Winter at URLAR is quieter, but never still.
The vines are resting, the cellar is busy, and there's a lot to look forward to over the next few months.
The Cellar Door
At the cellar door, winter is settling in, and it’s a good time to slow down and stay a little longer.
Our Meet the Makers dinners on the 24th and 25th of June are evenings we look forward to all year - good food, the wines poured in context, and the conversations that follow. We'll be pouring the 2026 Moon Drops Sauvignon Blanc for the first time across both nights - guests will be among the first to try it before it's released. Only a handful of seats remain for this event.
Every Friday through June and July, we're running URLAR Locals’ Lunches - a two-course menu for $35, with a glass of Rosé for $10 if you'd like it. No fuss- just a good afternoon at the vineyard.
Beyond the cellar door, we'll be at the Wairarapa Business Summit on the 2nd of July - always good to take the wines out into the community.
We're proud to share that URLAR has been named a finalist in the Vibrant Gold category at the Wellington Gold Awards. It's a genuine honour to be recognised alongside organisations from across the region, and we're looking forward to the evening in July.
From the 20th to the 22nd of July, we'll be showing our wines at the Negociants Fine Wine Tour - if you're interested, it's a great chance to taste across a strong lineup of New Zealand and Australian producers.
Whether it’s joining us for dinner, settling in for a long lunch, or simply stopping by for a tasting, the cellar door is open.
The Winery
Harvest is done, and the winery has shifted into a slower, more considered rhythm. The 2026 vintage is already showing a lot of promise.
The harvest has delivered fruit with excellent balance, purity, and concentration across all varieties. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling are showing great promise, with vibrant aromatics, natural acidity, and strong flavour intensity. Early blending is already underway ahead of our mid-year bottlings, and the wines are coming together beautifully.
We're close to bottling the 2026 Moon Drops Sauvignon Blanc - a wine that sits at the heart of what URLAR is about. Harvested at the new moon from hand-selected parcels, it's been handled gently throughout to protect its vitality and let the site speak. The result is a Sauvignon Blanc with more texture and layers than you might expect, while still carrying the freshness and purity that defines this vintage. We can't wait to share it.
Our Pinot Noir parcels are particularly exciting this year, showing depth and concentration reminiscent of the outstanding 2024 vintage. They're currently going through malolactic fermentation - a secondary fermentation that softens the wine and builds texture - while still holding onto the freshness and character of the site.
A highlight of the season has been our botrytised Riesling, now fermenting alongside a new late-harvest Pinot Gris. Both are already showing impressive richness, purity, and balance, and will be exciting to watch as they evolve.
In the cellar, the pace has shifted from harvest to careful blending, maturation, and preparation for bottling, with a continued focus on balance, precision, and expressing the character of the vintage.
The Vineyard
The vineyard looks quiet from the outside, but there's steady, purposeful work underway.
This time of year is about the slower, steadier work - winter tidy-ups, repairing posts and wires, replacing clips, and getting machinery serviced and ready for the season ahead. There’s a rhythm to it, and a chance to reset after the pace of harvest.
Winter pruning has just begun, starting with Pinot Noir, with Sauvignon Blanc to follow in the coming weeks. It’s the first step in shaping next season’s crop, and it always feels like the beginning of the cycle again.
In August, we'll be replanting sections of Pinot Noir - an investment in the next decade of URLAR wines, and one we're excited about.
