NZ's Martinborough - toast of the nation
27 Oct 2009
The historic village of Martinborough will be the toast of New Zealand on 15 November when thousands gather for the country’s premier wine, food and music festival.
Toast Martinborough has become one of the highlights of the country’s spring events calendar, and each year the capacity 10,000 tickets sell out within hours.
Winning combination
Set in Wairarapa, a small but celebrated wine growing region just north of Wellington, the festival offers an appealing combination of charming village atmosphere, award-winning local wines, gourmet food and live entertainment.
Festival-goers can wander the short distance between each of the participating vineyards, sampling and buying. Around 9,500 litres of wine are consumed each year and about 600 cases of wine are sold on the day.
Participating vineyards match their new and limited release wines to culinary delights from top restaurants in the Wellington and Wairarapa regions.
Boutique wineries
Martinborough features small, largely family-owned, boutique wineries which have won numerous international trophies and medals across all varieties.
Two new wineries will take part in this year’s event - Escarpment with winemaker Larry McKenna and an organic vineyard, Vynfields. The new sites join 10 other award-winning wineries to offer festival goers a wider variety of premium wines.
Those joining this year’s festival include Alana Estate, Ata Rangi, Craggy Range, Margrain Vineyard, Burnt Spur, Martinborough Vineyard, Muirlea Rise, Palliser, Te Kairanga and Tirohana.
Toast Martinborough is in its 18th year and sees the small town swell ten-fold as food and wine enthusiasts celebrate the release of the new vintage.
Background: Martinborough wines
- Martinborough’s vineyard area has more than doubled since 2000.
- Total Wairarapa / Martinborough wine-producing area was 855ha in 2008, compared to 327ha in 2000. The forecast for 2009 is 870ha.
- Wairarapa / Martinborough represents 3% of the total NZ wine-producing area.
- Wairarapa region has 58 vineyards - more than double the number in 1995.
- Predominant 2008 vintage varieties were pinot noir (54%), sauvignon blanc (23%), chardonnay (8%), pinot gris (5%) and riesling (4%).
- The 2008 vintage produced 4,105 tonnes - triple the 2003 volume (1,311 tonnes), and double the 2007 volume (1,949 tonnes).
More information:
NZ wine industry
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