This is New Zealand's largest winery and is located just outside the picturesque town of Blenheim.

Winery Tours

Tours give visitors the opportunity to see the first Coquard Champagne press in the southern hemisphere and the revolutionary grape tipper tanks – the first of their kind in the world. Another visitors’ favourite is the imposing cuve room, where some of Brancott’s premium red wines are fermented in oak. Visitors who wish to buy wines can do so in the cellar door retail store.

History

The Montana Brancott Winery opened in 1977, making it the oldest winery in Marlborough. The first modern commercial vineyards in the Marlborough region were established by Montana in 1973, a region at the time better known for sheep farming than winemaking.

Vines had first been planted in Marlborough one hundred years earlier by David Herd and Charles Empson, whose winery continued until 1931.

A second winery, run by George Freeth, was up and running by 1893 and half a century later, two more were operating in the region (Harry Pratchett and Monsoor Peters) but by the 1960s, all three had closed down.

Famous Wine Press

True to its pioneering heritage, the winery has a tradition of embracing excellence and a reputation for innovation. In 2000 the world's first grape tipping tanks were installed at the Montana Brancott Winery.

This invention allows marc to be decanted directly into presses, rather than moved manually, giving winemakers greater control over maceration times and phenolic extraction from the grape skins.

The winery houses some of the few wooden cuves in New Zealand, as well as a cooperage holding more than 6500 traditional oak barriques.

Grape varieties grown in Marlborough are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sauvignon Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc.

Varieties grown in other parts of New Zealand include the above and Gewürztraminer, Arneis, Viognier and Cabernet Sauvignon.