Wairau River is a family wine estate, and the beauty of this is that we nurture the wines from the smallest shoot on the vine to the bottle. Everything is done by us, hands on. In the vineyards Phil and Hamish Rose take care to keep yields low to ensure the fruit ripens perfectly (in the shallow soil with low fertility which gives rise to such concentrated flavours). Once the fruit is picked and brought in to the winery in small parcels, each distinctive block is matched to its own tank, allowing the small batch vintning that is the key to building all the elements of the Wairau River blend. It goes without saying that only the best grapes go into our flagship Wairau River label.

Allan and Sam craft wines that have the signature elegance, drinkability and fruit power to the fore. Our new winery was built in 2002 and is testament to our commitment to quality. A handful of open top fermenters are filled with small parcels of Pinot Noir, and the French oak barriques are housed in their own temperature/humidity controlled cellar. We also have our own new bottling facility which ensures that the very first time a bottle of Wairau River wine leaves our soil is as it wings its way to you.