A vintage shared — from Burgundy to Martinborough.
Each harvest brings with it a familiar rhythm — long days, steady hands, and the quiet anticipation of what the season will become. It also brings new faces, new perspectives, and, occasionally, the continuation of stories that began long before the first grape is picked.
This year, we welcomed two French interns to Ata Rangi: Pauline de Nicolay and Théophile “Theo” Molozay — both arriving not only with a deep connection to wine, but with threads that tie their families to ours.
Theo and Pauline in the Ata Rangi winery for harvest 2026.
Pauline de Nicolay
Pauline grew up in Savigny-lès-Beaune, a small village in Burgundy, surrounded by vines and the cadence of family winemaking at Domaine Chandon de Briailles. Thanks to the two generations before her, wine has always been part of Pauline’s life — from early vintages during school holidays to a growing understanding of the craft through her family’s work. Her grandmother came to winemaking later in life, a legacy then continued by Pauline’s father, François and aunt, Claude.
It was through Claude that Pauline’s connection to Ata Rangi was formed. In the early 1990s, Claude crossed paths with our own Eleanor Dodd at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon, USA and the pair remained in touch. This friendship saw Claude visit Martinborough, where she worked alongside Eleanor and Larry McKenna during past vintages in the region. That connection, quietly nurtured over decades, has now come full circle.
Currently working in Beaujolais, Pauline was looking for a Southern Hemisphere vintage that offered both familiarity and contrast — Pinot Noir, but in a different expression of place. Drawn to Ata Rangi’s scale, hands-on approach and organic practice, she’s welcomed the shift from Burgundy. Here, she’s enjoying the diversity of wines and the openness to them.
Théophile “Theo” Molozay
Theo’s path to Ata Rangi is similarly shaped by both heritage and connection. Raised in the Moselle region at Château de Vaux, he comes from a multi-generational wine family, where organic and biodynamic farming is central and Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris define the landscape. His introduction to winemaking began early, learning alongside his family from the age of ten.
His link to Martinborough reaches back to 1991, when his father, Norbert, worked at Palliser Estate, forming friendships with Clive, Phyll and Ali at Ata Rangi — relationships built not just in the vineyard and winery, but around shared meals and long harvest days. It is these kinds of connections that tend to endure in wine.
Having already travelled through Australia and Oregon, Theo arrived in New Zealand looking to deepen his experience beyond Europe — drawn by both the quality of the wines and the clarity of the landscape. At Ata Rangi, he has found a balance of both: a place where learning is practical, collaborative, and grounded in the day-to-day work of harvest.
For both Pauline and Theo, this vintage is about more than technique. It is about perspective — understanding how familiar varieties express themselves in a different place, within a different culture, alongside a different team — or as we like to think, a different family.
For us, their presence is a reminder of something we value deeply: that wine is built on relationships that stretch across time and geography. That the work we do here is part of a cultural exchange and a much wider conversation — one that connects our corner of the world to others in quiet but meaningful ways, and for a lifetime.
As the 2026 harvest unfolds, it is these shared stories — alongside the fruit itself — that shape the season.