Major upgrades for Martinborough cellar doors

The Runholder tasting space.

Three Martinborough wineries have just swung open new winery doors as the region’s facilities for tasting and dining undergo a major upgrade costing millions of dollars.

Two of the three – Nga Waka Cellar Door and nearby Ata Rangi Tasting Room – jointly won first prize in the New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards’  Wellington Hospitality category.

At the other end of town’s Te Kairanga vineyard, Foley Family Wines has just opened The Runholder, a $10-million dollar wine, wine tasting, food and gin distilling development.

These new facilities will add to the area’s attractions, already experiencing an upsurge in visitor numbers in the wake of the lifting of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

The Runholder’s staff are clearly proud of their big, bold new premises on the edge of Martinborough, with its large tasting area and stunning copper-clad Gin Still just through the glass off the entrance-way. Then it’s through to the dining room where 100 diners can sit to eat and mull over their glasses of Te Kairanga wines.

The menu encapsulates the functions of the place with the phrase “Wine – Gin – Dine.” And beneath the ground floor is a massive cellar or “Barrel Room,” which can hold 1,300 oak barrels of maturing wines in a steady cool atmosphere, stacked four high.

The about-to-be-commissioned gin still is for production of Lighthouse Gin, a Foley Wines label that is alreeady exporting to the United States. The new still has the capacity to produce 700 litres of the liquor in each batch, more than three times the 200 litres of the old still which was at Foley-owned Martinboroigh Vineyard from 2014. 

“The Runholder” premises reflects the name of the sheep farmer who settled the land block it sits on, was known as The Runholder in his day and was the founder of Martinborough town John Martin.

Venue manager Jono Hobden explains the build took some three-and-a-half years and $10 million from the start of the cellar excavation to customer-ready. 

“It’s a great new offering in Martinborough,” he said, adding to the area’s dining experience, with both open, casual day-time dining as well as more formal a la carte evening options.

In what he calls a “soft” opening stage, Hobden says customer reaction “has already been very positive, the food offering very well received,” with as much as possible of it sourced locally.

Patronage is already building for the site, with operations expected to expand by the end of October: “we’ll be in full swing by early summer,” he adds, with seven days a week tasting and dining plus some evenings by that time.

“We think its important to have a selection of different venues and options in Martinborough, and the area is so fortunate that everything is so close (together).”

Among other plans, Hobden is looking at evening events featuring wine, Gin, cocktails and food bites, and a big programme of food, drinks and music for Toast Martinborough this year.     

“This (development) epitomises (American billionaire owner) Bill Foley’s commitment to supporting growth in the Wairarapa,” said Foley Wines CEO Mark Turnbull. 

“The Runholder offers locals and visitors something different – the chance to sit back and discover the breadth and quality of wines and produce from the region all under one roof.”

Mayor Martin Connelly said The Runholder is a welcome addition to the area’s flourishing tourism industry.

“This is a very substantial investment and displays an abundance of confidence in both the wine growing capabilities in Martinborough and in the district as a favourite tourist destination,” he said.