Saint Clair Family Estate

Neal and Judy Ibbotson founded the Saint Clair estate in 1978, starting by growing grapes for sale to local wineries. Drawing on their combined experience, they decided together to produce their first vintage in 1994: their first wine was then born. 

The name has been retained and traces back to a family that originally settled the vineyard: the Sinclairs, a prominent family that contributed to the development of the city of Blenheim in its early days. 

Saint Clair Family Estate is , as its name suggests, an estate that today upholds family values: the son handles all label designs through his own company, while the daughters manage the estate’s sales and marketing. 

Benefiting from a combination of soils and climates unique to the Marlborough region, the Saint Clair team emphasizes meticulous viticultural care and is committed to respecting this exceptional environment. To this end, they work each year to reduce their carbon footprint, support ecological initiatives, and minimize the use of chemicals and non-recyclable packaging in their operations. 

In particular,Saint Clair reuses fermented grape skins as mulch in the vineyards of the Marlborough region.

They achieve 30% water savings by using subsurface irrigation across all of Saint Clair’s vineyards, as opposed to above-ground technology.

50% of Saint Clair’s forklift fleet is electric. 

Saint Clair wines are produced in winemaking facilities that are 100% SWNZ-certified (Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, an industry-wide certification program led by New Zealand winemakers), and all their labels are made from recycled paper and eco-friendly ink.

With 30 years of experience, an exceptional terroir, and a team of experts, Saint Clair Family Estateis oneof New Zealand’s largest wineries, having won numerous awards for its vintages of exceptional quality—flavorful and delightfully unique: a true “ Favorite.”