New Zealand wine - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

wine is largely produced in ten major wine growing regions spanning latitudes 36° to 45° South and extending 1600 kilometres (994.2 mi). They are, from north to south Northland, Auckland, Waikato

Waikato

The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...

/Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

, Gisborne

Gisborne, New Zealand

-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

, Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...

, Wellington

Wellington Region

The Wellington region of New Zealand occupies the southern end of the North Island.-Governance:The official Wellington Region, as administered by the Wellington Regional Council covers the conurbation around the capital city, Wellington, and the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua, and Upper Hutt, each...

, Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

, Marlborough

Marlborough, New Zealand

Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a region and a district, and its council is located at Blenheim. Marlborough is known for its dry climate, the picturesque Marlborough Sounds, and sauvignon blanc...

, Canterbury/Waipara

Waipara

Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, on the banks of the Waipara River.It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7 60 kilometres north of Christchurch...

and Central Otago

Central Otago Wine Region

At latitude 45° south, the Central Otago Wine Region is the most southerly wine producing region in the world. The vineyards are also the highest in New Zealand at 200 to 400 metres above sea level, on the floor of glacial valleys...

History

Wine making and vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

growing go back to colonial

Colonialism

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

times in New Zealand. British Resident

Resident (title)

A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....

and keen oenologist James Busby

James Busby

James Busby is widely regarded as the "father" of the Australian wine industry, as he took the first collection of vine stock from Spain and France to Australia. Later he become a British Resident who traveled to New Zealand, involved in the drafting of the Declaration of the Independence of New...

was, as early as 1836, attempting to produce wine at his land in Waitangi

Waitangi, Northland

For the main port and settlement at the Chatham Islands, see Waitangi, Chatham IslandsWaitangi is a township located in the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the town of Paihia , 60 kilometres north of Whangarei...

. In 1851 New Zealand's oldest existing vineyard was established by French Roman Catholic missionaries at Mission Estate in Hawke's Bay. Due to economic (the importance of animal agriculture and the protein export industry), legislative (prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

and the temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

) and cultural factors (the overwhelming predominance of beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

and spirit

Spirit

The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

drinking British immigrants), wine was for many years a marginal activity in terms of economic importance. Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

n immigrants arriving in New Zealand at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century brought with them viticultural

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

knowledge and planted vineyards in West and North Auckland. Typically, their vineyards produced sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....

and port

Port wine

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...

for the palates of New Zealanders of the time, and table wine

Table wine

Table wine is a wine term with two different meanings: a wine style; and a quality level within wine classification.In the United States, table wine primarily designates a wine style - ordinary wine which is neither fortified nor sparkling....

for their own community.

The three factors that held back the development of the industry simultaneously underwent subtle but historic changes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973, Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

entered the European Economic Community

European Economic Community

The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...

, which required the ending of historic trade terms for New Zealand meat and dairy products. This led ultimately to a dramatic restructuring of the agricultural economy. Before this restructuring was fully implemented, diversification away from traditional protein products to products with potentially higher economic returns was explored. Vines, which produce best in low moisture and low soil fertility environments, were seen as suitable for areas that had previously been marginal pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

. The end of the 1960s saw the end of the New Zealand institution of the "six o'clock swill

Six o'clock swill

The six o'clock swill was an Australian and New Zealand slang term for the last-minute rush to buy drinks at a hotel bar before it closed. During a significant part of the 20th century, most Australian and New Zealand hotels shut their public bars at 6 p.m. A culture developed of heavy drinking...

", where pubs were open for only an hour after the end of the working day and closed all Sunday. The same legislative reform saw the introduction of BYO (bring your own) licences for restaurants. This had a profound and unexpected effect on New Zealanders' cultural approach to wine.

Finally the late 1960s and early 1970s noted the rise of the "overseas experience," where young New Zealanders traveled and lived and worked overseas, predominantly in Europe. As a cultural phenomenon, the overseas experience predates the rise of New Zealand's premium wine industry, but by the 1960s a distinctly Kiwi

Kiwi (people)

Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a relatively common self-reference. The name derives from the kiwi, a flightless bird, which is native to, and the national symbol of, New Zealand...

(New Zealand) identity had developed and the passenger jet made the overseas experience possible for a large numbers of New Zealanders who experienced first-hand the premium wine cultures of Europe.

First steps

In the 1970s, Montana

Montana Wines

Montana Wines is New Zealand's largest wine company, owning vineyards in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, and Waipara.- History :Montana was founded by a Croatian immigrant, Ivan Yukich , who planted his first vines in 1934 in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland. The first wine was sold in...

in Marlborough started producing wines which were labelled by year of production (vintage

Vintage

Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...

) and grape variety (in the style of wine producers in Australia). The first production of a Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

of great note appears to have occurred in 1977. Also produced in that year were superior quality wines of Muller Thurgau, Riesling and Pinotage.

The excitement created from these successes and from the early results of Cabernet Sauvignon from Auckland and Hawkes Bay launched the industry with ever increasing investment, leading to more hectares planted, rising land prices and greater local interest and pride. Such was the boom that over-planting occurred, particularly in the "wrong" varietals that fell out of fashion in the early 1980s. In 1984 the then Labour Government paid growers to pull up vines to address a glut that was damaging the industry. Ironically many growers used the Government grant not to restrict planting, but to swap from less economic varieties (such as Müller Thurgau and other hybrids) to more fashionable varieties (Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

and Sauvignon Blanc), using the old root stock. The glut was only temporary in any case, as boom times returned swiftly.

Sauvignon Blanc breakthrough

New Zealand

is home to what many wine critics consider the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon blanc

. Oz Clarke

Oz Clarke

Robert "Oz" Clarke is a British wine writer, television presenter and broadcaster.-Biography:Clarke’s parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He was brought up near Canterbury with a brother and a sister. Clarke became a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and subsequently won a choral...

, a well known British wine critic wrote in the 1990s that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was "arguably the best in the world" (Rachman). Historically, Sauvignon Blanc has been used in many French regions in both AOC

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

and Vin de Pays

Vin de pays

Vin de pays is a French term meaning "country wine". Vins de pays are a step in the French wine classification which is above the table wine classification, but below the VDQS and Appellation d'origine contrôlée classifications...

wine. The most famous had been France’s

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Sancerre

Sancerre (wine)

Sancerre is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine produced in the environs of Sancerre in the eastern part of the Loire valley, southeast of Orléans. Almost all of the appellation lies on the left bank of the Loire, opposite Pouilly-Fumé. It is well regarded for and primarily...

. It is also the grape used to make Pouilly Fumé.

Following Robert Mondavi

Robert Mondavi

Robert Gerald Mondavi was a leading California vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi aggressively promoted labeling wines varietally rather than...

's lead in renaming Californian Sauvignon Blanc Fumé Blanc (partially in reference to Pouilly Fumé and partially to denote the smokiness of the wine produced due to flinty soil properties and partial oak barrel ageing) there was a trend for oaked Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand during the late 1980s. Later the fashion for strong oaky overtones and also the name waned.

In the 1980s, wineries in New Zealand, especially in the Marlborough

Marlborough, New Zealand

region, began producing outstanding, some critics said unforgettable, Sauvignon Blanc. "New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is like a child who inherits the best of both parents—exotic aromas found in certain Sauvignon Blancs from the New World and the pungency and limy acidity of an Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

Sauvignon Blanc like Sancerre from the Loire Valley

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...

" (Oldman, p. 152). One critic said that drinking one's first New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was like having sex

Sex

In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...

for the first time (Taber, p. 244). "No other region in the world can match Marlborough, the northeastern corner of New Zealand's South Island, which seems to be the best place in the world to grow Sauvignon Blanc grapes" (Taber, p. 244).

Climate and soil

Wine regions are mostly located in free draining alluvial valleys (Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...

, Martinborough

Martinborough

Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton...

, Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

, the Wairau

Wairau River

The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 170 kilometres from the Spenser Mountains , firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in inland Marlborough.The river's lower reaches are noted for the surrounding...

and Awatere

Awatere River

The Awatere River is a large river flowing through Marlborough, New Zealand. Flowing along the trace of the active Awatere Fault, it runs northeast through a straight valley to the west of the Inland Kaikoura mountains...

valleys of Marlborough

Marlborough, New Zealand

, and Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

) with notable exceptions (Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, located about from Auckland.The island is the second-largest in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island. It is the most populated, with nearly 8,000 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes...

, Kawarau Gorge

Kawarau River

Kawarau River drains Lake Wakatipu, in northwestern Otago, New Zealand. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 km and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. The Shotover River enters it from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south...

in Central Otago

Central Otago Wine Region

). The alluvial deposits are typically the local sandstone called greywacke

Greywacke

Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...

, which makes up much of the mountainous spine of New Zealand.

Sometimes the alluvial nature of the soil is important, as in Hawke's Bay where the deposits known as the Gimblett Gravels represent such quality characteristics that they are often mentioned on the wine label. The Gimblett Gravels is an area of former river bed with very stoney soils. The affect of the stones is to lower fertility, lower the water table, and act as a heat store that tempers the cool sea breezes that Hawke's Bay experiences. This creates a significantly warmer meso-climate.

Another soil type is represented in Waipara

Waipara

Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, on the banks of the Waipara River.It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7 60 kilometres north of Christchurch...

, Canterbury. Here there are the Omihi Hills which are part of the Torlesse group of limestone deposits. Viticulturalists have planted Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

here due to French experience of the affinity between the grape type and the chalky soil on the Côte-d'Or

Côte-d'Or

Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...

. Even the greywacke alluvial soils in the Waipara valley floor has a higher calcium carbonate concentration as can be witnessed from the milky water that flows in the Waipara River.

The Kawarau valley has a thin and patchy top soil over a bed rock is schist. Early vineyards blasted holes into the bare rock of north facing slopes with miners caps to provide planting holes for the vines. These conditions necessitate irrigation and make the vines work hard for nutrients. This, low cropping techniques and the thermal effect of the rock produces great intensity for the grapes and subsequent wine.

The wine regions in New Zealand stretch from latitudes 36°S in the north (Northland) (comparable in latitude to Jerez, Spain), to 45°S (Central Otago

Central Otago Wine Region

) in the south (comparable in latitude to Bordeaux, France). The climate in New Zealand is maritime, meaning that the sea moderates the weather producing cooler summers and milder winters than would be expected at similar latitudes in Europe and North America. Maritime climates tend also to demonstrate higher variability with cold snaps possible at any time of the year and warm periods even in the depth of winter. The climate is typically wetter, but wine regions have developed in rain shadows and in the east, on the opposite coast from the prevailing moisture-laden wind. The wine regions of New Zealand tend to experience cool nights even in the hottest of summers. The effect of consistently cool nights is to produce fruit which is nearly always high in acidity.

Industry structure and production methods

New Zealand's winemakers employ a variety of production techniques. The traditional concept of a vineyard, where grapes are grown on the land surrounding a central simply owned or family-owned estate with its own discrete viticultural and winemaking equipment and storage, is only one model. While the European cooperative model (where district or AOC village wine-making takes place in a centralized production facility) is uncommon, contract growing of fruit for winemakers has been a feature of the New Zealand industry since the start of the winemaking boom in the 1970s. Indeed a number of well known producers started out as contract growers.

Many fledgling producers started out using contract fruit while waiting for their own vines to mature enough to produce production-quality fruit. Some producers use contract fruit to supplement the range of varieties they market, even using fruit from other geographical regions. It is common to see, for example, an Auckland producer market a "Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc" or a Marlborough producer market a "Gisborne Chardonnay". Contract growing is an example of the use of indigenous agro-industrial methods that predate the New Zealand wine industry.

Another example of the adaptation of NZ methods toward the new industry was the universal use of stainless steel in winemaking adapted from the norms and standards of the New Zealand dairy industry. There was an existing small-scale industrial infrastructure ready for winemakers to economically employ. It should be remembered that while current winemaking technology is almost universally sterile and hygenic worldwide, the natural antibiotic properties of alcohol production were more heavily relied upon in the 1970s when the New Zealand wine industry started.

This pervasive use of stainless steel almost certainly had a distinctive effect on both New Zealand wine styles and the domestic palate. The early wines which made a stir internationally were lauded for the intensity and purity of the fruit in the wine. Indeed, the strength of flavor in the wine favored very dry styles despite intense acidity. While stainless steel did not produce the intensity of fruit, it allowed for its exploitation. Even today, New Zealand white wines tend toward the drier end of the spectrum.

Varieties, styles and directions

Red blends and Bordeaux varieties

New Zealand red wines are typically made from a blend of varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

s (Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

, and much less often Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...

, Petit Verdot

Petit verdot

Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen, it is added in small amounts to add tannin, colour and flavour to the...

and Malbec

Malbec

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in the South West...

), or Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

. Recently, in Hawkes Bay, there have been wines made from Syrah, either solely or blends, as well as Tempranillo

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...

, Montepulciano

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is a red Italian wine made from the Montepulciano wine grape in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy. The wine was classified as Denominazione di origine controllata in 1968 with a separate Denominazione di origine controllata e Garantita for wine produced around...

and Sangiovese

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...

.

Early success in Hawkes Bay in the 1960s by McWilliams, and in the 1980s by Te Mata Estate, led to red wine grape planting and production concentrating on Cabernet Sauvignon by Corbans, McWilliams, and Mission Estate, among many others. As viticultural techniques were improved and tailored to New Zealand's maritime climate, more Merlot and other Bordeaux-style grapes were planted, with quality and quantity increasing. This trend continues and can be seen in the New Zealand Wine Institute statistics indicating that plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Syrah now account for 2,496 hectares.

Typically, Bordeaux blends come from regions and sub-regions of New Zealand that are relatively hot and dry. 86% of production is centered in Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...

, with Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island

also producing some notable wines. Wineries that have made a name for Waiheke Island include Stonyridge Larose and Goldwater Estate. Wines that typify the best of Hawkes Bay include Te Mata Estate's Coleraine and Awatea, Craggy Range's Sophia, Newton Forrest Estate's Cornerstone, Esk Valley's The Terraces and Villa Maria's Reserve Merlot and Cabernet. In Marlboroughm there are also a small number of producers of Bordeaux-style varietal wines.

However, examples of Bordeaux blends can be found as far south as Waipara

Waipara

Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, on the banks of the Waipara River.It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7 60 kilometres north of Christchurch...

, in Canterbury where Pegasus Bay's Maestro has demonstrated a drift away from Cabernet Sauvignon predominant blends to Merlot predominant with the addition of Malbec.

In general New Zealand red wine tends to be forward and early maturing, fruit-driven and with restrained oak. No definitive regional characteristics have developed in New Zealand, the principal differences between wines being determined by the vintage, vineyard and wine-maker's philosophy. However, some preliminary trends are worth commenting on. Central Otago wines

Central Otago Wine Region

particularly Bannockburn

Bannockburn, New Zealand

Bannockburn is a small historic gold mining town located outside of Cromwell in Central Otago, New Zealand.The area was first made known as a rich alluvial gold field and was mined extensively in the 1860s....

pinot noir can have distinct earthy, mineral and wild thyme notes. Hawkes Bay bordeaux blends have greater body than other New Zealand reds. Marlborough Pinot Noirs are notable for their ripeness and fruitiness.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a grape variety whose importance in New Zealand is greater than the weight of planting. Early in the modern wine industry (late 1970s early 1980s), the comparatively low annual sunshine hours to be found in NZ discouraged the planting of red varieties. But even at this time great hopes were had for Pinot Noir (see Romeo Bragato

Romeo Bragato

Romeo Alessandro Bragato played a significant role in the early development of the wine industry in New Zealand.-Early life and career:...

). Initial results were not promising for several reasons, including the mistaken planting of Gamay and the limited number of Pinot Noir clones available for planting. One notable exception was the St Helena 1984 Pinot Noir from the Canterbury region. This led to the belief for a time that Canterbury might become the natural home for Pinot Noir in New Zealand. While the early excitement passed, the Canterbury region has witnessed the development of Pinot Noir as the dominant red variety. The sub-region Waipara has some interesting wines. Producers include Pegasus Bay, Waipara Springs, Muddy Water, Omihi Hills and Black Estate.

The next region to excel with Pinot Noir was Martinborough on the southern end of the North Island. Several vineyards including Palliser Estate, Martinborough Vineyards, Murdoch James Estate and Ata Rangi consistently produced interesting and increasingly complex wine from Pinot Noir at the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s.

At around this time the first plantings of Pinot Noir in Central Otago occurred in the Kawarau Gorge. Central Otago had a long (for New Zealand) history as a producer of quality stone fruit and particularly cherries. Significantly further south than all other wine regions in New Zealand, it had been overlooked despite a long history of grape growing. However, it benefited from being surrounded by mountain ranges which increased its temperature variations both between seasons and between night and day making the climate unusual in the typically maritime conditions in New Zealand. In recent years Pinot Noir from Central Otago has won numerous international awards and accolations making it one of New Zealand's most sought-after varieties.

The first vines were planted using holes blasted out of the north facing schist slopes of the region, creating difficult, highly marginal conditions. The first results coming in the mid to late 1990s excited the interest of British wine commentators, including Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...

and Oz Clarke. Not only did the wines have the distinctive acidity and abundant fruit of New Zealand wines, but they demonstrated a great deal of complexity, with aromas and flavours not common in New Zealand wine and normally associated with burgundian wine. Producers include Akarua, Felton Rd, Chard Farm and Mt Difficulty.

The latest sub-region appears to be Waitaki, on the border between Otago and Canterbury.

In a recent blind tasting of New Zealand Pinot Noir featured in Cuisine magazine (issue 119), Michael Cooper reported that of the top ten wines, five came from Central Otago, four from Marlborough and one from Waipara. This compares with all top ten wines coming from Marlborough in an equivalent blind tasting from last year. Cooper suggests that this has to do with more Central Otago production becoming available in commercial quantities, than the relative qualities of the regions' Pinot Noir.

As is the case for other New Zealand wine, New Zealand Pinot Noir is fruit-driven, forward and early maturing in the bottle. It tends to be quite full bodied (for the variety), very approachable and oak maturation tends to be restrained. High quality examples of New Zealand Pinot Noir are distinguished by savoury, earthy flavours with a greater complexity.

White

In white wines Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc predominate in plantings and production. Typically Chardonnay planting predominate more the further north one goes, however it is planted and produced in Central Otago. There is no discernible difference in styles for Chardonnay between the New Zealand wine regions so far. Individual wine makers and the particular qualities of a vintage are more likely to determine factors such as malolactic fermentation or the use of oak for aging.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has been described by some as "alive with flavors of cut grass and fresh fruits", and others as "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush" (but not necessarily as a criticism).

Other white varietals commonly include (in no particular order) Riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

, Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...

, and Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

, and less commonly Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc

Chenin blanc , is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled...

, Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

, Müller-Thurgau

Müller-Thurgau

Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

and Viognier

Viognier

Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...

.

Riesling is produced predominantly in Martinborough and south. The same may be said with less forcefulness about Gewürztraminer (which is also planted extensively in Gisborne). Pinot Gris is being planted increasingly, especially in Martinborough and the South Island. Chenin Blanc was once more important, but the viticultural peculiarities of the variety, particularly its unpredictable cropping in New Zealand, have led to its disfavour. Milton Estate in Gisborne produces an example of this variety.

The market success of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and lately Pinot Noir mean that these varietals will dominate future planting.

Sparkling wine

Excellent quality Methode Traditionelle sparkling wine is produced in New Zealand. Typically, it was Marlborough that was the commercial birthplace of New Zealand Methode Traditionelle sparkling wine. Marlborough still produces a number of high quality sparkling wines, and has attracted both investment from Champagne producers (Deutz) and also champanois wine-makers (Daniel Le Brun). Other sparkling wines from Marlborough include Pelorus (from Cloudy Bay), and the now venerable Montana/Pernod Ricard brand, Lindauer.

Waiheke Island

is east of Auckland in the Hauraki Gulf

Hauraki Gulf

The Hauraki Gulf is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has a total area of 4000 km², and lies between the Auckland Region, the Hauraki Plains, the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island...

. For New Zealand it has a dry and warm meso-climate. Its red wine is significantly riper and more full bodied. It is home to Stonyridge Estate that produces a bordeaux blend called the Larose, one of the most expensive and prestigious New Zealand red wines. Obsidian Vineyard, Peacock Sky, Goldwater Estate and Te Motu also produce on Waiheke.

Gisborne

A small wine region to the north of Hawkes Bay. Noted for its Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. It is also the worlds most easterly vineyard.

Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay, along with Marlborough, is the centre of gravity for the New Zealand wine industry; it is New Zealand's oldest wine producing area and is the country's second largest wine production region. The premiere area for Bordeaux blend reds in New Zealand and the region is rapidly developing a reputation for quality Syrah. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are produced and lately Viognier. Specialist high quality small producers include Bilancia and Bridge Pa. Other well known producers include Brookfields Estate, Clearview Estate, Esk Valley, Villa Maria, Vidal, Trinity Hill, Craggy Range, Newton Forrest Estate, Te Mata Estate, Moana Park Estate, Mission Estate, Sileni, Sacred Hill, CJ Pask, and Babich.

Wellington/Wairarapa

The Wellington/Wairarapa

Wairarapa

Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...

wine-growing region is one of New Zealand's smallest, with several sub-regions, which include Gladstone

Gladstone, New Zealand

Gladstone is a lightly populated locality in the Carterton District of New Zealand's North Island, located on the Mangahuia Stream near where the Tauweru River joins the Ruamahanga River. The nearest town is Carterton 15 kilometres to the northwest, and nearby settlements include Ponatahi to the...

, Martinborough

Martinborough

Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, a district in the Wellington region on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton...

, Masterton

Masterton

Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...

, and Opaki

Wairarapa Line

The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city of Wellington with the Wairarapa region. The line ends at Woodville, where it joins the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line...

. Martinborough was the original area planted, on the basis of careful scientific study, in the 1970s, which identified its soils and climate as perfectly suited to the cultivation of Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

. As a consequence, many of the vineyards established there are older than their counterparts in the rest of the Wairarapa. Subtle differences are seen in the wines from the South Wairarapa

South Wairarapa District

South Wairarapa District is at the south-east tip of the North Island of New Zealand.-Introduction:South Wairarapa includes three towns and several localities that have a wide range of economic activity, natural features, and visitor attractions, only a few of which are noted here. Martinborough is...

(which includes Martinborough), which has more maritime influences, to those grown further north.

Martinborough

Martinborough is a small wine village located at the foot of New Zealand’s North Island, in the South Wairarapa, just 1.5 hours drive from Wellington, the capital city. The combination of topography, geology, climate and human effort has led to the region becoming one of New Zealand's premier wine regions in spite of its small size. Less than 2% of the country's wine production is grown in Martinborough, yet in shows and competitions, it rates much more highly. The local Winegrowers organisation states: "Officially New Zealand's sixth largest region, Wellington/Wairarapa is small in production terms but makes a large contribution to the country's quality winemaking reputation.".

The vineyards are shielded from the elements by steep mountains, while the growing season from flowering to harvest is amongst the longest in New Zealand. Naturally breezy conditions control vine vigour, creating lower yields of grapes with greater intensity. A genuine cool climate, with a long, dry autumn in NZ, provides an ideal ripening conditions for Pinot Noir and other varietals, such as Riesling, Syrah and Pinot Gris. A small number of wineries are producing Cabernet Franc of a high standard. Most of the wineries are located on the area's alluvial river terraces near the township (the Te Muna, Huangarau and Dry River Regions).

Martinborough wineries are relatively small and typically family-owned, with the focus on producing quality rather than quantity. Relatively small yields enable Martinborough winemakers to devote themselves to handcrafting superior wines. Among the many long-established wineries, several, including Te Kairanga, Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, Murdoch James Estate and Dry River, have become internationally recognised as premium producers of Pinot Noir.

Key production figures:

The total Wellington/Wairarapa producing area is 758ha.
The Wairarapa currently has 54 wineries, more than twice the 24 in the region in 1995.
Predominant varieties for the 2006 vintage were: Pinot Noir (38%); Sauvignon Blanc (35%); Chardonnay (11%); Riesling (0.08%); Pinot Gris (0.03%).& the Cabernets (incl. Cab sauvignon & franc (0.012%); and the remaining 16% includes Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, and Gewürztraminer.
In 2007, the producing area in Wellington/Wairarapa represented just two percent of the total New Zealand wine producing area.

Nelson

Many people believe Nelson has the best climate in New Zealand, as it regularly tops the national statistics for sunshine hours, with an annual average total of over 2400 hours.

Marlborough including Wairau Valley

In many respects, the Wairau Valley

Wairau Valley

Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and Blenheim are sited...

and the districts surrounding Blenheim

Blenheim, New Zealand

Blenheim is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the regional council. It has a population of The area which surrounds the town is well known as a centre of New Zealand's wine industry...

are the home of the modern New Zealand wine industry. It is the largest wine district in terms of production and area under vines. It has a number of sub-regions including the Waihopai valley, Renwick

Renwick, New Zealand

Renwick is a small town in Marlborough, New Zealand, close to the south bank of the Wairau River. It is located on State Highway 6, 12 km west of Blenheim. Havelock is 31 km north...

and the Spring Creek

Spring Creek, New Zealand

Spring Creek is a locality in Marlborough, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs past the settlement to the west, and the Wairau River flows past to the east...

area.

Omihi Hills and Waipara

The most northerly subregion of Canterbury. In many respects the most promising Canterbury area for Pinot Noir. Good examples of Pinot Noir include Mountebank Estate,Black Estate, Omihi Hills, Muddy Water, Daniel Schuster, Pegasus Bay Primadonna and Torlesse. White wines of the region include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

South of Waipara, Amberley and North of Christchurch

Amberley is a few kilometres south of the Waipara River. It produced a break-through Riesling for Corbans in the early eighties, but recently it has diminished in production. St Helena Estate is a long established vinyard south of the Waimakariri River and north of Belfast.

West Melton, Banks Peninsula and Rolleston

Wine makers in this general area include French Farm and Lone Goat (Formally Giesen Estate which has moved to Marlborough). Wines are typically white including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.

Central Otago

The most southerly wine producing region in the world. The vineyards are also the highest in New Zealand at 200 to 400 metres above sea level on the steep slopes of lakesides and the edges of deep river gorges, often also in glacial soils. Central Otago

Central Otago

Central Otago is the inland part of the New Zealand region of Otago in the South Island. The area commonly known as Central Otago includes both the Central Otago District and the Queenstown-Lakes District to the west....

is a sheltered inland area with a continental microclimate characterised by hot, dry summers, short, cool autumns and crisp, cold winters.

Trends in production and export

The initial focus for the industry's export efforts was the United Kingdom. The late 1970s and early 1980s were not only pioneering times for production but also marketing and as with many New Zealand products, wine was only really taken seriously at home when it was noticed and praised overseas and in particular by British wine commentators and critics. For much of the history of New Zealand wine exportation the United Kingdom market, with its lack of indigenous production, great thirst and sophisticated wine pallate has been either the principal or only market. In the last decade the British market's overwhelming importance has eroded; while still the single largest export market, it now (2006) makes up only one third of total exports by value, only slightly larger than the American and Australian markets. Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

is a particularly strong importer of high-end New Zealand wines: in 2006, it spent NZ$14.44 per liter of wine imported, compared to New Zealand's average price of NZ$8.87/L.

New Zealand's wine industry has become highly successful in the international market. To meet the increasing demand for its wines, the country's vineyard plantings have more than tripled in the ten years ending in 2005. Sales continue to increase. For example, "From 2004 to 2005, exports to the United States skyrocketed 81 percent to 1.45 million cases, more than two-thirds of which was Sauvignon Blanc, still the country's undisputed flagship wine."

The trend at midpoint in 2008 is an increased recognition for the small artisan wineries. These small wineries represent over 80% of New Zealand's total producers and are located throughout all wine regions.

Praise and criticism

Cloudy Bay Vineyards

Cloudy Bay Vineyards is a winery in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. The winery is primarily noted for its Sauvignon Blanc wines, and have played an important pioneering role in establishing New Zealand's and Marlborough's reputation. Cloudy Bay's first commercial vintage was produced in 1985...

set a new standard for New World Sauvignon Blanc and was arguably responsible for the huge increase in interest in such wines, particularly in the United Kingdom. Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French luxury brand conglomerate, now owns a controlling interest in Cloudy Bay.

Following on from the early success of Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand has been building a strong reputation with other styles; Chardonnay, Cabernet/Merlot blends, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Syrah to name a few.

UK wine writer Paul Howard observes, when commenting on New Zealand Pinot Noir that, while "comparisons with Burgundy are inevitable, New Zealand Pinot Noir is rapidly developing its own distinctive style, often with deeper colour, purer fruit and higher alcohol. While regional differences are apparent, the best wines do have Burgundy’s elusive complexity, texture and “pinosity” and are capable of ageing". He goes on to say "It is a testament to the skill and craft of New Zealand producers that poor examples are infrequently encountered".

Statistics

New Zealand wine production
Year	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Productive wine area (hectares)	6,110	6,610	7,410	7,580	9,000	10,197	11,648	13,787	15,800	18,112	21,002	22,616	25,355	29,310
Total Production (millions of litres)	56.4	57.3	45.8	60.6	60.2	60.2	53.3	89.0	55.0	119.2	102.2	133.2	147.6	205.2

New Zealand wine production by grape variety (hectares)
Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Sauvignon Blanc	4,516	5,897	7,043	8,860	10,491	13,988
Chardonnay	3,515	3,617	3,731	3,779	3,918	3,881
Pinot Noir	2,624	3,239	3,623	4,063	4,441	4,650
Merlot	1,249	1,487	1,492	1,420	1,447	1,363
Riesling	653	666	806	853	868	917
Cabernet Sauvignon	741	687	678	531	524	516

External links

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