As we already know, when buying fine wines it takes patience to see a return. Investors suggest at least 10 years is optimum, although realistically you would start seeing something significant after seven. With Bordeaux and Burgundy being the bookies choice, they are already so well-established that margins are narrow (unless you get in on the primeur market, which is whole separate ballgame).

As we cast our nets for something different, it would be foolish to dismiss new world wines as investment opportunities. However, one needs to tread carefully here, with many boutique wineries gaining recognition among critics, it is still too early to say whether ageing is on a parr with their French siblings. One vineyard that does not have that problem is Ata Rangi.

Founded in 1980 on a “stony, barren sheep paddock at the edge of the small Martinborough village”, Clive Patton an ex-dairy farmer, set about creating his dream that would ultimately see his hallmark wines propel the entire region into the oenological spotlight. Despite much consternation, Patten was no fool; he immediately saw the land’s potential. Free draining shingle terraces (not forgetting the low rainfall in the North Island) made it a no-brainer for Patton. The addition of winemaker Helen Masters to the team and almost 40 years on, we reckon his gut-feeling was right.

Arguably the most famous producer in the region, Ata Rangi wines are serious contenders on the fine wine circuit. The Pinot Noir is the flagship wine of the estate and is said to be a “gumboot clone” of Romanee Conti (a clone claimed to have been brought to New Zealand in the boot of a worker who had taken a clandestine cutting from the famous domain). Prices are high (for new world wines) yet so are the scores, think consistent low-mid-90s for the past two decades. Yet Ata Rangi’s real interest for fine wine investors is that its ageabilty is superior to many from the region, easily attaining the fabled decade needed in order to see decent returns.