Wairarapa producers to watch: part one
Stephen Wong MW in New and Noteworthy Become a member to view this article
The Real Review is editorially independent. We don’t sell wine. We are free of influence from vested interests such as wine producers and sellers, and proprietors with conflicts. We tell you what we think about reviewed wines, served straight up. Our articles cover topics our writers choose because of genuine interest.
We rely on our members to publish The Real Review. Membership provides access to thousands of articles, a growing database of more than 160,000 wine tasting notes, exclusive member discounts and more.
Te Kairanga is the most established estate on the list. Te Kairanga Wines
The Wairarapa has long held a special place in Aotearoa’s wine world. With its cool climate, deep diurnal swings, persistent yield-reducing wind, and a culture that prizes small scale, site-specific wines, it’s a region where passion, patience, and terroir converge.
In our most recent tastings, Jane Skilton and I found 12 producers who are doing exciting things.It is home to the unique Abel clone and some of New Zealand’s best wines, from established greats like Ata Rangi, Dry River, Palliser Estate, Escarpment and Martinborough Vineyard. In our most recent tastings, Jane Skilton and I found 12 producers who are doing exciting things. Not all are new names but each is worth seeking out and learning more about. These are Huntress, Halite, Home Fields, Nga Pari, Coney, Te Kairanga, Alexia, The Good Way, Grava, Poppies, Oraterra and Schubert. Below are the first six producers named and next week, we’ll explore the second half of the dozen.
Huntress
Jannine Rickards’ star has been on the ascendant for most of this decade, both as winemaker for Urlar Winery until recently, and now for her own label Huntress. Jannine is part of the Matiti Collective and is one of its two wāhine winemakers who whakapapa Māori (the other being Greywacke’s Richelle Tyney whose interview you can watch here)
She is crafting wines which exist comfortably in both the traditional wine sphere for structure and power, as well as in the New Wave arena with category-bending creative blends of chilled reds, skin ferments and pét nat. Her latest releases of Matiti Pet Nat Riesling 2024, Kuratea 2023 (the pinot gris-dominant version) and seriously structured Pawero Pinot Noir 2024 are all great examples of her work.
Halite
Haidee Johnson (and partner Ben Osborne) recently moved to the Wairarapa full-time rather than commuting from Wellington and she is doing very exciting things with her New Wave brand. In full disclosure, two of Halite’s most exciting current releases include sangiovese fruit from Osawa in Hawke’s Bay, grown by her friend, Amy Hopkinson-Styles of Halcyon Days.
The wines are minimal intervention yet pure and precise; with a very light hand in winemaking flavours. The Light Dry Red 2025 (pinot noir dominant), Ruby 2025 (50/50 sangiovese and pinot noir) and Sel de Terre 2025 (sauvignon blanc) are all worth your attention.
Home Fields
A brand with a fascinating legacy in the region, it includes land resulting from the breakup of the historic Waipipi Homestead Vineyard in Ōpaki, northern Wairarapa. The homestead itself dates to 1903 and was held by the Bunny family (whose name was given to the street across the Wellington Central Train Station) shortly thereafter. The current vineyards date to 1993 plantings and are now 30+ years old.
Owners Caroline and Brent Eddy pride themselves on their heritage vineyards, including the Home Fields, Waipipi and Moss Oaks (planted 1996) vineyards. The 2024 Chardonnay is a modern, sleek example but the 2024 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir is fantastic, capturing the special quality of the 2024 pinots and well worth seeking out.
The Home Fields vineyard and winery. Home Fields Wines Facebook
Ngā Pari
Formerly Cottier Estate, Ngā Pari (which translates to The Cliffs) sits on the Ruamāhanga River terraces further along Dakins Road from Urlar. Owned by Pete Mason and Karen Delehanty since 2016, the re-naming to te reo Māori reflects both their whakapapa to Ngāi Tahu to acknowledge the traditional name of the area for the local iwi.
Jon McNabb makes the wine here and the estate works collaboratively with the community in search of a sustainable future for wine in Gladstone. Both current releases of chardonnay and pinot noir (2021) display a classical build which will delight drinkers seeking a more traditional style of wine.
Coney
An established name. Tim and Margaret Coney founded the winery in 1996 when they planted the 6.5 ha of bare land. In 2022, it passed down to their daughter Lisa Coney and her husband Rusty. Lisa had been making the wines here for many years but the most recent spate of releases caught our eye at the Wairarapa Regional Tasting, in particular the Rabbit Chardonnay 2022, Que Cera Syrah 2021 and Ragtime Riesling 2023.
Te Kairanga
This is certainly the most established estate and one of the ‘larger’ wineries on the list, though still only owning between 100 and 130 ha of vineyards (not large in the big scheme of things).
Winemaker John Kavanagh has quietly been refining the style of wines here for years and the winery’s performance across the difficult 2023 vintage and the exuberant 2024s demonstrates how much finesse is now part of Te Kairanga wines. The John Martin flagship range is remarkable value for a region whose top wines are often twice the price of these, or more.
Tune in next week to learn about Alexia, The Good Way, Grava, Poppies, Oraterra and Schubert Wines!
Wairarapa Wines
Halite Ruby 2025
Wines to showcase:
Huntress Pawero Pinot Noir 2024
Halite Ruby 2025
Home Fields Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024
Nga Pari Chardonnay 2021
Coney Rabbit Chardonnay 2022
Te Kairanga John Martin Pinot Noir 2024