Escarpment

About Escarpment Winery

Escarpment is closely linked to one much respected name: Larry McKenna. Following his role in establishing Martinborough Vineyards, one of the region's pioneering wineries, esteemed winemaker Larry McKenna, known affectionately as "Mr. Pinot," founded Escarpment in 1999. Larry has been honored with induction into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame and the prestigious Sir George Fistonich Medal. He was also made a Fellow of the New Zealand Wine Industry in 2016.

For over 35 years, Escarpment has crafted exceptional Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris from Martinborough's unique alluvial gravels. The winemaking team, led by Winemaker Tim Bourne and Viticulturist Rowan Hoskins, focuses on creating wines with structure, complexity, and distinct regional character.

Overlooking the stunning Aorangi Ranges, Escarpment Winery is nestled above a dramatic cliff carved by the Huarangarua River. Legend has it that Maori navigator Kupe left three canoes there, their shapes still visible on the skyline.

Escarpment Name

The unique location in Martinborough is defined by a long, steep escarpment that overlooks the vast Wairarapa plains. Beneath the big open skies and ancient alluvial soils, there is a natural balance. The escarpment can be seen from the winery.

Escarpment wines

Escarpment is dedicated to capturing the unique terroir of Martinborough. The quality focused winery is based on Te Muna Road, Martinborough. 'Te Muna' means 'secret place' in Māori, a fitting name for a special vineyard. The Te Muna Road vineyard, with its 24ha deep alluvial gravels, provides ideal conditions for growing exceptional grapes. Much like the great wines of Burgundy, Escarpment names their top Pinot Noirs after the vineyards from which the grapes were grown, rather than the grape variety. The Single Vineyard Kupe, Pahi, Te Rehua and Kiwa demonstrate this philosophy with distinctive elegance and character. Escarpment also sources fruit from other top Martinborough growers to ensure consistently high-quality wines.

Escarpment Vineyards - a unique sense of place

The soils of the vineyard are alluvial loams that form the Martinborough Terrace. They were created by the Huangarua River over 20,000 years ago. With alluvial loams now layered over very deep gravels, this composition ensures exceptional drainage and warmer profiles, key prerequisites for nurturing and producing premium quality, healthy grape vines. The climate is cool with summer days rarely exceeding 30ºC. This allows the grapes to ripen very slowly and to develop pure, powerful fruit characters with finely textured tannins. The rainfall is the lowest in the North Island averaging about 700mm per annum with very stable weather patterns particularly during autumn, the all-important harvest period.

Kupe Pinot Noir is made entirely from the home block first planted in 1999 and situated on Te Muna Road. The alluvial gravels on the Martinborough terrace provide a distinctive character that sets a benchmark for New Zealand Pinot Noir. An innovative planting in Escarpment’s Te Muna Road vineyard. The site surrounds the Huangarua escarpment relying on a soil type laid down by the river circa 75,000 years ago. The combination of deep alluvial gravels and Martinborough’s warm dry summers creates wines of exceptional power and style.

The Te Rehua vineyard, originally planted in 1990 by Geoff Bunny, showcases a diverse range of Pinot Noir clones. This diversity contributes to the wines' complexity and unique flavor profile. Situated on the edge of the Huangarua River escarpment, the vineyard benefits from ideal weather conditions and rich alluvial loams, resulting in exceptional Martinborough Pinot Noir.

Planted on the Martinborough Terrace alluvial gravels, this Single Vineyard Pinot Noir's hallmark is the savory, earthy undertones combining with beautiful ripe black, red and green fruit flavours which are always expressed in the resulting Pinot Noirs. These characters are consistent from year to year ensuring the Terroir is paramount in the bottle.

The Pahi Vineyard is situated on Te Muna Road adjected to the Escarpment Vineyard. Planted in 2003, the site possesses the same alluvial, free draining gravel soils which has made Martinborough famous. From an exceptional single site, the estate grown Pahi Vineyard is an individual site selection Pinot Noir sourced from designated rows on the famed Martinborough Terrace.

The Legend of Kupe

The Aorangi Ranges, the very hills made famous, according to Māori legend, by Kupe the great Polynesian voyager who discovered Aotearoa New Zealand, form an impressive backdrop to the vineyard. It is related that Kupe left his three canoes, Nga Waka, on top of the Aorangi Ranges, giving rise to the now familiar landmark of the district, which overlook the vineyard, the 'Nga Waka-o-Kupe' or the three flat-topped hills, which resemble unturned canoes. The warrior Kupe and his story provided the inspiration for Escarpment’s flagship wine, Kupe.