T
o gettoMartinborough,youmustfirst
traversetheRemutakaRange,whichseparates
thebucolicWairarapaDistrictfromthe
greaterWellingtonregion.Whetheryousnake
yourwaythroughthehillsbycar,oroptforthemore
directrailroute,you’llbemesmerisedbythethick,
prehistoricbushthatguardsthemightymountainrange.
It’sa worldawayfromBurgundyinFrance,andyet,
Martinboroughsharesa curiousnumberofsimilarities
withthefamedFrenchregion,includinga similarclimate,
elevationanddistancefromtheequator.It wasthese
similaritiesthatspurreda groupofenterprising
winemakerstoplantthefirstpinotnoirvinesin
Martinboroughin1980,transformingthehistoricrural
settlementintothebirthplaceofNewZealandpinotnoir.
Today,Martinboroughis hometosomeofNew
Zealand’smostawardedwines.Andwhiletheregion’s
smallsizeandlimitedwineproductionmeanit isn’t
aswellknowninternationallyasCentralOtagoorthe
Hawke’sBay,it makesit anespeciallycharmingspot
tovisit,asyoucaneasilywalkorcycleyourwayaround
the town’smanycellardoors.
Just 15 minutes’drivenorth,you’llfindthehistoric
villageofGreytown– a favouriteweekendescapefor
Wellingtonians– withitsmainstreetlinedwithcolonial
cottagesandartisanalshops.Whileanhourtothesouth,
CapePalliseroffersthekindofwindsweptvistasand
ruggedcoastalbeauty that can only be found in Aotearoa,
New Zealand. WORDS JOANNA HUNKIN (INTRODUCTION).108 GOURMET TRAVELLER