Te Whare Ra (TWR)
Te Whare Ra (TWR), the "house in the sun", is the oldest boutique winery in Marborough. TWR was originally established in 1979 and since 2003 has been owned and operated by the Flowerday family. It is considered to be one of the prime producers of quality wines in the region. Their wines are hand-picked and hand made.
Our recommendation: Try the TWR Riesling M 2022. At our recent wine fairs, the wine put a smile of pleasure on the faces of visitors. We love the tension in this wine - the perfect balance between the initial sweetness of the fruit and the lingering, chalky acidity. Another recommendation is the TWR Toru 2022, which combines the aromatic spice and weight of Gewürztraminer, the structure and length of Riesling and the great texture of Pinot Gris.
About Te Whare Ra
"one of the most interesting producers in Marlborough" - Dr. Jamie Goode
Te Whare Ra (TWR), the "house in the sun", is the oldest boutique winery in Marborough. Established 1979 in Renwick, it has the oldest Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer vines in Marlborough.
In 2003, Te Whare Ra was purchased by the husband and wife winemaker team Anna and Jason Flowerday. Anna is a 6th generation winegrower from McLaren Vale in Australia and Jason is a 3rd generation kiwi winegrower with both parents and grandparents in the NZ wine industry.
Vineyard and winemaking at Te Whare Ra
The 11ha vineyard has predominantly loam over clay soils.
Everything is hand-picked, hand-sorted and the attention to detail is meticulous.
TWR's aim is to grow great quality fruit which is balanced in all its components, and which requires minimal winemaking intervention once they get it in the winery. This means a cropping level which is strictly controlled. Anna and Jason do selective crop thinning at several key times during the growing season across all varieties, as well as very detailed canopy management.
There also is a big focus on soil health in the management of their vineyard. This is achieved through old school farming, composting, biodynamic preparations, selected mixed grasses in mid rows and looking after bees and biodiversity.
"Our philosophy is wholly centered on making seriously good wine. We like wines to express their place – to speak of a somewhere-ness rather than of a same-ness, we want you to be able to taste this in our wines." - Anna & Jason Flowerday