Inland Wairau
Soil consists of shallow silty and sandy loams of varying vigour and depth over gravels. It is widely planted in Sauvignon Blanc but there are also less vigorous pockets that are planted in Chardonnay, aromatic varieties and some reds. This includes the Rapaura and Conders Bend sub-regions.

Lower Wairau
Soil consists of deep silty and sandy loams that are high in vigour and thus widely planted in Sauvignon Blanc. There is a high salt and mineral content. This includes the smaller sub-regions of Dillons Point, Grovetown, Spring Creek and Rarangi (lower vigour pea gravels).

Correlates to the valleys of Waihopai, Omaka, Brancott, Ben Morven, Taylor River, Redwood Pass and Seventeenth Valley. The soil consists of shallow loam over low-vigour clay and thus has a greater percentage planted in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay than the other sub-regions, but still has more significant Sauvignon Blanc.

The soils in the Awatere are complex but as a whole are a matrix of shallow to moderately deep silty loams with pockets of sand, gravel and clay on higher terraces. This is a large part of the reason that the Awatere can grow a panoply of varieties, from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinot Noir.

There is an environmental division between the coastal Awatere and inland Awatere which dictates style to a large extent, but the soils are not diverse enough between these two to warrant separate soil groupings. An argument could be made that the very coastally exposed Seaview area on the southern side of the Awatere is a sub-region. The Dashwood area on the northern side of the Awatere coast is also used as a sub-region.

This is the relatively sparsely planted area south of the Awatere Valley. It is a large geographical area with significant pockets of vineyards in clusters. The soil types are again a matrix of shallow to moderately deep silty loams on gravel and clay. There is a broad seam of limestone that runs through much of the area south from Ward. Plantings are predominantly Sauvignon Blanc, but there is also Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay planted. A number of small sub-regions are developing within this such as the Ure Valley, Ward and Kekerengu. Blind River is the most significant sub-region within the Southern Coast.