Waipara Wine Region

Only an hour’s drive north of Christchurch, Waipara wine region is one New Zealand’s fastest growing wine regions with over 75 vineyards in the Waipara Valley covering more than 1,200 hectares of plantings.  A sub region of the Canterbury wine region, Waipara is renowned for producing unique richer, spicier Pinot Noirs and Rieslings.

The Teviotdale coastal hills provide protection from the cool easterly winds leaving the valley open to the warming north-west winds.  The soil types range from gravely deposits on flats and terraces in the central-west of the valley, limestone derived clays on the valley floor and eastern hillsides, and gravely loams over alluvial subsoil in the southern part of the region.

This terroir, combined with a long hot autumn, provides each vineyard with unique characters that contribute to a range of wine styles including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.