Australian Gourmet Traveller - (07)July 2019 (1)

I

n anygameofwordassociation,Marlborough

andsauvignonblancmustrankinthesame

leagueasginandtonic,orEltonandJohn.

Tuckedinthenorth-eastcornerofNew

Zealand’sSouthIsland,theregionhas

becomesynonymouswiththegrapes

thathaveputit ontheglobalviticulturalmap.

It’simpossibletounderestimatethepowerofthis

symbiosis.A lightbulbmomentinthe1970sspawned

aregionalindustrythatnowproducesmorethan

three-quartersofNewZealand’sgrapes,and 86 per

centofthenationalharvestis sauvignonblanc,which

thriveswithMarlborough’slongsunnydays,loamy

soilsandlowrainfall.

“It’simpossibletoescapeit intheseparts,”says

MargaretSutherland,oftheorganic,family-runDog

PointVineyard.“Somanypeopleworkinthewine

industrythatlocalscallit twodegreesofseparation.”

Fromtheair,thestaggeringextentofMarlborough’s

wine-centrismis laidoutbeforeusina neatdisplay

ofcorduroypatches.Withgeometricalprecision,the

vineyardsblanketthewidevalleyandstretchintothe

foothillsoftheRichmondandBlackBirchranges.

It’sherethatthewinerieswithdeeperpocketsare

experimentingwithgrapesgrownat ever-higher

altitudes.“Youjustcan’tfindlanddowninthe

valleysanymore,”saysSutherland.“Everyspare

inchseemstobetakenbyvines.”

A helicopterrideis highlyrecommended,especially

if thepilottakesuprequeststofollowa familyofwild

deer,orflocksofsheepdashingacrossthehighlands.

Thisis centralcastingNewZealandhighcountry,with

a stopat MiddlehurstStation,a merinostudwhose

ownerspulla batchofpastriesandmuffinsfromthe

ovenandservethemwithtea,whileweoverlook

a landscapethatcanaccuratelybedescribedasepic.

Thechopperridecertainlyrevealsyoudon’tneed

to be a member of the swish-and-spit crowd to find

Thesnowypeaks

oftheKaikoura

Ranges.Below,

fromleft:DogPoint

Vineyardwinemaker

MurrayCookwith

Moethedog;

theMarlborough

Lodge’sconverted

chapel.

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