Ukrainian vintners stake their claim in Marlborough with Brave Roots Wine

Well before starting Brave Roots Wine, Masha Skorchenko and Alina Tenetka already had long, intertwined roots. They met at university in Ukraine, then found themselves on viticulture paths that parallelled when not intersecting.

The vintners came to Marlborough for vintage in 2015. They returned the next four years, in the fifth, 2020, they stayed.

“Both of us loved Marlborough,” Masha recalled in a conversation last week, “and we decided to do something together. That was the beginning of Brave Roots.”

They started their winemaking venture two years ago. Staking their claim in a place of international acclaim, they shifted their aim from the prevailing varietal.

“We had been in the region quite some time, and we were very well aware of how Sauvignon Blanc formed the region,” Masha said. “In my personal opinion, Marlborough is the best region for Sauvignon Blanc in the world – there’s nothing like Marlborough for it – and there are so many world-class producers in Marlborough. We thought, ‘OK, we need to do something else, something different’.

“It also was our opportunity to bring a little bit more of diversity to the region, maybe a bit more anti-fragile from our perspective, where you’re not focusing on one thing. We didn’t want to compete with others who had been doing it better than probably what we could do, and on the other hand, we wanted to show that Marlborough has way more potential.”

Varieties

Brave Roots has released three wines: 2024 Viognier, sold out in individual bottles; 2024 Grüner Veltliner, and 2025 Albariño.

The winemakers set their sights on Viognier because Masha had worked on a vintage in northern Rhone, France. “That was the first variety we knew we would make,” she recalled, “and we were very lucky to find a vineyard offering that that was available at that stage.”

With that supply secured, Alina and Masha looked into other possibilities.

For Grüner Veltliner, they discovered a vineyard which matched the varietal.  “The soil was right,” Masha said, “and it was close to what you normally find with Grüner in Austria, where it’s originally from.”

With Albariño, “a lot of people believe it’s the next Sauvignon,” she continued. “It’s really well-suited to the climate – it’s originally from Galicia [Spain]; some people claim from Portugal – so the coastal vineyards here in Marlborough are close in terms of microclimate. It’s a good combination again.”

What’s next? Chenin Blanc.

“Alina has always wanted to work this variety,” Masha said, noting it also has French roots. “She loves drinking it, and I couldn’t resist this year.”

Visit braverootswine.com to learn more about the winemakers and their wines.