The Runholder is the newest stop on Martinborough’s tipsy wine trail.
It’s home to not one, but two wineries; Te Kairanga and Martinborough Vineyard; as well as Lighthouse Gin distillery, and a 100-seater eatery, making it the largest cellar door restaurant in the area. Sophie Carter went to check it out.
I know a restaurant is really good when I can’t stop thinking about the vegetables. I still reminisce about a bowl of Brussels sprouts that once appeared as part of a chef’s selection menu. I had flourished the menu to the waiter saying “I’m happy with anything”, while quietly praying into my Chardonnay that he didn’t choose sprouts – he did. It’s been two years and I still dream about them.
This time, having lunch at the Runholder, it wasn’t sprouts that caught my imagination, but “mixed leaves” – fresh, unassuming – unforgettable. Combined with fennel, radish, and shallot, this was just one of many dishes I was lucky enough to try. Whipped smoked Kahawai; fire roasted hummus, warm sourdough with brown butter; manuka smoked lamb ribs, cured fresh fish, hand cut rustic fries – each sharing dish tasting as good as they sound. After all those delicious plates I’m still banging on about the salad – the chef must be a miracle worker.
That miracle worker is head chef Tim Smith – former executive chef at luxury lodge Wharekauhau in Palliser Bay, and personal chef for the 2014 British Royal Tour of New Zealand. His menu at the Runholder aims to show off the local ingredients, with every element made from scratch. All meats are cured or smoked in-house, and a large pizza oven ensures pizza Italians would be proud of.
Lunch was of course accompanied by a glass of wine – in this case the Runholder’s own rosé, which paired beautifully with the Wairarapa sunshine (somehow made even better with the knowledge that it was raining back home in Wellington). The drinks list is full to brim with wines from Te Kairanga, and Martinborough Vineyard, as well as cocktails made using Lighthouse Gin. The three brands all owned by parent company Foley Wines.
Te Kairanga and Martinborough Vineyard are two of Martinborough’s oldest wineries, with their vines having been planted on the land in the 1980’s. Martinborough Vineyard is celebrated for planting the Wairarapa’s first Pinot Noir vines. Lighthouse Gin, run by head distiller Rachel Hall, has just moved it’s operations from Greytown to the Runholder.
The new building sits on farmland that once belonged to Martinborough’s pioneering namesake John Martin. Before grape vines took over, sheep had the run of the land, and the Runholder’s architecture pays homage to these former tenants with a woolshed inspired design – a raked barn-style ceiling, and floor to ceiling windows, which provides panoramic views across the landscape.
For an even better view, the glass doors at the back of the tasting room open out onto a sunny terrace, overlooking fields of cows and elderflower plants – the ideal backdrop to enjoy another glass of wine.
Head here to check out the Runholder’s menu and book a table.
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