About us
We are New Zealand's wine co-operative
The Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative has crafted bespoke Marlborough wines and much-loved brands for global clients for more than 20 years.
The Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative is New Zealand's only winemaking cooperative. With more than 80 farming families and over 100 vineyards across Marlborough's sub-regions, we have access to a diverse range of terroir and grape profiles to craft blends that are specific to our clients' needs across major wine markets.
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We have also teamed up with legendary winemaker David Hohnen to create a very special wine brand, Marlborough Heartland - recreating his style of Sauvignon Blanc that took the world by storm
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Coupled with our industry-leading innovative vineyard technology and our focus on quality from vineyard through to the winery, we produce and deliver wines that are exceptionally consistent at high volumes.
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While we're large, we aren't a corporate. Our owners are our growers - not investment companies. They live and work on the land in Marlborough. So by choosing to work with us, you’re not just selecting a wine supplier; you’re partnering with a team of growers and winemakers who know and nurture the land, and are passionate about crafting outstanding Marlborough wines.​
Beauty in diversity
Our member vineyards afford us the luxury of different soils across Marlborough, from Wairau to the Awatere. This means our wines span a breadth of flavour profiles. The highest vineyard is at 203 metres, the lowest at sea level. So we have early and late ripening areas with the span of at least a month, which enables us to harvest when grapes are at their optimum ripeness.
Lower Wairau
In the lower parts of the Wairau plain, the soils are deep and loamy, with high water retention.
The prevailing easterly breeze comes in off the Pacific Ocean, keeping the temperatures lower than the main Wairau valley. The big, healthy canopies and the proximity to the sea produce bold flavours and huge palates, and the most tropical of Marlborough's flavour spectrums.
Waihopai and Southern Valleys
The Waihopai and Southern Valleys are glacial, have more clay content, and good water-holding capacity.
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As they are north/south valleys, they tend to be more sheltered from the wind and can be hotter in the growing season.
The wines show lifted citrus, currant, gooseberry and passionfruit flavours.
Rapaura
Here you find the stoniest soils, with large rounded river stones called greywacke, and a thin layer of sandy loam.
Rapaura tends to be the driest of Marlborough's sub-regions, given the limited water holding capacity of the soils.
Historically this has been where the quintessential 'Marlborough' wine style is from. The lifted nose and purity of palate are immediately recognisable.
Awatere
Vineyards in the Awatere Valley are seated on large river terraces with gravel silt-loam and wind-blown loess.
Being the most southerly part of Marlborough, the Awatere is known for cooler temperatures and stronger winds.
Wines from the Dashwood show green capsicum and papaya with a background of fine textured minerality, while wines from the deeper soils of the Marama Road area become richer as they move toward ripeness, while still keeping the Awatere's lifted aromatics.
Taste the Heartland of Marlborough
​Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc... grown by generations, inspired by a Master.
Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative has teamed up with Marlborough wine pioneer David Hohnen and entrepreneur Rupert Clevely, to produce our very own range of authentic, classic Marlborough wines from a selection of the region's very best grapes.
Awards and Accolades
Double Gold - International Bulk Wine Competition
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
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93 points - Wine Orbit
Marlborough Heartland Sauvignon Blanc
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92 points - Cameron Douglas, MS
Marlborough Heartland Sauvignon Blanc
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90 points - International Wine & Spirits Competition
Marlborough Heartland Sauvignon Blanc
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90 points - Decanter
Marlborough Heartland Sauvignon Blanc
2024
2022
Finalist - NZ Cooperative Business Awards
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Finalist - Marlborough Chamber of Commerce Business Awards
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93 points - International Wine and Spirit Competition
The Acorn Sauvignon Blanc
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90 points - Decanter World Wine Awards
The Acorn Sauvignon Blanc