Eva Pemper × Merchant VintnersMember briefing · August 2026

Merchant Vintners member resource

Meet Eva. Taste the range.Put it to work in your market.

A focused trade hub for turning Eva Pemper’s founder-led Marlborough story, award-backed wines and September UK visit into staff confidence, customer energy and local opportunity.

See the member programme Explore the range
Estate-grownSWNZ certifiedUnfined & vegan-friendly
Winemaker Eva Pemper in the barrel room
UK member programmeSEP2026
Founder in market

Trade tastings, staff sessions, customer events and member conversations across the UK.

Gold · 95Decanter 2025

Eva Pemper Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Silver · 92Decanter 2026

Eva Pemper Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Gold · 95IWC 2026

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Master medalGlobal Pinot Noir Masters

Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

The member case

One grower. More ways to create value.

New Zealand’s category momentum gets attention. Eva’s compact, founder-led estate range gives independent merchants a credible way to turn that attention into premium recommendation, wider discovery and local activation.

Why now

New Zealand brings the momentum. Eva gives it a member-ready shape.

The opportunity is bigger than adding another Sauvignon. Start with a country customers already understand, then use Eva’s story and range to protect the premium ladder and broaden the conversation.

Build country confidence
01Market momentum

Growing against the category.

The July member brief shows New Zealand white wine still growing while the wider category contracts — a useful demand base for confident recommendation.

02Premium confidence

Give the step-up visible reasons.

New Zealand’s premium is part of the proposition. Eva supports it with estate provenance, serious medals and a founder who can bring the story into the room.

03Range expansion

Open with Sauvignon. Keep moving.

Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, dry rosé and Pinot Noir give teams natural next steps across food, season and occasion instead of ending at one familiar grape.

Market direction: July 2026 Merchant Vintners member briefing, drawing on NielsenIQ GB retail data to 13 June 2026.

01

A story people can repeat

Croatian winemaking roots, formal study and an estate label co-founded in Marlborough give Eva a clear, human story for staff and customers to carry forward.

02

A range with useful steps

From Gatelands house pours to estate wines and Reserves, one producer can cover by-the-glass, retail, food-led lists, private clients and events.

03

A practical member route

The wines are available to members through Merchant Vintners, supporting case draw-down without each business having to import and forecast alone.

04

Support beyond the bottle

Eva-led tastings, staff education, food-pairing guidance and ready-to-use selling tools help turn interest into confident recommendation.

Eva Pemper holding a bottle among the Marlborough vines

Built on resilience, inspired by possibility

Marlborough, by way of Croatia.

Croatian-born Eva Pemper moved to New Zealand in 2012. She holds a Master’s in Winemaking from Zagreb University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Oenology from EIT Hawke’s Bay.

Eva co-founded the label with vineyard owner Rob Anderson in 2019. The business is rooted in three vineyard blocks they farm in Riverlands near Blenheim, beneath the Wither Hills. Her philosophy is simple: let the fruit speak — crafting expressive, balanced wines whose place and personality are easy for merchant teams to share.

2019
Founded by Eva Pemper and Rob Anderson
3
Riverlands vineyard blocks
SWNZ
Certified vineyard and winery
AMW
Appellation Marlborough Wine member

The range, commercially

Three roles. Ten wines. One connected story.

Think about the portfolio by the job it can do. Start with the occasion and customer, then choose the tier that gives your team the clearest route to a confident recommendation.

Eva Pemper Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé, Reserve Pinot Noir and Reserve Sauvignon Blanc bottles
Selected portfolio view

One visual story from estate label to Reserve.

The white-label wines make the founder and vineyard story easy to recognise; the black-label Reserves create a clear premium destination. Gatelands completes the member ladder at house-pour level.

A tasting route through the range

Five bottles. Five confident conversations.

Start with familiar Marlborough freshness, move through food-led discovery and finish with the Reserves. Use these concise cues for a focused team tasting, then open the current wine sheets for technical depth.

  1. 01Estate · 2024

    The confident opener

    Sauvignon Blanc

    Passionfruit, peach and lime, with a crisp, dry and mouthwatering finish.

    Use for
    Premium by-the-glass · fish and seafood · retail discovery
    Why it differs
    Cool-fermented in stainless steel to keep the vineyard fruit vivid.
    Decanter 2025 · Gold · 95 points
  2. 02Estate · 2022

    The food-led discovery

    Chardonnay

    Peach, apple and grapefruit, with light vanilla, cashew and lees texture.

    Use for
    Smoked fish · seafood · poultry and pork
    Why it differs
    30% barrel-fermented, 70% stainless; ten months on lees for the barrel portion.
    Cameron Douglas MS · 92 points
  3. 03Estate · 2024

    The fresh contrast

    Pinot Noir Rosé

    Strawberries and cream, red apple and cherry, with a silky-fresh finish.

    Use for
    Aperitif · salmon · duck · feta
    Why it differs
    100% Wairau Valley Pinot Noir, gently pressed and cool-fermented in steel.
    James Suckling · 90 points
  4. 04Reserve · 2023

    The cellar conversation

    Pinot Noir

    Dark cherry and plum, smoky earth and fine tannins, with a long, juicy finish.

    Use for
    Roast lamb or beef · mushrooms · paired dinners
    Why it differs
    Wild-fermented and aged nine months in seasoned French barriques.
    Cameron Douglas MS · 93 points
  5. 05Reserve · 2024

    The premium finish

    Sauvignon Blanc

    Citrus, quince and tropical fruit, layered with floral and mineral complexity.

    Use for
    Fish and seafood · premium lists · winemaker dinners
    Why it differs
    Cool-fermented in aged oak barrels for texture and a clear premium step-up.
    IWC 2026 · Gold · 95 points

Vintages shown are the current UK member focus. Confirm live availability, formats and pricing through Merchant Vintners Head Office.

01The easy entry point

Pour

Gatelands

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc · Marlborough Pinot Noir

Bright, accessible house-pour wines for pubs, casual dining, events and volume by-the-glass programmes.

02The hand-sellable heart

Discover

Estate range

Sauvignon Blanc · Pinot Noir · Chardonnay · Pinot Noir Rosé · Pinot Gris · Legacy Red

The founder story and range breadth for premium by-the-glass, independent retail, seasonal features and food-led lists.

03The conversation wines

Cellar

Reserve

Reserve Sauvignon Blanc · Reserve Pinot Noir

Textural, award-backed wines for destination lists, paired dinners, fine-wine retail and private-client cases.

375

Small format, useful role

Sauvignon Blanc 2025 in 375ml

Made for half-bottle lists, room service, gifting and occasions where one full bottle is simply too much.

ml

Built for different member businesses

Find the angle that fits your market.

Retail + wine bar

Lead with story and discovery.

Build a mixed selection around the flagship Sauvignon, Pinot Noir Rosé and an in-store tasting with Eva.

On-trade wholesale

Create a premium by-the-glass rung.

Use Gatelands for volume and the estate wines for a credible step up, backed by team and list support.

Pub + hotel estates

Scale one coherent story.

Move from house pour to destination dining without changing producer, then activate centrally with staff education.

Fine wine + private client

Start beyond Sauvignon.

Open with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the Reserves, using winemaker dinners and cellar cases to deepen the relationship.

Service-led independent

Keep the first step focused.

Choose a concise starter range, draw down by the case and use the vegan-friendly credentials across retail, events and weddings.

Coastal + seasonal

Make occasion do the work.

Whites and dry Pinot Noir Rosé suit seafood, terraces and summer trade; follow with Pinot and Legacy Red as the season turns.

September 2026 member programme

A national visit, built around useful encounters.

Across ten engagement days, Eva will connect with members, teams and customers from Suffolk to Scotland and the South Coast — combining a network tasting, member-hosted sessions, customer events, industry learning and practical follow-up.

Member invitation

Meet Eva in The Taproom

Merchant Vintners members are warmly invited to join Eva for an informal drink in The Swan’s Taproom & Courtyard in Southwold.

Add to calendar View The Swan Taproom

MV Group Tasting & Dinner

Adnams, Southwold · The principal network-wide tasting opportunity.

Discuss the programme

  1. Southwold

    Merchant Vintners · Adnams

    Member welcome, group tasting and principals’ dinner — the main network-wide moment of the programme.

  2. Nottingham · County Durham · Edinburgh

    Weavers · Lanchester · Great Grog

    A winemaker evening, an industry and supply-chain visit, then trade and customer-facing tasting activity in Scotland.

  3. Shrewsbury · Bristol

    Tanners · DBM

    Focused staff sessions and customer tastings across two very different independent merchant markets.

  4. West Sussex · Isle of Wight

    Gusto · Yates

    A member premises visit, customer dinner and an island market day built around local relationships.

  5. Greenwich

    New Zealand Winegrowers · Davy’s

    Industry and partnership conversations bring the member-facing programme to a purposeful London close.

Programme current at 14 August 2026. Private and host-controlled sessions are not open invitations; confirm attendance through Merchant Vintners Head Office.
Eva Pemper wine in a Marlborough vineyard

Make the visit work harder

One visit. Four deliberate moves.

  1. 01

    Choose the commercial job

    A premium Sauvignon step-up, a house pour, a seasonal rosé, a dinner wine or a private-client discovery case.

  2. 02

    Bring the right room together

    Use Eva’s time with your sales team, priority customers or an invited consumer audience — and give each group a clear reason to attend.

  3. 03

    Make the story easy to sell

    Pair the tasting with concise provenance, award and food-match cues that staff can use the next day, not a long technical lecture.

  4. 04

    Agree the follow-through

    Capture sample requests, range questions and next conversations, then coordinate stock and pricing through the usual Head Office route.

Member learning room

Learn the place. Sell the story.

Build a shared foundation before Eva arrives: start with New Zealand wine’s sustainability priorities, then move through country, Marlborough, Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

Featured briefing · 2:33 · New Zealand Wine

The New Zealand wine industry’s Sustainability Focus Areas

A concise official overview of the sector’s six sustainability priorities. Use it as industry context alongside Eva’s own SWNZ-certified estate credentials.

Watch sustainability briefing

Continue watching

Four more official New Zealand Wine videos, arranged as a simple learning path.

Read + explore

Official New Zealand Wine reference material for deeper study and team sessions.

Member toolkit

Shared tools, private intelligence.

The common story belongs here. Member-specific account planning stays private, so each business can work from its own regional pack without exposing targets or commercial detail across the network.

On this page

Range + award snapshot

A shared set of current proof points and commercial roles for conversations across the network.

Explore the range
Shared privately

Your regional member pack

Member-specific market intelligence and account planning stay with the member they were prepared for.

Request your pack
Available on request

Selling + event toolkit

Tasting structure, food matches, list copy, images and social content to support local activation.

Ask for materials

Practical questions

From interest to action.

How do members order?

Use your normal Merchant Vintners Head Office route. Head Office can confirm live availability, formats, trade pricing and lead times.

How do I take part on 8 September?

Ask Merchant Vintners Head Office to confirm the invitation and attendance details for the Southwold group tasting and dinner.

Can Eva support a local tasting or customer event?

Yes, subject to programme capacity. Share the audience, commercial objective and preferred wines with the UK team so the right format can be planned.

What sales support is available?

Members can request samples, tasting structures, staff briefing notes, food matches, list copy, images, social content and their own regional sales pack.

Your next move

Bring Eva into your market.

Request samples, shape a team tasting, plan a customer event or ask for the member tools that make the story easier to sell.

Email Steve Evans
steve@evapemper.com