However, the weather year-to-year is so variable and frost-susceptible that some years have been simply too cold to produce a reliable harvest. Difficulty, and Burn Cottage. In 2000, the UK market represented half of New Zealand's total exports of NZ$168 million. [18] 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. As viticultural techniques were improved and tailored to New Zealand's maritime climate, other Bordeaux-style grapes were planted, and a switch of emphasis made to the more suitable, earlier-ripening Merlot. 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. [3] Whilst today's fashion has turned from Bordeaux blends to Pinot Noir, it also indicates the marginality of Cabernet Sauvignon in New Zealand conditions. Naturally breezy conditions control vine vigour, creating lower yields of grapes with greater intensity. White peach, lemon zest, and aged cheese flavors make it a perfect food wine. Production increased dramatically in the first two decades of the 21st century. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, International Wine and Spirit Competition, "Analysis of viticulture region climate structure and suitability in New Zealand", "New Zealand Winegrowers Annual Report 2020", "Saluting Selaks: Let's drink to the 'Dallies', "Wine Page 2. The next region to excel with Pinot Noir was Martinborough, 75 kilometres (47mi) east of Wellington in the Wairarapa region. In fact, about 95% of all New Zealand wine is sealed this way. While Pinot Noir may be in Sauvignon Blanc's shadow in Marlborough, producers such as Greywacke and Wither Hills still make examples worth seeking out. The wine regions in New Zealand stretch from latitudes 36S in the north (Northland) (comparable in latitude to Jerez, Spain), to 45S (Central Otago) in the south (comparable in latitude to Bordeaux, France). [6] Wine writer George Taber recounts Cloudy Bay is "what many people consider to be the world's best Sauvignon Blanc". [citation needed] In practice, almost all the region's vineyards are concentrated in a relatively small area around the city of Christchurch, which has prompted the establishment of two more specific GIs within it. In Marlborough, Hans Herzog Estate is famous for making the Spirit of Marlborough, and examples of Bordeaux blends can be found as far south as Waipara, where the Maestro from Pegasus Bay also demonstrates the shift from Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot predominant blends. Despite being a new world wine region, the Chardonnays of New Zealand don't have too much in common with, say, riper examples from California. Viticulturists have planted Pinot Noir here because of the French experience of the affinity between the grape type and the chalky soil on the Cte-d'Or. [39] Greystone Wines won the Decanter International Trophy for Pinot Noir in 2014 and the Air New Zealand Trophy for Pinot Noir. [a] As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Waipara Valley is a Geographical Indication and sub-region of the larger Canterbury GI, about 60 kilometres (37mi) north of Christchurch. While stainless steel did not produce the intensity of fruit, it allowed for its exploitation. Along with Australia, New Zealand has been a leader in the adoption of screw caps for wines at all price points. Even in fuller-bodied styles with marked oak influence, the mouth-watering acidity will keep you reaching for your glass. [28] Some of these, such as Montana Wines (now Brancott Estate), Babich, Nobilo, and Cooper's Creek are now among New Zealand's largest wineries, having extended their operations throughout the rest of New Zealand. Look to Cloudy Bay's Te Koko bottling. Blends made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the North Island around Hawke's Bay really shine. If New Zealand as a whole is taken to be a wine region then the various 'regions' may be regarded as sub-regions. Further inland from Waipara, the limestone soils around Waikari are producing well-reviewed wine from Bell Hill and Pyramid Valley, using organic and/or biodynamic production methods, and close-planted vineyards. By 2017, the export value had risen to NZ$1.66 billion. The Auckland Geographical Indication is a small region, with a vineyard area in 2020 of 319 hectares (790 acres) and lies around New Zealand's largest city. In 2013, several Marlborough producers established Mthode Marlborough, a collaborative organisation to standardise and promote the brand both domestically and internationally.[23]. The area is most notable for its excellent Chardonnay, with well reviewed examples especially from Kumeu River and Soljans Estate Winery. The late 1970s and early 1980s were not only pioneering times for production but also for marketing. Want to try? For much of the history of New Zealand's wine exports, the United Kingdom market, with its lack of indigenous production, great demand, and sophisticated wine palate, has been either the principal or only market. The initial focus for the industry's export efforts was the United Kingdom. Around the turn of the century, Heron's Flight replanted its mainly Bordeaux varieties with the Italian varieties Sangiovese and Dolcetto, and many of the newer wineries, have also planted Tannat and Petit Verdot alongside the usual French varieties, as well as the Italian and Spanish varieties Barbera, Nebbiolo, Albario, Roussanne, and Montepulciano. Like many other New World wines, New Zealand wine is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended, winemakers list the varietal components on the label. In recent years, the hotter temperatures are allowing Auckland winemakers (for example Omaha Bay, Cooper's Creek, Heron's Flight, Matavino, and Obsidian) to experiment with Italian and Spanish grape varieties, such as Albario, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Temperanillo, and even Nebbiolo. Look for Craggy Range's Te Kahu or Trinity Hill's The Gimblett: these blends are like gymnasts that move effortlessly along the uneven bars with fantastic displays of strength. The area has a warm mesoclimate protected from prevailing winds by hills to the north and west, and a maritime influence from Omaha Bay and Kawau Bay. Today, the Le Brun family continues to produce well-awarded mthode sparkling wine, operating as No. Bannockburn is a small Geographical Indication and sub-region of the Central Otago GI, located within the larger Cromwell Basin and defined by the Kawarau River and Lake Dunstan to the north and the high mountains of the Southern Alps, specifically the Cairnmuir and Carrick Ranges, to the east, south and west. [6], By the 1980s, wineries in New Zealand, especially in the Marlborough region, were producing outstanding Sauvignon Blanc. [36] The region makes up the bulk of Canterbury's plantings, which by 2017 was a total vineyard area of 1,257 hectares (3,110 acres), well known for its Pinot Noir, of which 340 hectares (840 acres) is planted. It was in 1985 that the Sauvignon Blanc from Cloudy Bay Vineyards finally garnered international attention and critical acclaim for New Zealand wine. UK exports had dropped to second place at 23% of total exports behind the United States at 31%, with Australia accounting for 22% in third place. Winemaking and viticulture date back to New Zealand's colonial era. [15] Historically, Sauvignon Blanc has been used in many French regions in both AOC and Vin de pays wine, and famously Sancerre and Pouilly Fum. Most NZ Pinots have a splash of black cherry or strawberry flavor, complemented with violet and cloves. This pervasive use of stainless steel had a distinctive effect on both New Zealand wine styles and the domestic palate. [8] William Henry Beetham is recognised as being the first person to plant Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Syrah) grapes in New Zealand at his Lansdowne, Masterton, vineyard in 1881. In the 1980s, a shift away from cask wine for better quality, bottled still wine meant that huge areas of bulk varieties, most notably Mller-Thurgau, were uprooted and replaced with Chardonnay and Gewrztraminer, for which the region is well known today. Subtle differences are seen in the wines from the South Wairarapa (which includes Martinborough), which has more maritime influences, to those grown farther north in Gladstone and Masterton. Ask a Sommelier: What Under-the-Radar Wine Regions Do You Love? There was an existing small-scale industrial infrastructure ready for winemakers to employ economically. Many critics regard New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc as among the best in the world. At around this time, the first plantings of Pinot Noir in Central Otago occurred in the Kawarau Gorge. Often transferred to wine through cork closures, this compound imparts aromas and flavors of wet cardboard and musty basement. This compares with all top ten wines coming from Marlborough in an equivalent blind tasting in the previous year. Although the majority of mthode traditionelle sparkling wines in New Zealand are made in Marlborough, there are also examples from throughout the rest of New Zealand. [citation needed], In a blind tasting of New Zealand Pinot Noir in 2006, Michael Cooper reported that of the top ten wines, five came from Central Otago, four from Marlborough and one from Waipara. Featuring Chardonnay, Pinot, Noir, and more, this small island nation's wines are ready for you to take notice. While Sauvignon Blanc grapes can be found on both of New Zealand's main islands, they're the leader in Marlborough on the South Island. While the European cooperative model (where district or AOC village winemaking 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. Early success in the Hawke's Bay Region in the 1960s by McWilliams and in the 1980s by Te Mata Estate, led to a phase in the 1980s and 1990s of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon planting and wine production by large producers such as Corbans, McWilliams, and Mission Estate. [37] Good examples of the region's Pinot Noir include those from Black Estate,[38] Bellbird Spring, Fancrest Estate, Muddy Water, Greystone, Waipara Springs, Pegasus Bay and Crater Rim. [14] New Zealand's reputation is now well established; Oz Clarke wrote New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was "arguably the best in the world",[15] and Mark Oldman wrote "New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is like a child who inherits the best of both parentsexotic aromas found in the New World and the pungency and limy acidity of an Old World Sauvignon Blanc like Sancerre."[16]. Data from New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. Most Sauvignon Blanc is like a friendly puppybursting from the glass and ready to play. [17], The amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in production has dropped to a third of what it was in the early 2000s and has been overtaken by a tripling of Syrah planting in that time. This extends to some of the best in the businessTed Lemon of Sonoma's famed Littorai also makes wine at Burn Cottage in Central Otago, for example. It extends from Mahurangi Harbour in the south, and as far north as Leigh, although most of the vineyards are clustered in the hills and valleys between Warkworth and Matakana. Old world wines come from places like France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Even today, New Zealand white wines tend toward the drier end of the spectrum. North Canterbury is simply the top half of the larger Canterbury GI north of the Rakaia River, and Waipara Valley, a small area about 60 kilometres (37mi) north of Christchurch which accounts for the majority of Canterbury's total vineyard plantings. The effect 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. Waiheke Island is an island east of Auckland in the Hauraki Gulf and is a Geographical Indication within the larger Auckland GI. High quality examples of New Zealand Pinot Noir are distinguished by savoury, earthy flavours with a greater complexity. [45] The remaining producers are growing on about 60 hectares (150 acres) of vineyard area and have been gaining a reputation for the quality and individuality for the region's wines, mainly from Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. She is a managing partner at Park Avenue Fine Wines and owns Parallel Food & Drink in Portland, Oregon. [citation needed], Martinborough wineries are relatively small and typically family-owned, with the focus on producing quality rather than quantity. Seek out bottles from Dog Point Vineyard and Mohua. Contract growing is an example of the use of indigenous agro-industrial methods that predate the New Zealand wine industry. Some of New Zealand's oldest wineries are in Kumeu, established in the late 1800s by Croatian settlers working the Kauri gum fields. [17], Today, New Zealand is most well known internationally for red wines made from traditional French varieties. The early wines, which made a stir internationally, were lauded for the intensity and purity of the fruit in the wine. It is best known for its Merlot and Syrah red wines, and white wines mainly from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. There is little discernible difference in styles of Chardonnay between the New Zealand wine regions; individual winemakers' recipes, use of oak, and the particular qualities of a vintage have tended to blur any distinction of terroir. Why would a producer shy away from cork? The industry sold one billion glasses of wine in nearly 100 countries, and over 10% of the wine sold in Britain for more than 5 was from New Zealand. [citation needed], In 2018, the Wines of Canterbury and Waipara Valley Wine Growers associations merged to form the North Canterbury Wine Region. [7] This more than five-fold increase in vineyard area over just two decades has led to a similar increase in sales and export revenue. [9] Dalmatian immigrants arriving in New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought with them viticultural knowledge and planted vineyards in West and North Auckland. The Bordeaux style red wines that are produced are considered to be significantly ripe and full bodied, and some of the best in New Zealand. In the 1970s, the first vineyard to be planted was Pegasus Bay, which established a reputation for its Riesling wine. Looking for some good ones to taste? New Zealand's climate 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. For example, it is common to see an Auckland producer market a "Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc" or a Marlborough producer market a "Gisborne Chardonnay". 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. It is planted mostly in Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, with the remainder in the South Island. [50], Cloudy Bay Vineyards set a new standard for New World Sauvignon Blanc and was arguably responsible for the huge increase in interest in it, particularly in the United Kingdom. Central Otago is an outlier in regards to climate. To meet the increasing demand for its wines, the entire country's vineyard plantings grew from 7,410 hectares (18,300 acres) in 1997 to 37,129 hectares (91,750 acres) in 2017. When you buy a bottle, you know that at least 85% of the wine is made in the year and from the grape on the labelbut that's about it. New Zealand's newest winegrowing region is on the border of Otago and Canterbury. Wines like this show that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc still has some tricks up its sleeve. [7], Marlborough is by far the largest wine region in New Zealand, accounting for three-quarters of the country's total wine production and 70% of its planted vineyard area.
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