Wairarapa Wine Region has unveiled the first Wairarapa Wine Pinot Noir Selection, a curated case of twelve Pinot Noir wines from the 2024 vintage, showcasing the diversity, character and quality of the region.
In an initiative designed to share what Wairarapa does best with wine media and trade audiences, New Zealand wine writer and Master of Wine Stephen Wong and Australian wine writer Mike Bennie travelled to Wairarapa to taste Pinot Noir submissions from across the region. Supported by a wider panel including winemaker Haidee Johnson and New Zealand wine legend Larry McKenna, the wines underwent an independent blind tasting process before the final twelve were selected.
The resulting collection offers more than a snapshot of an outstanding vintage. Together, the wines provide a window into the Wairarapa’s landscapes, seasons and people, reflecting the distinctive sites, thoughtful farming and diverse winemaking approaches that define the region today.
Wairarapa has earned an international reputation for Pinot Noir. Characterised by small, often family-owned vineyards and hands-on farming, the region’s wines are deeply connected to place and shaped by a cool, dry climate, long growing seasons and significant diurnal shifts.
The 2024 vintage will be remembered as one of clarity and composure. Following a settled winter and favourable growing conditions, warm days and cool nights allowed for slow, even ripening. Fruit arrived at wineries in excellent condition, with balanced sugars, natural acidity and exceptional phenolic ripeness.
Ata Rangi Chief Winemaker Helen Masters describes 2024 as the finest vintage she has experienced in her twenty-two years of winemaking in the region.
Stephen Wong MW said the selection captures both the enduring strengths of Wairarapa and its continuing evolution.
“The final selection captures both the classic, old-vine expressions amplified in the 2024 vintage and the more nuanced site-driven wines that reflect the breadth of winemaking approaches practised in Wairarapa today.”
For Wairarapa Wine Region, the Pinot Noir Selection represents a celebration of a remarkable season and a collective expression of the region’s identity: a place where small scale, careful stewardship and a deep connection to land continue to produce wines of distinctive character and global significance. These are the wines selected. WineFolio didn’t make the cut of local scribes to receive them for tasting, but many of these have been reviewed by us, of course, previously.
Ata Rangi – Pinot Noir
Cambridge Road – Pinot Noir
Craggy Range – Aroha Pinot Noir
The Elder – Aburn Pinot Noir
Huntress – Pawero Pinot Noir
Kusuda – Pinot Noir
Martinborough Vineyard – Home Block Pinot Noir
Mason – Hidden Vineyard Pinot Noir
Moy Hall – Dunrobin Pinot Noir
Oraterra – Pinot Noir
Palliser Estate – Hua Nui Pinot Noir
Urlar – Pinot Noir
