WAIRARAPA

A few years ago, the Wairarapa (‘sparkling waters’ in Te Reo Maori - ) wine region tried calling itself Wellington Wine Country. It was quickly dropped, and no one really wants to talk about it all that much any more. But you can see why they did it. While the Wairarapa accounts for only 1% of New Zealand’s wine production (the country itself produces 1% of the world’s wine), its boutique wineries have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with the town ‘over the hill’, as they say. More than a few producers survive (some have done for decades) on domestic sales and visitors from the capital. Some urbanites, from civil servants to city-based entrepreneurs, are even responsible for kick-starting the wine region itself.

‘Many people, winemakers and commentators, use the word “savoury”