LAST TO PICK. WORTH THE WAIT.
Few people have tasted a wine from the Waitaki Valley. That is reason enough to find one.
It may be New Zealand’s smallest wine region: a narrow river valley in the South Island, cooler than Central Otago, where ripeness is never promised. Beneath it lies limestone, an ancient seabed some 38 million years old, now part of New Zealand’s first and only UNESCO Global Geopark.
In 2003, our founder, Jules Stephan, bought a sheep paddock on that limestone. Wine was already in his family: his ancestors planted one of New Zealand’s earliest commercial vineyards in 1863. Jules Matthews took the land from bare paddock to vineyard, and has shaped every part of Q since, from the first vines to the bottle in your hand.
Waitaki is the last region in New Zealand to harvest. The autumn is long and slow, and the fruit keeps its freshness.
One vineyard. Four wines: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Rosé. Picked by hand and made in small batches by our Chief Winemaker, Antony Worch, with a light touch. Guide the vintage, protect clarity, let the limestone speak.
Q is one of The Real Review’s Top Wineries of New Zealand 2026, and our Pinot Noir holds a place in its Wine Classification of New Zealand.
Pour a glass, and let a small valley at the far end of the workd come to your table.
Reviews
Q PINOT NOIR 2022, WAITAKI VALLEY
96 points
"This refined Pinot Noir persist[s] with elegant red fruit, fragrant floral, fine spice on a supple, chalky mouthfeel."
Candice Chow, Candice Wine Chat
Q PINOT NOIR 2024, WAITAKI VALLEY
95 points
"This intriguing juxtaposition of a cool site and a warm year is reflected in this engaging Pinot, which shows fresh acidity and fine-boned tannin but also a richer dark fruit profile and brooding character. Smoky, herbal tones add to the complexity, as does a touch of flinty reduction. Refreshingly different."
Susie Barrie MW & Peter Richards MW, New Zealand Wines of the Year 2026
Q CHARDONNAY 2024, WAITAKI VALLEY
95 points
"A really lovely bouquet with enticing scents of pineapple and barrel spices, vanilla and clove, then a creamed Brazil nut and butter quality. A dry wine on the palate, full-bodied with a flinty reductive character, then flavours of grapefruit and peach, clove and lots of texture. Fine tannins and a medium+ acid line, plush, elegant and delicious."
Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, 18 April 2025
Q PINOT GRIS 2024, WAITAKI VALLEY
95 points
"A bright and electric Pinot Gris, beautifully crunchy fruit supported by acid tension; a waxy, oily palate flows along chalky minerals to a lengthy, crisp finish."
Candice Chow, Candice Wine Chat
Q ROSÉ 2025, WAITAKI VALLEY
94 points
"This Waitaki Pinot Noir Rosé is textural, with a chalky thread that underlines ripe, pure fruit and unfolds deep floral fragrances and an opulent finish."
Candice Chow, Candice Wine Chat
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