TWR Te Whare Ra

Te Whare Ra (pronounced te fa-re ra), a Māori name meaning ‘house in the sun’, is one of Marlborough’s oldest and most loved wineries. Established in ’79 in the subregion of Renwick but owned and operated by winemakers Anna and Jason Flowerday (and their four daughters – two sets of twins!) since ’03, it’s very much a hands-on operation. Their 11ha estate vineyard, planted to gewürztraminer, riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, chardonnay, pinot noir and syrah, is managed with a combination of organic and biodynamic practices, and their winery is deliberately set up for small-batch winemaking: think lots of smaller tanks to allow for parcels of fruit to be vinified separately, and for experimentation with different winemaking techniques. Single-vineyard varietals dominate their range, although there are exceptions: notably the Toru – a co-fermented blend of estate-grown gewürztraminer, riesling and pinot gris – which they’ve been producing for over 15 years. -ANNA WEBSTER