Unique and Boutique – Wairarapa Times Ages

Wairarapa Times Age – Wednesday May 9, 2007 Wine Promotion ‘exceeded our wildest expectations’ The inaugral Unique and Boutique Vineyards of martinborough “meet your maker – and enjoy the experience” was the toast of Wellington last week with hundreds of eager wine enthusiasts packing into the event on the Taranaki Wharf. The sold-out affair, held at The Boatshed on Wednesday and Thursday, attracted more than 600 people with more than 1200 bottles of wine snapped up over the two evenings. Initially intended only to run for one evening, the ferocious demand for tickets forced organisers to arrange a second to ensure key clientele didn’t miss out. Those lucky enough to snaffle a ticket had the rare opportunity to sample high quality, but often hard to find, handcrafted wines made by 16 of the smaller, family-operated vineyards in Martinborough. The show attracted numerous tradespeople and even renowned wine critic Geoff Kelly, who publishes reviews on his website. Vynfields co-owner Kaye McAuley said the event was a tremendous success and would likely now become an annual fixure. “It exceeded our wildest expectations, it was a lot of fun and I think those who attended really enjoyed themselves,” she said. “There was a lot of wine sold and people were very excited about trying all the new wines. “We had a lot of people tell us how they were really looking forward to coming over to the Wairarapa to find out more about the vineyards and wines so it was very good for Martinborough and the region as a whole.” There is already considerable interest for next year’s show with more than 50 people signing up on the waiting list for tickets, Mrs. McAuley said. Toby James of Tirohana Estate said having all the wineries together at the same show was a fantastic idea. “For wine enthusiasts coming to Martinborough is like opening a Christmas present and finding a whole lot of little presents inside, there’s just so much variety. With so many of us here it’s pretty exciting for people to see what we’re doing.”