era in New Zealand’s wine industry. In 1990, they launched Allan Scott Wines. Allan remembers it well. “We were one of a small number who made up the first wave of the independents.” The Allan Scott winery has seen some changes since then. Over the 25 years since its inception, the winery has evolved to keep ahead of the changing demands from the market.

Our passion and love for making wine is reflected in every detail throughout the winemaking process. Our aim is to enhance the typical characteristics of Marlborough with a complexity and finesse that will deliver aging potential for Isabel wines. Isabel Estate has some of the oldest vines. They produce exceptional quality grapes and wines including: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Riesling.

Starborough Wines is owned and operated by Bill and Lynette Jones and their two sons Andrew and James. The Jones family has been farming in Marlborough for four generations. In 1865 William Jones came to Marlborough from Vowchurch, England in search of a brighter future. William established Grove Farm in the Wairau Valley, and his son Hollis, (Bill’s father), later purchased another block in nearby O’Dwyers Road. The farming operation run by Bill, Andrew and James was expanded in 1992 with the purchase of the Starborough homestead block and more recently the Long Lane vineyard. Starborough was the second sheep run established on the south side of the Awatere River in 1849. At one stage the property covered 35,000 acres and included the area which is now occupied by the Seddon township. The Starborough homestead and tradition symbolise the heritage and values of the four generations of Jones’s who have made Marlborough their home. Bill and Lynette’s son Andrew manages the family’s farming operation and his viticulturist brother James manages the Starborough wine brand and the company vineyards. Along with producing fruit for the Starborough label the Jones family contract grow for some of the most prestigious wine brands in the region. While the Jones family has diversified into vineyards, they have not forgotten their roots. They still intensively farm much of their Starborough block with arable crops and livestock.

Summerhouse wines come from unique and inspiring vineyard sites across the various sub-regions of Marlborough. Hidden jewels, remote back breaking vineyards helping us write the next chapter in Marlborough’s wine story. Our wines are an obvious reflection of the variety, region and vineyards and show lovely fruit purity and concentration.