Corofin Winery

Mike Paterson’s family has its roots in Ireland. Before emigrating to New Zealand in 1927, Marcus Joseph Paterson lived in the village of Corofin on the river Fergus in County Clare, so when Mike finally established his own wine business with his wife, Anna, taking the name of Corofin seemed a logical move. Over the years, they had built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of the vineyards of Marlborough, including all the interesting nooks and crannies, where some of the truly great plots are hidden away. They now produce various small volume, high-quality cuvées of Pinot, which express their site and their microclimate perfectly. Alongside the Pinots, Mike also makes a seriously good, food-friendly Sauvignon Blanc from the Dog Point-owned Elevation vineyard: the low yields and cool climate help to produce a wine of restraint, complexity and length, vastly superior to most other ubiquitous, industrially produced offerings from the region.