As 19th-century European settlement in New Zealand gathered pace, change began on the land of the Indigenous Māori who lived in Te Tauihu at the northern tip of the South Island. In the 1840s, the British colonial development firm New Zealand Company acquired Māori land in the area to build European settlements.
One of the promises at the time was to reserve one-tenth of the acquired land for the original Māori owners and their descendants. Land where Māori lived or farmed was also to be protected.
But the promise was not fully kept. Some of the land slated for protection was not properly secured, and the remaining land later diminished. Even the land that remained could not be directly managed by Māori owners. With government-appointed administrators and trust bodies managing it instead, practical authority over how to use and lease the land moved away from the owners.
The situation changed more than 130 years later. Owners who had long demanded the right to directly manage the land decided in 1976 to create an organization to co-manage the remaining land. The following year, Wakatū Incorporation was launched. Wakatū received about 1,394 hectares of land remaining in Nelson Tents and existing residences and began managing it directly.
For Māori, land is not merely property to buy and sell. Land inherited from ancestors is regarded as a legacy the current generation must care for and pass on in better condition to the next. A prime example is "Kaitiakitanga" (the guardian ethos), which holds that nature and land must be protected for future generations.
Based on this philosophy, Wakatū also devised a 500-year long-term plan called "Te Pae Tawhiti." Rather than immediate profit, it uses what to leave for descendants yet to be born as a key criterion in decision-making.
One of the ways they chose to share their land and culture with the world was wine. In 1998, Wakatū, together with two other Māori organizations, founded "Tohu." According to New Zealand Winegrowers, Tohu is the world's first Māori-owned wine company. Its first-year production was only 3,200 cases, but by 2018 it had grown to more than 220,000 cases annually.
Tohu Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc is made solely from grapes grown in the Awatere Valley in southern Marlborough. Awatere is a cool, dry, and windy area even within Marlborough.
Most of the grapes come from vineyards on old river terraces in the Upper Awatere Valley. A small portion is added from grapes grown in the alluvial soils and well-drained ground of the Lower Awatere Valley.
Modern mechanical harvesters are used for picking to extract as much aroma and flavor as possible from the grape skins. After arriving at the winery, the grapes are pressed and cold-settled in stainless steel tanks, then only the clear juice is moved to another tank.
Selected yeasts are added to lift the wine's aromas and flavors, and it ferments at low temperature for about 21 days. After fermentation, the wine briefly contacts the yeast lees, then is transferred back to stainless steel tanks for maturation. After final blending, it is stabilized and filtered, then bottled and released.
In the glass, lemongrass and sweet bell pepper notes come first, followed by freshly crushed herb aromas. On the palate, sweet pineapple and crisp green apple emerge, supported by fresh lime and pink grapefruit. While fruit flavors are concentrated, a refreshing mineral edge keeps balance. It stays lively and fresh, finishing clean and precise. It won the New World white wine grand prize at the 2026 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards. The domestic importer is Shinsegae L&B.