The Auntsfield Origins
While Marlborough is entirely associated with modern viticulture, the first grapevines were actually planted by early Scottish settler David Herd in 1873. He established a small vineyard at Auntsfield in the Southern Valleys, successfully growing Brown Muscat and making wine for over fifty years. However, this early attempt failed to spark a wider industry.
For the next century, the rolling plains of the Wairau and Awatere valleys remained the undisputed domain of sheep and cattle.
The Montana Gamble
The modern wine story began with a bold and visionary gamble. In the early 1970s, the large New Zealand wine company Montana, guided by founder Frank Yukich, looked to expand its vineyard holdings. Against the prevailing wisdom of the time, which favoured established North Island regions, Montana secretly purchased massive blocks of land in the Wairau Valley.
In August 1973, they began the first large-scale commercial grape plantings in Marlborough's history. It was a risky venture, as no one was certain that grapes could survive on a commercial scale in the stony soils and cool climate.
Phylloxera and the Sauvignon Blanc Revelation
Montana initially planted a wide range of grape varieties, including Müller - Thurgau and Cabernet Sauvignon. The turning point arrived through a mixture of agricultural disaster and scientific adaptation. When the phylloxera root louse struck the vineyards in the 1980s, growers were forced to rip out their dying vines and replant on resistant rootstocks.
They used this opportunity to shift heavily into a then-unfashionable French variety: Sauvignon Blanc. The region's long, sunny days and cool, clear nights allowed the grape to develop a remarkable intensity of flavour, while the free-draining stony soils of the old riverbeds provided ideal growing conditions.
The Cloudy Bay Effect
The international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s. Wineries like Cloudy Bay, launched in 1985 by David Hohnen and Kevin Judd, captured the imagination of wine critics and consumers in London and around the world.
The distinctive Marlborough style, loaded with pungent aromas of passionfruit, gooseberry, and freshly cut grass, became a global sensation. An export-driven boom began immediately. Sheep paddocks were rapidly converted to vineyards, and new wineries sprang up across the Wairau, expanding quickly into the Awatere and Southern Valleys.
An Economic Engine
Today, the wine industry is the undeniable economic engine of the province. Spanning nearly 30,000 hectares of planted vines, the region is responsible for over 75 percent of New Zealand's total wine production and the vast majority of its export value. The industry has transformed the agricultural identity of the entire upper South Island. It has turned the region into an internationally recognised brand, a major centre for wine tourism, and a hub of viticultural and oenological innovation, marking a staggering agricultural achievement in less than half a century.
The Marlborough Wine Exhibition
The Wine Exhibition is a permanent installation detailing the history of wine and viticulture in Marlborough. Designed for both general and specialist audiences, the exhibition serves as an authoritative introduction to the region's wine heritage and its modern applications. It is widely regarded as a premier wine exhibition within Australasia.
The collection features rare wines, historical viticulture and winemaking equipment, interactive and audiovisual displays, oral histories, and archival photographs tracing local wine brand histories. The exhibition provides an essential foundation for wine writers, sommeliers, trade professionals, and tourists before touring the local wineries.
The exhibition was curated by Dr Adam Friend, a scientist and viticulture expert formerly of the Marlborough Research Centre. The design was led by Nelson-based curator and artist Sally Papps, with project management by Virginia Watson.
Supporters and Sponsors
The Marlborough Provincial Museum acknowledges the extensive community support that made this exhibition possible, including donations of archival wines, historical artifacts, and volunteer hours from John Rainey, Belinda Vavasour, Jenny Pierson, Pam and Tom Woodward, and the Marlborough Historical Society.
Funding Grants: Marlborough District Council, Marlborough Lines, The Lotteries Commission.
Premium Reserve Sponsors: Hunter's Wines, Auntsfield, Yealands Estate Wines, Jackson Estate, Nautilus Estate, Wither Hills.
Limited Edition Sponsors: Forrest Estate, Lawson's Dry Hills, Fromm Winery, Villa Maria Estate, The Ned, Pernod Ricard (Montana Wines).
Cellar Selection Sponsors: Highfield Estate, Cloudy Bay Vineyards, Huia, Clos Henri, Mt Riley, Domaine Georges Michel, Astrolabe Wines, Constellation NZ (Drylands Winery), Herzog Winery, Churton, Dog Point Vineyards.
Premium Business Reserve: Gilbert Haymes & Associates, Bayleys Marlborough, Cuddon, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), Wine Marlborough, Wallace Diack Chartered Accountants, Rapaura Vintners, Bank of New Zealand.
Business Select Sponsors: Ormond Nurseries, Marlborough Wine Research Centre.
In-kind Sponsors: The Marketing Department, Borland Painting, Taylors Engineering, Parkers Business Solutions, Equus Industries, Peters Doig Chartered Accountants.
Exhibition Contacts: Steve Austin, Chief Executive, 03 578 1712.