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Wine region

Canterbury

Canterbury is a wine region in New Zealand, home to 30 wineries, producing red, rose, white wines, known for Waipara.

Canterbury at a glance: white-leaning; known for Waipara.
On this page

Canterbury's 30 wineries lean white but make plenty of red too; Pinot Noir is the most common single-grape bottling; wines carry GI designation.

About the Canterbury region

    Location
    The Canterbury wine region is a New Zealand wine region and geographical indication that covers wine made anywhere within the Canterbury Region excluding the Kaikōura District, an area of some 44,500 square kilometres (17,200 sq mi) in t…
    Climate
    Canterbury has a cool, dry climate with good sunshine and a long growing season; Waipara Valley is somewhat warmer and more sheltered, while the Canterbury Plains are slightly cooler.
    Soils
    Canterbury’s vineyard soils vary across the region: river-derived gravel deposits and limestone-derived hillside clays occur in North Canterbury, while the Canterbury Plains are dominated by shallow, free-draining, greywacke-based stony…

Region facts sourced from New Zealand Winegrowers, North Canterbury Wine Region, retrieved 2026-07-14. (New Zealand Winegrowers website terms; factual extraction with minimum necessary quotation), Wikipedia contributors, "Canterbury wine region", Wikipedia, revision 1277973754, retrieved 2026-07-11. (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International).

Most common single-grape wines

When Canterbury wines are made from a single grape (rather than a blend), these are the most common:

Wine profile

Canterbury leans white (about 58% of its wines) but makes meaningful red too.

276 distinct Canterbury wines tracked, spanning the colours and styles below.

  • White159 · 58%
  • Red95 · 35%
  • Rose21 · 8%

Types: Port, Sparkling, Still.

Representative Canterbury wines

Selected from stable product-to-region relationships for diversity — not a claim that these are the region's best wines.

  • Waipara Hills — Pinot Noir
  • Silverwing — Nada Dry Riesling
  • Main Divide — Tehau Reserve Pinot Noir
  • Dunnolly — Pinot Noir
  • Forager — Pinot Noir
  • Tongue in Groove — Cabal Vineyard Pinot Noir
  • Main Divide — Gewurztraminer
  • Main Divide — Sauvignon Blanc

Sub-regions & appellations

Within Canterbury, these appellationsA legally-defined smaller growing area within a wine region, often with its own grapes and rules. are smaller growing areas, often with their own character:

  • Waipara
  • North Canterbury

Quality designations

Wines here carry GI status — a controlled quality designation.

  • GIGeographical Indication — a defined origin area used in Australia and other New World countries.

New Zealand wine designations

GI
A New Zealand geographical indication identifies a product as originating from a region where a quality, reputation or characteristic is essentially attributable to that origin.
Understanding the wine data
Designation
The protected-origin or administrative category associated with the wine, interpreted using country-aware rules. The same abbreviation can mean different things in different countries, so we only show the meaning approved for that country.
How this ranking is built

Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.

Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.

How to choose a good Canterbury wine

Look for the GI designation — it signals a controlled-origin Canterbury wine.

FAQs

Where is Canterbury?
The Canterbury wine region is a New Zealand wine region and geographical indication that covers wine made anywhere within the Canterbury Region excluding the Kaikōura District , an area of some 44,500 square kilometres (17,200 sq mi) in the South Island .
What do the designation terms on Canterbury wines mean?
GI: A New Zealand geographical indication identifies a product as originating from a region where a quality, reputation or characteristic is essentially attributable to that origin. These terms describe geographical or regulatory categories; they do not by themselves guarantee that one producer or bottle is better than another.
How are wineries and producers selected for Canterbury?
Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.
How are representative Canterbury wines selected?
Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.
How much wine data does WhatDrink have for Canterbury?
The current regional catalogue contains 276 linked wines from 30 linked producers. Counts describe WhatDrink catalogue coverage and may change as source data is refreshed.

Regional data is aggregated from wine directory and product-catalogue sources; grape and style associations reflect characteristic varieties and may vary by producer and vintage.