Ara wines are crafted on the edge of the earth; the essence of Pure Marlborough. This remote, rugged region is the Tūrangawaewae, and we invite you to drink in the best of this remarkable place with every sip.
The team's winemaking philosophy is simple: to let the pure Marlborough fruit shine.
Each of the wines is unique from vintage to vintage - because each vintage is unique. When you taste Ara Wines, you're tasting the conditions in the vineyard, the weather, and the intensity of the fruit from that specific year.
Enjoy the essence of Marlborough's remote, rugged beauty in every Ara wine.
Tucked at the tip of New Zealand's South Island, Marlborough is bordered by mountains and the ocean. Home to less than 50,000 people and over 55,000 acres of grapes, this is a region full of people passionate about winemaking. The climate and soil are crucial to the character of the wines and show the diversity of the stunning Marlborough region. The team work in harmony with this beautiful environment as their means of paying it tribute.
Ara’s vineyards are positioned throughout the Wairau Valley, each with a unique soil profile and aspect to the sun. This diversity gives the Ara winemaking team pure, distinctive grapes to create beautiful wines that express the land they are from. The Sauvignon Blanc wines are all sourced from our flagship vineyard in the sought-after lower Wairau Valley, reflecting the purest expression of this terroir.
Given the close working relationship with the land, it should come as no surprise that the team is dedicated to looking after it for future generations. They ensure that they're producing wines sustainably, and practicing kaitiakitanga - guardianship of the land.
Within the heart of Marlborough lies the flagship vineyard, in the lower Wairau Valley. A highly sought-after and finite wine region, the Wairau Valley is an ancient river bed nestled between two mountain ranges and bordered by Cook Strait.
Vineyards in the valley range from cooler, drier inland sites, to stony, early-ripening sites, to sea-breeze moderated coastal sites. Soils are more gravelly to the north nearer the riverbed. Within this region, wines reflect the individual vineyard and producer strengths but all have the hallmark pure fruit intensity and body. This gives them incredible scope to honour the individual vineyard and unique vintage the wines have come from