A short drive north of Wellington, over the Remutaka Range, lies the region where New Zealand's Pinot Noir story began. Sixty boutique wineries, three sub-regions, and a warm Wairarapa welcome — now with a virtual cellar door that brings them all to the country.
The Wairarapa produces just one percent of New Zealand's wine — and yet it is world-famous for crafting some of the country's very best. From small parcels of limestone-rich, free-draining soil, tended by hand by the people who own them, come wines of rare character and finesse.
Exceptional Pinot Noir is our claim to fame — but there is so much more behind the growing number of cellar doors.
Warm summers, cold winters, and shelter from the Tararua Range give a climate akin to Burgundy. The Ruamahanga River is the region's lifeblood, carving the terraces and exposing the soils that give Wairarapa wine its unmistakable signature. It is a place to slip off your shoes, wander among the vines, and taste the land for yourself.
Each township along the Ruamahanga has its own soils, climate and charm — and its own winemakers.
The region's celebrated heart — a walkable wine village where New Zealand's modern Pinot Noir was born. Family-owned estates and some of the country's oldest producing vines sit within strolling distance of the square.
Pinot Noir · Chardonnay · SyrahQuietly rural, set on the free-draining river terraces of the Ruamahanga. A patchwork of small, dedicated growers producing aromatic whites and elegant, perfumed reds with a gentle warmth.
Pinot Noir · Sauvignon Blanc · RieslingThe region's northern reach, around Opaki and the town of Masterton. A newer, emerging chapter of Wairarapa wine, with bold, expressive bottlings from a fresh generation of growers.
Pinot Noir · Chardonnay · AromaticsA growing roll of the region's boutique producers. Yours could be among them.
Browse the region's boutique producers, or ask the AI Sommelier for a Wairarapa Pinot, a food match or a gift — and buy direct from the winery.