COVER STORY – ASTROLABE
Double celebration celebration at Astrolabe Astrolabe Astrolabe has a two-fold reason for celebration in 2022: the milestone of its 25th vintage and the success of its new Astrolabe Marlborough Rosé… ASTROLABE HAS just completed its 25th harvest in Marlborough, marking a quarter century for the family-owned winery. It’s no small feat in New Zealand’s relatively young wine industry, and is testament to the skill of Simon Waghorn, who founded Astrolabe in 1997 with wife Jane Forrest-Waghorn. Simon Waghorn says the winery was originally a bit of a “side hustle”. “It was a fun thing to do at the time, and I didn’t have long-term plans. Now we have a diverse offering of varieties we make and a wide range of customers all around the world. We are still making wine from Astrolabe Farm, but we have cast a broader net across Marlborough, looking for exciting growing areas and expanding my options for blending complexity.” In that time, Astrolabe has become known for its exceptional Marlborough 8 DRINKSBIZ APRIL / MAY 2022
Sauvignon Blanc, as well as more boutique varietals. The couple were joined in the business by daughters Arabella and Libby after Astrolabe became entirely family-owned in 2018.
“Now we have a diverse offering of varieties... and a wide range of customers all around the world.” Simon Waghorn says they’re grateful to have a business that has been going for so long and survived so well through such a changing environment. “We’re proud to have been part of the exciting transformation of the Marlborough landscape… [and] proud to still be true to
what we have been all along, which is a winemaker-directed and -run winery.” He says there are several highlights for him from the last quarter century of Astrolabe. “Seeing the first properly labelled Astrolabe bottle back in 1997... then 2004 was the year our Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was put on the map internationally, taking out four trophies, including our first international one, which really marked the start of our wine going global.” Waghorn says the first time he walked into a restaurant overseas and saw people drinking his wine remains a strong memory too. “That’s a big highlight for any winemaker – to know you have sent a nicely packaged, beautifully made product to the other side of the world, and people are enjoying it.” 2022 is also a landmark year for Astrolabe in that it will see the release
