French settlers planted Canterbury's earliest vines at Banks Peninsula in the 1840s. Winegrowing later shifted north toward Waipara.
Most of the regional detail comes from North Canterbury, on the eastern side of the South Island between the Southern Alps and the Pacific. It has a cool, dry climate, good sunshine and a long growing season. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling are the principal varieties. Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted, though much of it is sold to larger Marlborough companies and blended elsewhere.
The Canterbury Plains are broad and flat, with free-draining gravel soils. Waipara's hills and clay-limestone sites are a different environment. Its wines include vivid Riesling and Pinot Noir that can be full and deeply fruited, with savoury structure, herbal notes and earthy minerality. Higher, cooler Waikari and Weka Pass produce wines with higher acidity and more tension than warmer Waipara.
Inside the region
1 named area
Each guide keeps its place within Canterbury clear, with a direct route back to the map.
Producer profiles
Producer profiles
Open the full directory when you want every producer currently placed in Canterbury.
- Greystone WinesOrganic estate on ancient seabed limestone in Waipara Valley; Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made with wild-yeast vineyard fermentation by Dom Maxwell.
- Pegasus Bay WineryA family-owned Waipara Valley estate making off-dry Riesling and structured Pinot Noir from a low-yielding, largely ungrafted home vineyard on Glasnevin Gravels.