Community Board staying on Pain Farm case

A letter of thanks.

Martinborough community board would like to once again thank everyone who attended the public information session and have offered on going support to ensure the future of the Pain Estate. As a result of this support, we have now made a small but significant step in the right direction.

You may have already seen in the press that an amount of $300k was paid back into the Pain Estate bank account following an investigation authorised by the CE. This money related to amounts overcharged to the Estate during the period 2006 – 07 through to provisional accounts for 2023-24

A copy of the report from the CE detailing this is attached – it was presented at the Community Board meeting held on 11^th July – a recording is available on the council’s  Youtube channel. … Continue Reading

Featherston Amateur Wrestling Club

It’s been a busy season at the Wrestling club so far in 2024. 

In late May/June FWC attended the Waikanae Tri-series tournament, the Wellington  Championships and the North Island Championships. An impressive collection of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals returned with the teams.

The tri-series with local clubs introduces our wrestlers to tournament wrestling and prepares them for attending the National events that follow. The friendly club atmosphere has been great this year and we look forward to the Tawa tri-series tournamnent in late July. … Continue Reading

Cartel Food Company “Home Grown in Martinborough”

By Lyle Griffiths

Nine years ago, Jason and Melissa Phillips founded the Cartel Food Company and began perfecting the art of making burritos as a frozen snack. Working on Sundays out of Providore’s Kitchen they made their first 200 frozen burritos. 

“Initially we had only two customers,” said Melissa. “Pain and Kershaw and Moore Wilson’s.”

“During the initial stages we had to perfect our recipes, Smoky Chipotle Beef, Chili Lime Chicken, Beans and Cheese. We had to establish our brand. We had to promote the product and focus on distribution, ensuring that we always made sufficient supplies to meet demand. Quality control for consistency ensuring the product was well displayed and correctly labelled was imperative,” she adds. … Continue Reading

Busy, busy transition months for local wineries

By Joelle Thomson

July and August are busy months on the Martinborough wine scene with launches, tastings, a new brand (Mason) and new releases, including Marie Zelie Pinot Noir and new single vineyard Pinot Noirs from Escarpment. 

Not to mention a private group’s Italian tasting that I was the happy recipient of left overs from, thanks to a thoughtful member of the group. This month’s wine news has an unashamed focus on Pinot Noir; the leading grape and wine of both Martinborough and the Wairarapa Wine Region.

First Mason rosé on shop shelves:

The Hidden Vineyard is a sunny gem at the southern end of Te Muna Valley and the new home of Paul and Amy Mason’s new Mason Rosé and, soon, a Pinot Noir. The one-hectare site was planted by the late Bill Brink in 2002 in six different clones of Pinot Noir and has had patchy production till now. The Masons plan to build their brand as a go-to wine in this region.

“Te Muna Valley typically gets 10% fewer crops than vineyards around Martinborough village,”

says Paul Mason, who attributes this to stronger winds in Te Muna. 

The first Mason wine is the 2024 Mason Hidden Valley Rosé, RRP $36. It’s dry, medium ruby pink, zesty and medium bodied.

Pinot pioneer retires:

If anyone has worked as many consecutive vintages as Roger Parkinson at one winery in Martinborough, let me know. This year marked Parkinson’s 32^nd _ and final _ year at Nga Waka, the

winery he founded and subsequently sold to Jay Short and Peggy Dupey, who announced his

successor this month as Paul Mason, long-term head winemaker for Martinborough Vineyard.

Pinot pioneer Marie Zelie’s sixth vintage:

Who was the first pioneer of Pinot Noir in the Wairarapa? The most likely answer is a relatively

unknown woman planted the first vines in the region, Marie Zelie Hermance Frere, a French

settler who planted vines near to Masterton in the late 1800s. This year, the sixth vintage of Martinborough Vineyards Marie Zelie Pinot Noir was released in her honour at a tasting and dinner at The Runholder in late July. 

The 2019 Marie Zelie Reserve Pinot Noir is the first vintage made since 2013. It is produced only in outstanding years and made by viticulturist Dave Shepherd and winemaker Paul Mason from some of New Zealand’s oldest Pinot Noir vines. A century after Marie Zelie’s plantings, the co-founder of Martinborough Vineyard, Derek Milne, married Marie Zelie’s great-great-niece, Margaret.

Escarpment unveils 2022 Pinot Noirs:

Four of New Zealand’s iconic Pinot Noirs were released by winemaker Tim Bourne at Escarpment Vineyard in late June. The wines are Kupe, Pahi, Kiwa and Te Rehua and they represent the pinnacle of Pinot Noir at Escarpment Vineyard. 

They have been made every year since 2006. This is the third vintage that Bourne has made these wines at Escarpment’s new winery and the first in which three of the four single vineyard wines have been made from vineyards in Te Muna Valley. The 2022 wines are very good quality, particularly the Pahi, despite a tough vintage.

Try this:

2022 Escarpment Pahi RRP $85

The third vintage of Pahi from the outstanding vineyard opposite Escarpment winery. Lifted

spice and red berry aromas combine with complex savoury notes.

The wines featured in this column are available Martinborough Wine Merchants.