Te Whare Ra Wines
56 Anglesea St, Renwick,
(PO Box 70, Renwick)
Ph: 03-572 8581, fax: 03-572 8518
Email: tewharera@xtra.co.nz
www.te-whare-ra.co.nz.
General managers/Winemakers/ Viticulturists/Marketing/Sales:
Jason & Anna Flowerday
Wine sales: Cellar door, mail order, retail
Price range: $18-$28
Winery tastings: Summer 7 days 10am-5pm; winter Thu-Sun 10-4pm; other times
by appointment
Winery tours: By appointment
A new chapter in the story of Te Whare Ra, the second-oldest Marlborough wine producer after Allied Domecq Wines NZ (formerly Montana), began in November 2003 when it was acquired by Jason and Anna Flowerday. Both are trained winemakers – Anna an Australian and Jason a native of Marlborough, whose family grows grapes in the province. Both had been working in South Australia, but they wanted to acquire their own winery, and Anna says it came down to a choice between McLaren Vale, near Adelaide, and Marlborough.
“Te Whare Ra suited us to a T,” she declares. It was relatively small (just nine hectares) and boasts some of the oldest vines in Marlborough.
Established by the redoubtable Allan Hogan in 1979, Te Whare Ra (‘house of the sun’) has a distinguished history. It received early acclaim for its sweet, botrytised white wines and in more recent years, under different ownership, it has enjoyed a run of trophy and gold-medal achievements with its heady Duke of Marlborough Gewürztraminer.
Allan Hogan’s determination to prove that Marlborough was capable of making top Bordeaux-style wines did not have quite such a successful outcome and the new owners have pulled out the Cabernet Sauvignon vines, although some young Merlot vines have been retained. “We are trying to focus on doing a few things well,” Anna says.
Anna and Jason are happy to keep Gewürztraminer as their flagship wine. They are also making Sauvignon Blanc – previously absent from the Te Whare Ra range – and Pinot Noir, a grape that was planted by the former owners. Pinot Gris is also being planted and there is a trial plot of Syrah.
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