Frequently Asked Questions | Jackson Estate

Yes — Jackson Estate's cellar door is open for wine tastings at 77 Jacksons Road, Blenheim, set amongst the vines on our original homestead vineyard. We're a working winery, so we don't run production tours, but you're welcome to taste across our range with our team. Walk-ins are accommodated based on availability; we recommend booking to secure your preferred time, especially over summer.

Jackson Estate Cellar Door, at 77 Jacksons Road, Blenheim, is open through the summer season (October to March), Monday to Saturday, 10am–4:30pm.

Through the off-season (April to September), we're open by appointment only — please get in touch to arrange your visit. We recommend booking ahead at any time of year.

Bookings are recommended, especially during the summer season, so we can give you the best experience and secure your preferred time. We do welcome walk-ins based on availability, but booked tables are given priority.

For groups of more than 8 people, bookings are essential. You can book online or get in touch with our team.

Jackson Estate offers four ways to taste at our Blenheim cellar door:

Self-Guided Tasting – $15pp: 4 wines, at your own pace.
Tasting du Jour – $20pp: 4 wines, guided (a great overview).
Premium Tasting – $35pp: 4 premium wines, guided (more in-depth).
Private Tasting in the Cave – $90pp: a 90-minute guided experience through our full range.

Each tasting is relaxed and unhurried, grounded in the stories of our vineyards.

Yes — charcuterie and a range of snacks are available to enjoy alongside your tasting or a glass of wine. Jackson Estate isn't a sit-down restaurant; our cellar door is a relaxed wine bar and tasting space where you can settle in amongst the vines. It's an easy spot to pause, taste, and take in the Marlborough landscape.

Yes — you're welcome to enjoy a glass of wine at our cellar door without booking a full tasting. If you'd like to compare across the range, you can also choose one of our guided tasting options. Either way, you can relax amongst the vines with a charcuterie board or a few snacks.

Yes — for a more intimate visit we offer a Private Tasting in the Cave beneath the cellar door: a 90-minute guided experience through our full range ($90pp), tailored to suit your group. It suits small groups, special occasions, or anyone wanting a more immersive tasting.

Groups of more than 8 should book ahead — please get in touch with our team to arrange.

Jackson Estate is at 77 Jacksons Road, Blenheim, in the heart of Marlborough — just minutes from the town centre and a short drive from Blenheim Airport, which makes us an easy first or last stop on a Marlborough trip. The winery, cellar door and vineyard all sit together on our original homestead site.

All Jackson Estate wines are made from estate-grown Marlborough fruit, at our winery on the original homestead vineyard at 77 Jacksons Road, Blenheim. It's a 250-tonne winery with more than 52 small-batch tanks, which lets us keep individual vineyard parcels separate and make wine block by block. Much of our Pinot Noir comes from our clay-rich Southern Valleys sites.

Jackson Estate Pinot Noir is grown on the clay-rich soils of Marlborough's Southern Valleys, which give wines with depth, structure and clear vineyard character. Expect lifted aromas of brambly red fruits, dried herbs and spice, a palate of ripe, savoury red fruit, and silky, integrated tannins.

Our single-vineyard wines — such as Gum Emperor and Somerset — are more concentrated and built to cellar, while our Homestead Pinot Noir is brighter and made for earlier drinking. Our winemaker, Matt Patterson-Green, talks through several of these wines in our tasting videos.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is a dry white wine, and Jackson Estate's is no exception. Our Stich Sauvignon Blanc is aromatic and intensely flavoured, with ripe white stone fruit, zesty citrus and a refreshingly crisp acidity, balanced by a textural, lees-driven backbone. The fruit character is generous, but the wine finishes clean and dry rather than sweet.

Barrique Sauvignon Blanc is a Sauvignon Blanc fermented in oak barrels rather than stainless steel — 'barrique' is the French word for a wine barrel. Our Grey Ghost Barrique Sauvignon Blanc is hand-harvested, whole-bunch-pressed and fermented in old French oak, which adds smoky, flinty complexity, a creamy lees texture and softer acidity than a classic crisp Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Expect white peach, nectarine and mandarin blossom, with a long, textural finish. It's named after the giant old gum tree on our Homestead vineyard.

Yes — all Jackson Estate wines are vegan-friendly. We don't use animal-derived fining agents such as egg white, gelatine or isinglass in our winemaking. This fits our low-intervention approach, where we let the fruit and the vineyard do the work. If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, you can enjoy any wine across our range.

Yes — Jackson Estate is accredited through Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), the industry programme that audits vineyards and wineries on water, soil, biodiversity, energy and waste. Established in 1995, SWNZ is one of the world's longest-running wine sustainability schemes, and accreditation is now an expectation for New Zealand wine rather than the exception.

SWNZ accreditation is distinct from organic certification. We farm our original homestead vineyard with care, working with the land and aiming for steady, year-on-year improvement.

Our wines are made by head winemaker Matt Patterson-Green, who you'll see tasting through our range in our winemaker videos. In the vineyard, viticulturalist Wiremu brings more than 20 years on this site and a deep knowledge of how our blocks perform season to season. Together they shape wines that reflect their vineyard, their vintage and the people who make them.

Shipping within New Zealand is free when you spend over $100. For orders under $100, a flat rate of $10 applies anywhere in New Zealand. Your wine is dispatched from Jackson Estate in Marlborough, and we'll send you a tracking number once it's on its way.

Most New Zealand orders arrive within about 3 working days. We pack and dispatch orders as quickly as we can, and once yours has shipped you'll receive a tracking number by email so you can follow its progress.

If you're outside New Zealand, you can buy Jackson Estate wine through Wine Collective Direct (WCD), our trusted international shipping partner. WCD's bottle pricing is fully inclusive of shipping, import taxes and duty, eco-thermal packaging and insurance — delivered from the winery right to your door.

Yes — because wine is an alcohol product, New Zealand law requires that someone aged 18 or over signs for the delivery, and it can't be left unattended. Please use a delivery address where an adult can receive the parcel during the day, such as a workplace, if no one will be home.

If there's ever a problem with your order, please get in touch with our team and we'll help put it right. You'll find our contact details on the contact page of our website.

The Benton Wine Club is our wine membership, shared across Jackson Estate and our sister winery, Pask, in Hawke's Bay. Members receive a quarterly shipment of 6 bottles, hand-selected by our head winemaker, Matt Patterson-Green, including first tastes of new releases and exclusive library wines not available to the public. Each shipment comes with food-and-wine pairing ideas and cellaring notes.

There are three Benton Wine Club tiers, each a quarterly 6-bottle shipment:

Silver: a classic mix of varietal favourites.
Gold: 6 premium bottles, including limited and library wines.
Red: 6 bottles of our red varietals only.

All members also receive our wine club rate on additional purchases (online and in store), complimentary tasting experiences at both wineries, and first option on our annual events.

Yes — Jackson Estate gift vouchers can be redeemed at our cellar door, at our sister winery Pask in Hawke's Bay, or online. They make an easy gift for anyone who enjoys good wine or a Marlborough cellar door visit.

Yes — you can have an order delivered straight to someone else by entering their address at checkout. We also offer ready-made gift sets, including our Library Vertical Tasting packs of Stich and Grey Ghost Sauvignon Blanc across three vintages.

Store your wine somewhere dark with a stable temperature that doesn't fluctuate too much — a cupboard away from heat and light is ideal. Our Pinot Noir and Grey Ghost Barrique Sauvignon Blanc both age beautifully, so they reward a little patience if you can resist opening them early.

Once opened, wine is best enjoyed the same day, but it will usually keep for up to 3 days if you reseal it and store it in the fridge — red or white. The cold slows oxidation. If it's a red, take it out about half an hour before pouring so it isn't too cold.

Start by looking at the wine — note its colour and how it moves in the glass. Next, smell it: try with your mouth closed, then again with it open, and see which aromas you can pick out, like citrus, stone fruit or red berries. Finally, take a sip and let it coat your palate; a second and third sip will reveal more.

If you'd like to learn hands-on, our team guides you through it at the cellar door.

Our Pinot Noir suits duck, lamb, mushroom dishes and soft cheeses, where its red fruit and savoury character can shine. Our Sauvignon Blanc — bright and crisp — pairs naturally with seafood, oysters, salads and goat's cheese. The oak-fermented Grey Ghost Barrique Sauvignon Blanc has more texture, so it stands up to richer dishes like roast chicken or creamy pasta.

Wine club members receive pairing ideas with every shipment.