Martinborough Unmasked

Rugby fans were enticed over the hill for Martinborough Unmasked, a special two day event held after the Wellington Quarterfinals weekend.
Conceived by local tourism operator, Gretchen Bunny of March Hare Enterprises, Martinborough Unmasked was part of the REAL New Zealand festival held during RWC 2011.
Gretchen told the Martinborough Star she wanted to showcase the best of the village and surrounds to international rugby fans who were travelling around the country supporting their favourite team. She said despite competition from over 1200 other significant RWC events happening during the 6 week tournament, she was thrilled that over 300 enthusiastic rugby fans made the trip over the Rimutakas.
“There were a few challenges, but Martinborough ended up inundated with campervans and rental cars over both days and many operators described it as one of the busiest days of the year,” said Gretchen.
The purpose of the event was to give visitors a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes through a series of ‘sneak peeks’ held on the hour at over 10 different venues. Gretchen said the feedback she had received from visitors was overwhelmingly positive. She said being able to provide them with the opportunity to meet the people responsible for Martinborough’s wine and food industry was a real privilege.
“Clive from Ata Rangi had them hanging on every word as he shared his passion for the environment while Helen & John Meehan had many a wealthy financier contemplating quitting their swanky job in London for a life as a professional olive tree pruner,” she said.
“One young Australian bloke proudly told me that he was a staunch beer drinker, but after Martinborough Unmasked, not only does he now drink wine, but he now even has an opinion”.
An after party was held on both evenings at Settlers Bar & Restaurant allowing visitors to further mix and mingle with the local identities that they had met throughout the day and to socialise with the other fans. Gretchen described the scenario of seeing local farmers in their woolly socks commiserating with Irish fans, and South African and Australian fans putting their differences aside to debate the merits of curry flavoured Schoc chocolate.
“The best thing about this event was its ability to bring people together – seeing the Martinborough Community working together to make this event a success, and seeing those fans form an affiliation and a relationship with the region”.
“I believe that although the sales on the day were surprisingly good, the true benefit will be the legacy of this event – people ordering Martinborough Wine at their favourite restaurant in Sydney, and smugly preaching the differences between French and Hungarian Oak over the dinner table in Cape Town”.
Based on the success of the inaugural event, plans are afoot to make Martinborough Unmasked an annual event so watch this space!
Photo caption: Martinborough Vineyard winemaker leads a group through barrel tasting maturing wines.