Wine Regions | Marlborough
The Marlborough Valley was created millions of years ago by a glacier tearing its way through the landscape and leaving a valley behind it. The Wairau River then ran through the devastation for thousands of years, it diverted and became smaller and still runs as a smallish river through the valley. With time, the wind and floods deposited a layer of silt over the stony earth.
The first vines were planted in 1973 with unparalleled development. Today it is one of the world’s foremost winegrowing regions. Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted varietal, followed by Chardonnay, then Pinot Noir and Riesling.
Most of the wine made under the Kim Crawford label is from this region: Sauvignon Blanc, Unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Riesling.
A number of sub-regions exist within the Marlborough region, each with a different flavour profile for different varieties. These include the main Wairau Valley, the lower Wairau Valley, Brancott Valley, lower Waihopai Valley, Dog Point, Dillons Point and the Awatere Valley.
Wairau Valley
"Wairau" is a Maori word meaning "many waters". This subregion is broadly defined by its proximity to the 170km long Wairau River that runs from the mountains in the west to the ocean at Cloudy Bay. Marlborough’s earliest vineyards were established on the characteristically alluvial river plains that include the acclaimed Rapaura region; home to some of the region’s most well known wine brands.
- Warmer, wetter climate
- Stony, fast-draining, heat reflective, infertile soils
- More tropical; Sauvignon Blanc flavours with mineral, flinty notes and passionfruit, grapefruit and gooseberry
Kim Crawford's flagship wine "Spitfire" Sauvignon Blanc is from Wairau Valley and it's because of those cool nights and warm days that we can produce such a vibrant and mouthfulling wine, unsurpassed by any other wine region in the world (that’s what we think anyway).
Awatere Valley
South east of the Wairau Valley and typically closer to the coast, the vineyards of the narrow Awatere Valley typically experience a cooler, drier and windier growing season. The area can be more exposed to cold weather from the South than the other sub-regions, which tends to create a later ripening crop and longer growing season. The soils are typically alluvial gravel on wind borne loess, often exhibiting a diverse composition of stone materials.
- Very cool & relatively dry climate due to maritime influences
- Young, semi-fertile soils on terraced vineyards
- Distinctive “tomato stalk” and capsicum/bell pepper Sauvignon Blanc characters
Southern Valleys
The soils of the Ben Morven, Brancott, Omaka and Waihopai Valleys that lie to the south of the Wairau plains typically originated from glacial outwash. Less extensively worked by the river system these soils tend to have significant amounts of gravel but also exhibit higher levels of clay than the other sub-regions. While the Wairau River moderates the viticultural climate, on the northern side of the Wairau River, cold air descends from the mountains into the Southern valleys creating a cooler, later ripening climate.
- Located on the south western side of the Wairau Valley
- Cool, dry climate
- Mature, stony clay loam with low fertility
- More grassy and herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc characters
