Martinborough is a bit off the beaten track but just over one hour’s drive from Wellington. Photo / Flickr
Martinborough is a bit off the beaten track but just over one hour’s drive from Wellington. Photo / Flickr
Rachel Hall is an all-dancing, all-distilling wonder woman and head distiller at Lighthouse Gin in Martinborough.
I’m Rachel Hall and I am the head distiller and first female head distiller in New Zealand for Lighthouse Gin. I’ve been in the role for nine years and I’ve been with Lighthouse Gin since 2010.
Rachel Hall is the head distiller for Lighthouse Gin. Photo / Supplied
Lighthouse Gin started in 2005 when a group of gentlemen met up on a Thursday to play a round of golf and have a beer. One day, one of them suggested that collectively, they could make fruit brandy. Unfortunately, they quickly realised that it’s quite difficult to make.
One of the crew, Neil, had always been a gin drinker so he decided they’d make gin instead; he came up with the recipe we have today, one of the first craft gins in New Zealand. There weren’t many New Zealand gins at the time. Mostly the whiskey distilleries were making a bit of gin on the side.
At some point the trio decided they needed a proper gin still, so Neil designed the still that I continue to use today.
We’re based in Martinborough; a wonderful small town that’s a bit off the beaten track but just over one hour’s drive from Wellington. It’s full of little vineyards and a couple more distilleries. There are great places to eat and plenty of places to stay including lovely homestays and you can easily hire bikes and pedal to the vineyards. It’s nice and flat here and particularly lovely in summer. Often, if it’s raining over in Greytown or Carterton, it’ll be a lot drier here.
In Martinborough, you can easily hire bikes and pedal to the vineyards. Photo / Flickr
For amazing views, try Moy Hall Vineyard, a little bespoke winery. Phil and Carolyn who run it are absolutely lovely and it has a fabulous atmosphere. Colombo is another family-owned boutique vineyard and Poppies winery is fantastic too. If you can’t get out to the vineyards, Tohi Gin Room is a great spot just off The Square.
My number one place to eat is our new venue The Runholder; it has stunning views of the Martinborough terrace or overlooks the Te Kairanga Vineyard. My favourites are a pizza and G&T or a dirty martini with a charcuterie board, or a tasting while viewing my amazing new still.
Rachel Hall's number one place to eat in Martinborough is new venue, The Runholder. Photo / Sam Cameron Photography
I’m currently based at Martinborough Vineyard and it’s a tiny wee distillery and I do all the bottling in there as well. However, I’ve outgrown the space so we constructed The Runholder, a purpose-built distillery at Te Kairanga, which is also the new home for Martinborough Vineyard. It’s a restaurant, tasting room and barrel hall.
Rachel Hall is the first female head distiller in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
When you go past the main entrance and into the tasting hall, there’s a huge window that looks through to my new still. It’s quite a surprise feature. Once I’m over there and I’m up and running, we’ll do behind-the-scenes tours, too.
We’ve always got something going on in the background but because it’s just me, things do take time. The Barrel H gin we’ve just released in the last year took five years to perfect!
For more, see lighthousegin.co.nz and wairarapanz.com/martinborough
