Schubert Wines

Schubert Wines was conceived in Germany in the 1990s by two Geisenheim University viticulture and oenology graduates whose shared ambition was to find the right place in the world to make Pinot Noir at the highest level. Kai Schubert, a German winemaker, met Marion Deimling at Geisenheim, the German wine institute that has trained generations of European technicians, and the two committed to a global search for the ideal Pinot Noir terroir. They travelled extensively through Oregon's Willamette Valley, California, Australia, and parts of Europe before arriving in New Zealand and recognising the Wairarapa as the climatic and geological match they had been looking for. In spring 1998 they acquired a small established vineyard inside the Martinborough Terrace appellation, the gravelly raised river terrace south-east of Wellington that had already produced New Zealand's first internationally acclaimed Pinot Noirs through the founding cohort of Ata Rangi, Martinborough Vineyard, Dry River, and Te Kairanga in the 1980s. They simultaneously secured 40 hectares of bare land at East Taratahi, on a terrace next to the Ruamahanga River just north of the Martinborough township, where they would plant the site that became known as Block B. Plantings of eight Pinot Noir clones followed from 1999 onwards, with Marion's Vineyard on Dakins Road planted mostly in 1999 and 2000. The first commercial Schubert wines released under the brand established the house style of layered, structured Pinot Noir made with Burgundian discipline and German technical precision, and the producer quickly took its place as the leading German-trained voice in the modern Martinborough cohort.

• Founded 1998 by Kai Schubert and Marion Deimling, both Geisenheim University viticulture and oenology graduates from Germany; partnered in life and in business
• Searched Oregon, California, Australia, and parts of Europe for the ideal Pinot Noir site before settling on Martinborough in the Wairarapa, New Zealand
• Acquired a small established vineyard on the Martinborough Terrace plus 40 hectares of bare land at East Taratahi (north of Martinborough) in spring 1998
• Planted 8 Pinot Noir clones from 1999 across the East Taratahi block that became Block B, plus Marion's Vineyard on Dakins Road planted mostly in 1999 and 2000

Schubert is built on Pinot Noir, and the flagship single-block Block B Pinot Noir is the producer's defining wine. It is bottled exclusively from the Ruamahanga River terrace site of the same name at East Taratahi, with the Dijon-clone selection of 115, 667, 777, 114, and 113 fermented as separate parcels and assembled into a powerful, structured, dark-fruited expression matured in French oak barriques. The Block B 2008 won the International Trophy for Best Pinot Noir at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the first Martinborough wine to take that category trophy. Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir is the second site-specific flagship, drawn from the 12.5-hectare Dakins Road vineyard planted to clones 5, Abel, and 10/5; it is consistently the more elegant, fragrant counterpart to Block B, with red-fruit lift and finer-grained tannins. The regional Schubert Wairarapa Pinot Noir is the entry-tier expression, blended across estate fruit to deliver the house style at an accessible price point. The Tribianco white is one of New Zealand's most distinctive blends: a co-fermentation of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Muller-Thurgau, whole-bunch pressed and matured in neutral French oak barriques and larger puncheons for a layered, food-friendly white that is stylistically rare in the country. Varietal Pinot Gris and Riesling complete the white range, both made with the German aromatic-white precision that the Geisenheim training brings, while the estate Chardonnay rounds out the still-wine portfolio. Occasional small-lot bottlings of Cabernet-Merlot and Syrah appear from warmer vintages.

• Block B Pinot Noir: single-block flagship from Ruamahanga River terrace, East Taratahi; Dijon clones 115, 667, 777, 114, 113; Decanter International Trophy 2008
• Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir: 12.5-hectare Dakins Road site; clones 5, Abel, and 10/5; the elegant, fragrant counterpart to Block B's powerful frame
• Wairarapa Pinot Noir: regional-tier blend across estate fruit, capturing the Schubert house style at an accessible entry price
• Tribianco: distinctive Chardonnay-Pinot Gris-Muller-Thurgau white blend, whole-bunch pressed, neutral French oak; stylistically rare in New Zealand

Schubert farms two principal sites that define the Pinot Noir programme. Block B sits at East Taratahi on a terrace beside the Ruamahanga River, just north of the Martinborough township. The soils are stony, free-draining river gravels overlaid with light loam, the kind of low-vigour terrace material that constrains canopy growth and concentrates Pinot Noir flavour and structure; eight Pinot Noir clones planted from 1999 onwards give the producer a deep palette of fermentation parcels to assemble the flagship bottling. Marion's Vineyard, named for co-founder Marion Deimling, lies north of Martinborough on Dakins Road and covers 12.5 hectares planted mostly in 1999 and 2000. Its soils are alluvial loam over old river gravels, slightly heavier than the pure stony terrace at Block B, and the clones planted (5, Abel, and the New Zealand selection 10/5) tend to produce the more elegant, fragrant fruit expression that defines the Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir. The original small acquired vineyard inside the Martinborough Terrace appellation contributed the early estate plantings and remains part of the cross-site fruit pool used for the regional Wairarapa Pinot Noir and the white wines. Across all sites the Schubert team uses hand picking, careful canopy management, and yields kept modest to deliver phenolic ripeness at the cooler ripening temperatures of the Wairarapa autumn. The estate is certified under Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and farmed organically, with a clear preference for low-intervention vineyard management that prioritises soil health and site expression.

• Block B: terrace beside the Ruamahanga River at East Taratahi; stony free-draining river gravels; 8 Pinot Noir clones planted from 1999, Dijon-led
• Marion's Vineyard: 12.5 hectares on Dakins Road north of Martinborough; alluvial loam over old river gravels; clones 5, Abel, 10/5; planted 1999-2000
• Original Martinborough Terrace vineyard: small acquired site inside the appellation, contributes to the regional Wairarapa Pinot Noir and white wine fruit pool
• Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand certified and farmed organically across the estate; hand picking, modest yields, low-intervention canopy management

Schubert's winemaking template combines Burgundian Pinot Noir discipline with the technical rigour that Geisenheim training instils: hand picking with parcel-by-parcel sorting, whole-berry handling, cold maceration before fermentation, slow native or selected-yeast fermentations, and extended maturation in French oak barriques with a low to moderate new-oak proportion that supports rather than dominates the fruit. The Block B Pinot Noir is the most concentrated expression in the lineup, with eight clonal parcels fermented separately and assembled to capture dark cherry, blackberry, sweet spice, dried herb, and graphite structure over fine, ripe tannins and integrated French oak. Marion's Vineyard is the more aromatic and silky counterpart, expressing red cherry, raspberry, rose petal, and forest floor over a finer tannin frame. The whites are made with the same precision: the Tribianco is whole-bunch pressed and matured in neutral French oak barriques and puncheons to develop texture without overt oak character, while the varietal Riesling and Pinot Gris show the linear, dry-leaning aromatic style typical of well-trained German winemaking transplanted to a cool New Zealand site. Critical recognition has been consistent: the Block B 2008 won the Decanter World Wine Awards International Trophy for Best Pinot Noir; Decanter rated the Marion's Vineyard 2013 Outstanding; Bob Campbell MW has scored multiple Schubert wines at 92 points and above; and the producer is regularly featured in the upper tier of New Zealand Pinot Noir rankings alongside Ata Rangi, Dry River, Felton Road, and Bell Hill. Today Schubert sits firmly in the Founding-Five-Plus extension cohort of Martinborough, the German-trained voice in a region defined by Burgundian ambition.

• House technique: hand picking, parcel-by-parcel sorting, whole-berry handling, cold maceration, slow fermentation, French oak maturation with restrained new oak
• Block B Pinot Noir 2008 won the Decanter World Wine Awards International Trophy for Best Pinot Noir; Marion's Vineyard 2013 rated Outstanding by Decanter
• Bob Campbell MW has scored multiple Schubert wines 92 points and above; producer features consistently in top-tier New Zealand Pinot Noir rankings
• Owner-operated by Kai Schubert and Marion Deimling, the German-trained voice in the modern Martinborough extension cohort beyond the original founding-five