MARLBOROUGH’S 2025 HARVEST

A Slow, Steady Harvest Allowed Delicious Flavors To Develop In Marlborough’s 2025 Wines

Summer arrived early with very warm, settled weather in November and December. The grapevines loved it! They flowered and pollenated well, leading to a high potential yield across the Marlborough wine-growing region.

However, after the holidays, temperatures cooled off a little, slowing ripening. Growers didn’t relax though, and were busy through January estimating yields and thinning crops in many blocks.

Marlborough vineyard at sunrise, nets on Pinot Noir vines

Sunrise at one of Marlborough's Southern Valley Vineyards

Nets on the vines ahead of the Marlborough grape harvest

As harvest approached, the temperatures warmed once more, and picking began on the 25th of February. This date was similar to the smaller 2024 vintage, but harvest progressed slower and more steadily this year.

Calm, clear weather meant there the grapes were healthy and George was able to be patient and harvest blocks as they reached their peak flavors.

How will the 2025 Marlborough wines taste?

Winemaker George Elworthy is upbeat about the 2025 vintage from The Better Half Wines saying:

“Harvest 2025 was a breeze with our different blocks ripening steadily and endless blue-sky days allowing us to pick when flavors were perfect. Now that the wines have fermented, I’m really pleased with how those flavors have developed. I can’t wait to get them into bottle and to share them with you soon!“

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The 2026 Better Half Sauvignon Blanc Is Here

A slow finish to the 2026 harvest made for one of our most flavor-packed vintages yet.

Back in May we told you about the 2026 Marlborough harvest — a warm spring that got the season off to a great start, followed by a cooler, slower finish that had us out in the vineyards taking our time with the picking.

That season is now expressing itself in the bottle. The 2026 Better Half Sauvignon Blanc is already out and landing on shelves right now.

So, what’s actually in the glass?

This is a big, intense mouthful of Sauvignon Blanc. Ripe, concentrated, and honestly one of the most flavor-packed vintages we’ve poured in a while — you can taste that slow, steady finish to the season in every sip.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is famous for hitting a lot of notes at once: Fresh herbs and cut grass up front, a wave of citrus, then stone fruit and passionfruit rolling through the middle, finishing with a tropical richness and a slightly wild edge that Marlborough Sauvignon fans know well (winemakers call it “sweaty” — we promise that’s a compliment).

It’s vibrant. It’s intense. It doesn’t hold back. If you love Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for being loud and a little bit wild, this is the vintage you’ve been waiting for.

Available now

The 2026 Better Half Sauvignon Blanc is in stores and online right now. Find it near you] and grab yourself a bottle for your next adventure.

How to drink it

No rules here. Get it cold, pour generously, and let it do the work. It’s an easy match for anything off the grill, a bowl of something spicy, or just a Tuesday that needs a lift. However you drink it, drink it your way.