Celebrate with Marlborough bubbles

Sara Meij

The sound of uncorking a bottle of bubbles must be the unofficial sound of celebration - alongside cheers and a sense of optimism, it signifies a moment to remember.

Delicate yet fresh and complex - our region’s sparkling wines showcase flavours and aromas covering a wide spectrum. From apples, lemons and berries to yeast, biscuit and oatmeal, even the umami taste of oyster shells, the complex layers of flavours are as delicate on the palate as the bubbles are soft and pillowy in the mouth.

Most people know of Champagne as top of the line, but while a sparkling wine can be made in the same way using the Traditional Method, it can only be called Champagne if it’s from that region in France. Many of Marlborough’s sparkling wines are made in the same traditional way as Champagne and Prosecco, with the difference between Prosecco and Champagne being, put simply, the time the grapes are in contact with the yeast during the fermentation process.

Great sparkling wine, however, starts with exceptional fruit. Nautilus Estate has collaborated with many of the same families and vineyards for close to 40 years.

“When you work with growers for decades, the results show in the glass,” says Nautilus winemaker and general manager Clive Jones. Also key are the right growing conditions, and Marlborough has exactly that. “Our cool nights, which help slow ripening, allow for the critical retention of acidity needed in sparkling grapes,” he says.

Word of our region’s ideal climate spread far and wide long ago. It was those tales from grape pickers of a landscape, environment, and sunshine hours to rival those of his native Champagne region in France that led No.1 Family Estate owner and winemaker Daniel Le Brun to visit the then-dry and dusty plains of Marlborough for the first time in 1978.

“I was immediately convinced this was the place to be. The soil and the climate reminded me of Champagne in the best vintage years, yet it happens every year here in Marlborough,” says Le Brun. “There was no winery infrastructure back then, just bare paddocks with almost desert-like conditions, not a blade of green grass to be seen, just a few dusty sheep, and that was about it.”

To protect and promote the region’s world-class traditional method sparkling wines at a time when Sauvignon Blanc was rapidly defining Marlborough’s identity, grower-led society Méthode Marlborough was established in 2013 by a group of local producers whose wines are made exclusively from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier and take a minimum of around two years from harvest to disgorging (the process of removing the yeast sediment - lees - that has built up in the neck of a champagne bottle after the second fermentation and ageing period).

Méthode Marlborough chair and winemaker Andrew Parley says there are no shortcuts to great sparkling wine. “Time on lees is a crucial period during which the yeast breaks down and contributes to the complexity, depth and fine mousse expected of quality traditional method sparkling wine.”

Our region and its superb grape-growing climate continue to attract newcomers and innovation. Ben and Helen McLauchlan, for instance, have recently established their wine brand Balvonie. They decided to create Prosecco, but with a Marlborough twist, using bottle fermentation as used in Champagne. McLauchlan says Prosecco is one of the fastest-growing wine categories in New Zealand. “We wanted to make sure there was a premium Marlborough option for consumers.”

So perhaps next time you’re ready to celebrate a milestone by popping a bottle of bubbles, think of the top-notch sparkling wines being made right here on your doorstep in Marlborough.