Seresin Estate

Michael Seresin was born in Wellington, New Zealand, but left in the 1960s when sheep grazed the Wairau Plains and grapevines were still decades from defining Marlborough. He settled in Italy and built a globally celebrated cinematography career, shooting Alan Parker's Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone, and Angela's Ashes, Alfonso Cuaron's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and three of Paul Greengrass's Bourne films. Living among Tuscan wine culture ignited a lifelong passion for food and farming. A bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc encountered at Chez Panisse in Berkeley drew him back to Marlborough in the early 1990s. He purchased land in 1992, immediately planted vines, and imported Tuscan olive cultivars alongside significant plantings of native species. The first vintage was released in 1996, making Seresin one of the first estates in New Zealand to operate certified organic vineyards. Michael Seresin's stated ambition was never industrial scale but to build a holistic farm of European sensibility on the southern slopes of the Wairau region.

• Founded 1992 by Wellington-born cinematographer Michael Seresin; first vintage released 1996
• Michael Seresin's film credits include Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone, Angela's Ashes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the Bourne franchise
• One of the earliest certified organic vineyard operators in New Zealand; organic certification confirmed 1994
• Raupo Creek Vineyard awarded the Marlborough Environment Award in 2009 by the Marlborough District Council

Seresin operates under full biodynamic principles, treating the 80-hectare Raupo Creek property as a single living organism whose health depends on the balance of all its parts. The estate is not a vineyard monoculture but a working farm with olive groves, vegetable gardens, native wetlands, and animal pastures. It maintains roughly 1,500 olive trees producing extra virgin olive oil, alongside 50 sheep, several dozen chickens, and a handful of cattle and goats that graze between rows, contribute to compost, and reduce reliance on machinery. Biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 are applied seasonally, compost teas are brewed on site, and spraying and bottling are scheduled according to lunar calendar phases. Native bush corridors restored along watercourses provide habitat for indigenous birds and beneficial insects. Seresin is one of only two New Zealand estates accepted into Nicolas Joly's La Renaissance des Appellations, the selective international group of terroir-driven biodynamic producers, alongside Millton Vineyards in Gisborne. According to sustainable wine writer Monty Waldin, Seresin is one of the finest examples of a large-scale biodynamic winery anywhere in the world.

• Demeter biodynamic and BioGro organic certified; largest Demeter biodynamic vineyard in Marlborough
• Holistic farm with 1,500 olive trees, vegetable gardens, native bush conservation areas, 50 sheep, chickens, cattle, and goats integrated into the operation
• Biodynamic preparations and on-site compost teas applied seasonally; spraying and bottling timed to lunar phases
• One of only two NZ members of Nicolas Joly's La Renaissance des Appellations, alongside Millton Vineyards

Consultant winemaker Tamra Kelly-Washington, a Marlborough native and Lincoln University top scholar in viticulture and oenology, started her career at Seresin before vintages in Italy (where she was appointed head winemaker for a Sicilian estate at age 25), Australia, and the United States. She returned to lead winemaking from the 2018 vintage and continues in a consultant role while also running her own Kelly Washington Wines label with her husband. The fruit is sourced from the Raupo Creek estate in the Omaka Valley, where north-facing clay-rich hillside slopes ripen Pinot Noir with concentrated structure, while sandy silt-loam valley flats favor Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, and aromatic varieties. Winemaking is deliberately minimal: indigenous yeast fermentation across all wines, gentle handling, extended lees contact for whites, and bottling without fining or filtration. The estate Sauvignon Blanc typically includes a small portion of Semillon in the blend and sees up to 30 percent fermentation in neutral French oak barrels, distinguishing it from the pungent tank-fermented style that defines mainstream Marlborough.

• Tamra Kelly-Washington has led winemaking since the 2018 harvest and continues as consultant winemaker; previously chief winemaker at Yealands
• Indigenous yeast fermentation throughout; wines bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur additions
• Clay-rich north-facing hillside slopes at Raupo Creek for Pinot Noir; sandy silt-loam flats for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, and aromatics
• Estate Sauvignon Blanc includes a portion of Semillon and partial neutral oak fermentation, departing from mainstream Marlborough style

The flagship portfolio is anchored by Sauvignon Blanc in two distinct expressions: the estate bottling (tank-fermented with partial neutral oak) and Marama, a single-parcel cuvee from Raupo Creek that is fully wild-fermented and matured for up to 14 months in French oak barrels including a small percentage of new oak. Pinot Noir is the heart of the red program, sourced principally from the clay-rich hillside blocks at Raupo Creek. The Estate (or Reserve) Pinot Noir provides the house style, while Sun and Moon is the apex single-vineyard cuvee, made only in the finest vintages from a single block at Raupo Creek yielding just two tonnes per hectare. Tatou is a separate single-vineyard Pinot Noir from a site of alluvial shingle soils, producing concentrated, structured wines distinct in profile from the clay-grown Raupo Creek expressions. Chiaroscuro is an annually varying co-fermented field blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier, and Gewurztraminer, wild-fermented in neutral oak. Riesling appears in dry and off-dry Memento expressions, and Chardonnay in standard and reserve cuvees. The Momo second label (offspring in Maori) extends the certified organic and biodynamic offering at an accessible price point in both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

• Sauvignon Blanc: estate bottling (partial neutral oak) and Marama (single-parcel Raupo Creek, fully wild-fermented and matured up to 14 months in French oak)
• Pinot Noir: Estate, Sun and Moon (apex Raupo Creek single block, only in best vintages, 2 t/ha), and Tatou (single-vineyard from alluvial shingle soils)
• Chiaroscuro: annually varying co-fermented field blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier, and Gewurztraminer in neutral oak
• Riesling Memento (off-dry) plus dry Riesling and Chardonnay (standard and reserve); Momo second label in Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir

In 2018 Michael Seresin sold the original Renwick winery building and the adjacent Noa vineyard to two Marlborough winemakers, Ben Glover and Rhyan Wardman (formerly chief winemaker for Indevin), who transformed the facility into The Coterie, a small-batch contract winemaking hub championing single-site wines. Seresin Estate remains a cornerstone client of The Coterie, with all wines made there under Tamra Kelly-Washington's supervision using the same indigenous-yeast, low-intervention regime. The simultaneous sale of the Noa vineyard let the estate consolidate around the single Raupo Creek property in the Omaka Valley, sharpening the focus on super-premium single-vineyard production. Michael Seresin has described the simplification as a deliberate philosophical choice to reduce operational complexity and concentrate effort on the north-facing Omaka slopes that have proven the strongest site for Pinot Noir. The result is a leaner, more terroir-specific portfolio anchored by wines that critics consistently rank among the most distinctive and ageworthy in Marlborough, distinguished from the region's industrial Sauvignon Blanc image by textural depth, restraint, and a clear sense of place.

• Original Renwick winery building and Noa vineyard sold in 2018 to Ben Glover and Rhyan Wardman, becoming The Coterie contract winemaking hub
• Seresin Estate remains The Coterie's anchor client; all wines made there under Tamra Kelly-Washington's consulting hand
• Estate now consolidated around the single 80-hectare Raupo Creek property in the Omaka Valley for single-vineyard premium production
• Wines noted for textural complexity, restraint, and ageability, distinguishing them from mainstream Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc