Wither Hills is a Marlborough winery, restaurant and cellar door at 211 New Renwick Rd in Witherlea, on the vineyard side of Blenheim. Named for the landmark range of hills that borders and protects its vines, the winery has been crafting wine since 1994, guided by the belief that the finest wines are always created from exceptional vineyards and represent their sense of place.
The cellar door and restaurant welcome guests seven days a week from 11:30am to 3pm, and stay open all day on Fridays and Saturdays. Wine tastings are poured in a courtyard overlooking the Wairau Valley, with winery tours, wine blending sessions and personalised experiences also on offer. The wines themselves span four families — the characterful Core Range, the nuanced Single Vineyard selection, the generously textured Early Light at 9.5% alc/vol, and the experimental small-batch Cellar Collection — all available from the online store.
Beyond the tasting room, the venue hosts weddings and functions in a romantic setting with sweeping views of the Richmond Ranges, the Wither Hills and the vineyards below. New releases, events and monthly offers are shared first through the Barrel Hall Members Club, and Wither Hills is a certified B Corporation.
Wither Hills takes its name from the landmark range that borders its Marlborough vineyards, and it's a name the team grows into daily. Founded in 1994 on the outskirts of Blenheim, the winery has spent three decades with a small team of committed winemakers painstakingly labouring over every wine, from one vintage to the next. Their philosophy is disarmingly simple: the finest wines are always created from exceptional vineyards, representing their sense of place.
That sense of place is tangible here. The Wither Hills range shelters the estate's patch of earth, shaping a unique fusion of land, grapes, climate and people — what the winery affectionately calls its village. Three decades in, they know Marlborough like an old friend, quirks and all, and they believe the best wines capture that character. The result is expressive wines that New Zealanders know and trust to represent quality without pretense.
Visitors are welcome seven days a week. The restaurant and cellar door open from 11:30am to 3pm daily, and stay open all day on Fridays and Saturdays. Bookings can be made online, and the team describe the cellar door best themselves: it exists to share their passion for wine with guests from New Zealand and around the world.
A wine tasting takes place in the beautiful courtyard, looking out over the Wairau Valley. Those wanting to go deeper can join a winery tour, sit down to a wine blending session, or arrange one of the personalised experiences offered to suit all needs. And if you'd simply like a delicious meal with your glass, the restaurant is there for that too.
The wines are organised into four families. The Core Range is the heart of things — interesting, full of character, and made to capture the beauty of New Zealand. The Single Vineyard collection represents the very best of some of the team's favourite vineyards, wines full of nuance. Early Light offers the essence of Marlborough with generous weight and texture, at a gentler 9.5% alcohol by volume. And the Cellar Collection is where the winemakers experiment with small batches that don't follow the crowd.
Favourites can be purchased straight from the online store, from the cellar door to your door — note the six-bottle minimum order — and the Barrel Hall Members Club gives early access to new releases, upcoming events and special monthly wine offers.
The venue doubles as a setting for life's bigger moments. Weddings and functions are hosted here, with sweeping views of the Richmond Ranges, the Wither Hills and the vineyards below creating a uniquely memorable place. A calendar of events runs through the year as well, so it's worth checking what's on before you visit.
Wither Hills is also a certified B Corporation, a reflection of the standards the winery holds itself to beyond the bottle. And underneath it all sits an idea the team returns to often: that a good wine is nothing without good friends to share it — the hilarious conversations, the shoulder to lean on, the glass raised at the end of the day.
If you're in Marlborough, a stop at 211 New Renwick Rd is an easy way to taste all of that for yourself. Book a table, linger in the courtyard, and see why these wines have carried the name of their hills for thirty years.