A few politicians may be nervously eyeing the upcoming election and wondering if they will still be in Parliament after 7 November. However, local winemaker Eva Pemper has no such qualms.
Pemper is the only Marlborough contributor on a carefully curated list of just seven wines selected to showcase the best of New Zealand’s wine varieties at Parliament’s eateries, hosted functions and in the Beehive gift shop.
Pemper’s sauvignon blanc was chosen after an intensive, month’s long selection process which included interviews and tastings. Her three-year contract started at the end of 2024 so her Bellamys “seat” is safe until at least the end of next year … and maybe longer.
“It’s such a privilege and honour for me,” says Pemper, who comes from a winemaking family in Croatia. She first arrived in New Zealand in 2012 and worked at several Marlborough wineries before launching her own label in 2019.
She uses grapes grown by business partner Rob Anderson to make sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir and rosé at a facility in Riverlands, wine that is mostly exported to the U.S., Korea and the United Kingdom.
Blenheim service stations may need to sharpen their pencils with the imminent arrival of another competitive new player into the local marketplace … Waitomo is coming to town.
The privately-owned, Waikato-based company is developing a 2000 square metre site in Park Terrace into an unmanned outlet offering grades 91, 95 and diesel, plus a dedicated high-flow diesel lane for heavy commercial vehicles.
The site will also become a hub for mini tankers which fill private tanks and provide direct machinery fuelling around the area.
Waitomo has more than 110 fuel and diesel stops across the country and Greta Shirley, general manager of customer experience, says the company is pushing hard to add Blenheim to that list before Christmas.
Kaituna Ridges, a farming enterprise sprawling across around 1000 hectares just south of Havelock, has been in the Gane family for five generations with Freddy Gane and wife Nikita currently at the helm.
While around 4500 breeding ewes and 600 head of beef cattle remain the backbone of the operation, the Ganes have also embraced diversification, firstly with farm tourism and more recently producing high-end wool products.
They now combine their Romney wool with Merino from southern Marlborough to create luxury woollen blankets. They also produce Romney wool tote bags, wine bags and caps, pure Merino jerseys, and soaps that come wrapped in wool felt.
Krystal Kingsford and Matt Nofoasaefa, owners of Unfiltered Café, on Park Terrace, have jumped at the chance to also take over the day-to-day running of the café inside New World, now called Xpresso by Unfiltered.
The supermarket café, on nearby Freswick Street, will serve the same Atomic brand coffee and the same food produced by Matt and Krystal in the kitchen at Unfiltered Café.
“We make everything fresh each day,” says Krystal, giving a special plug to Matt’s award-winning pies. Both cafes are now open seven days a week from 7am to 2pm with slightly different weekend hours at Unfiltered Café.
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