Having had the pleasure of working with Te Whare Ra as their UK importer for nearly a decade, it comes as no real surprise that Anna and Jason have been showered with accolades at The Real Review 2025. Their passion, attention to detail and commitment to natural wine making is second to none. We are tremendously proud of their achievement. Below is a press release explaining in their own words what this landmark moment means for the winery.
Te Whare Ra recognized as one of New Zealand’s most iconic wineries
We are beyond thrilled to share the news that we have been named as the inaugural NZ Vigneron of the Year and have been ranked at number three NZ winery by the esteemed panel of wine critics at the Real Review in their 2025 awards.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough our 2023 Single Vineyard Rose has been awarded NZ Rose of the Year!
Our whole team are absolutely over the moon with this amazing vindication of years of hard work and dedication to producing wines of the highest possible quality. Our region is often not recognized in this way and so we have been on a mission to change that.
Our vision when we took over Te Whare Ra in 2003 was to play the long game over pursuing quick wins and so we focused on producing wines of the highest quality possible from day one. We wanted to take this Marlborough icon back to its former glory and to be recognized in its rightful place amongst the top estates in the country and we have poured our hearts and soul into that for the last 22 yrs so this really is a momentous moment for us. We knew we never wanted to be the biggest (and we were well behind in that race anyway) but we wanted to be one of the best in NZ.
The Real Review annual Top Winery rankings and awards are the only wine accolades globally that take into account the consistent quality of a winery’s whole range and they also have the most comprehensive insight into the wines of New Zealand and with a panel of Stephen Wong MW, Jane Skilton MW and Dr Jo Burzynska that’s why this acknowledgment of all our hard work over countless hours – year in and year out – means the absolute world to us.
At every step of the growing and making process we do whatever is needed to ensure that we can make wines that are world class – those steps are often slower, more expensive and they also require meticulous attention to detail but we know that to get where we want to get to that they are necessary. We hold ourselves and our wines to the highest standards and have focused on this level of quality across the board – with the same focus on each varietal and every single batch. We truly believe that Marlborough is a region capable of greatness and it just needs some love and care to get there.
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Interested in finding out more about the award-winning wines Te Whare Ra? Contact us directly:
shop@lescaves.co.uk | sales@lescaves.co.uk | 01483 538820