Te Whare Ra Winery
Te Whare Ra (pronounced “Tea Faree Rah” to us English speakers) was established in 1979 making it the oldest boutique winery in Marlborough. The name means “The House in the Sun”, which is also the illustration on the label.
The winery is located in the Wairau Valley just outside of Renwick. It is owned and run by a husband and wife winemaking team. Anna and Jason Flowerday purchased the property in November of 2003 and set about transforming it into the winery of their dreams. Jason is a Marlborough native and Anna in an Aussie from McLaren Vale. They met while both working in the South Australian wine industry. Now they balance their precious time between looking after 2 sets (yes 2 sets!) of twins under the age of 5 and their successful wine business.
The mud brick winery sits in the middle of a pristine vineyard on the beautiful Wairau plains. The cute cellar door overlooks an impressive winemaking facility. You definitely get the feeling that this couple likes to spend their money on the product, not just the hype. No expense was spared when it comes to French oak barriques, European processing equipment or high quality stainless steel. Like most chefs, you can tell a lot about their food when you see their kitchen.
They work with Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (from a family vineyard in the Awatere Valley), Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir. The thing that struck me immediately with their portfolio was the excellent quality and consistency of their product. Most wineries I visit tend to have at least one or two products with technical faults, or that are just plain dull. I can honestly say that I would be happy sitting down with a bottle of any of the products that I tried at this winery. I have a feeling that this may in part be due to having two winemakers to bounce ideas off rather than one. Perspective can be a powerful tool in wine and when winemaking duos succeed, they are formidable.
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