Astrolabe

ASTROLABE is a family business founded by winemaker Simon Waghorn in 1996. He has four decades of winemaking behind him, and his family have grown up in the wine industry. The family estate is located in Grovetown in the Wairu Valley in the spectacular region of Marlborough at the top of New Zealand's South Island. They source their grapes from 10 families who farm sustainably across three Marlborough sub-regions, the Awatere Valley, Wairau Valley and the Kekerengu Coast, and are thus provided with a diversity of soils and climates, with each vineyard chosen for the distinctive flavour profile it produces. The result is a range of award-winning wines, made in a classic Marlborough vein which have layers of complexity and emphasise varietal intensity. An astrolabe is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a hand-held model of the universe, used to make a diverse range of calculations. A Mariner's astrolabe was modified for use upon a ship and was essential for early navigators to determine latitude by measuring the altitude of a celestial object – the name translates to “star-taker”. The French explore Dumont d'Urville charted the coast of Marlborough in 1827 aboard a ship named L'Astrolabe. It was the historic link with Marlborough and the connotations of exploration and discovery that led Simon to choose Astrolabe for the name of his brand. Simon, who is now assisted by two of his daughters, continues to explore and discover all that Marlborough has to offer, capturing the unique essence of the region in every glass!