New Zealand
New Zealand has long been famed for its stunning, unspoiled landscape.
Equal to the international acclaim for its beauty is that for its
fine wines. Climate, geography and human skill have combined to produce
highly distinctive, premium quality wines, which are 'the riches of
a clean, green land.'
Grapevines were first planted in New Zealand around 1819. For the
next 160 years nothing much happened. Then, around 1980, New Zealand
began making wine that caused an explosion in local demand while
raising eyebrows in other countries. Between 1973 and 1983 wine
production grew by a staggering 350% - a higher rate of growth than
any other winemaking country during that period.
Most wine watchers feel that New Zealand has come further faster
than any wine producing area in the world. From making just barely
enough wine of ordinary quality to supply its less-than-enthusiastic
natives in the 1970s to producing some of the most sought-after
wines in the world just 20 years later is a success story indeed.
The country is made up of two separate areas, aptly named the North
Island and the South Island.
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North Island: Two principal wine growing regions dominate the
North Island; Aukland, the oldest grape growing region around
New Zealand's capital and Hawks Bay, about 200 miles south. Both
are in the same latitude as Morocco in North Africa, but because
of their relative proximity to the ocean, are not as brutally
hot. Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc dominate the output
here with Sauvignon Blanc being the best known.
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South Island: The finest and best known region here is Marlborough.
While many superb Chardonnays and Cabernets are produced, it is
the Sauvignon Blancs which turn all the heads. Though cooler than
many of the finest areas in the world for growing this grape,
Marlborough boasts an extremely long and dry growing season. This
allows the grapes to reach full maturity in a cooler climate while
continually extracting flavor from the rich, alluvial soils. These
wines are quite distinctive and full-bodied. Subtlety is not a
word most use in describing the offerings from here, but they
have certainly found their niche in the world of wine.
Look for very clean, and well-defined wines from New Zealand offering
pinpoint flavors and lip-smacking acidity to compliment rich foods
and challenging dishes. Prices are in the middle to upper levels
because of the tiny quantities produced, but most are worth the
investment.
New Zealand is a country of contrasts with dense, native forest,
snow-capped mountains and spectacular coastline. With wine growing
regions spanning the latitudes of 36 to 45 degrees and covering
the length of 1000 miles, grapes are grown in a vast range of climates
and soil types, producing a diverse array of styles. The northern
hemisphere equivalent would run from Bordeaux (between the latitudes
of 44 and 46 degrees) down to southern Spain.
New Zealand's temperate, maritime climate has a strong influence
on the country's predominantly coastal vineyards. The vines are
warmed by strong, clear sunlight during the day and cooled at night
by sea breezes. The long, slow ripening period helps to retain the
vibrant varietal flavours that make New Zealand wine so distinctive.
Located on the country's most easterly tip and closest to the international
dateline, Gisborne boasts the world's most easterly vineyards and
the first vines to see the sun each day. The region receives high
sunshine hours on coastal plains that are sheltered from the west
by a range of mountains. Soils include alluvial loams over sandy
or volcanic subsoils of moderate fertility. Vineyards are predominantly
sited on flats. Chardonnay occupies around half of Gisborne's vineyards
and has lead Gisbornes grapegrowers and winemakers to christen their
region the Chardonnay capital of New Zealand. The balance is planted
in mostly white varieties, leaving red grapes a share of only 10%.
Although Sauvignon Blanc is the variety for which New Zealand established
an international reputation it ranks second to Chardonnay, the country's
most planted variety. Pinot Noir overtook Cabernet Sauvignon in
1997 to become the country's most planted red variety although a
significant percentage of the Pinot Noir crop is destined for sparkling
wine production. Plantings of Riesling, the seventh most planted
variety, continue to grow slowly as the mostly slightly sweet and
frequently very good wine made from it battles to lose its unfashionable
image in the local market-place.
Every winery must belong to the Wine Institute of New Zealand, a
statutory body formed in 1975 which collects a production-based
fee from its members. WINZ has had an enormous influence on the
development of the image and quality of local wine and has overseen
New Zealand's substantial export attack on the United Kingdom, which
imports more than two-thirds of all the wine exported from New Zealand.
This east coast North Island of Gisborne region is based on the
town of the same name. It is beginning to shake off its image as
a `bulk wine' region and has largely recovered from phylloxera with
massive replantings.
Gisborne vine-growers and wine-makers have given their region the
rather contentious title Chardonnay Capital of New Zealand. Gisborne
Chardonnay is certainly the country's most distinctive regional
example of the variety with soft and charming fruit flavours that
often resemble ripe peach, pineapple, and melon. Gew¸rztraminer
is Gisborne's other claim to vinous fame. Gisborne's wine-makers
include the big two companies Montana and Corbans, which jointly
produce about 80 per cent of the country's wine. Both companies
have established large wineries in Gisborne, chiefly to process
grapes for bag-in-box packaged blends, which accounted for nearly
60 per cent of the nation's wine sales by the late 1990s. Nestled
within the large-scale, high-tech production facilities of Montana
and Corbans are the small batch presses and barriques used to make
limited edition, premium Chardonnay. At the other end of the production
scale are many small lifestyle wineries (see lifestyle winery) that
make only premium bottled table wine or traditional method sparkling
wines. They include Millton Vineyards, New Zealand's first certified
organic winery which produces grapes and organic wine according to Steiner's
principles of biodynamism. Most Gisborne grapes are grown by farmers
who sell them to wineries under long-term contract, or to the highest
bidder. Several Auckland wineries regularly buy Gisborne grapes
which are mechanically harvested before being transported for nine
hours by road in covered dump trucks.
Hawkes Bay, around the town of Napier, is one of New Zealand's older
wine regions and certainly one of the best. Complex soil patterns
and mesoclimates make it difficult to generalize about the wines
of such a diverse region, particularly when they are made by such
an eclectic group of wine-makers. Situated on the east coast of
the North Island, 130 miles south of Gisborne and 194 miles north
of Wellington, Hawkes Bay frequently records the country's highest
sunshine hours.
The best Hawkes Bay reds are Cabernet Sauvignon or a blend of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and occasionally Cabernet Franc. They have intense
berry and cassis flavours, often with a gently herbaceous reminder
of their moderately cool climate (see cool climate viticulture)
origin and, sometimes, strong oak influence from up to two years'
maturation in new French barriques. Syrah is rapidly finding favour
with Hawkes Bay wine-makers although plantings are still relatively
small and are confined to the warmer parts of the region. Hawkes
Bay Chardonnay may lack the seductive charm of the Gisborne equivalent
but the best have intense citrus flavours and a brooding elegance
that are seldom matched by the wines of other regions. Hawkes Bay
Sauvignon Blanc is a softer, fleshier wine than the better known
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It often has a nectarine or stone fruit
character, a useful indicator of regional identity.
Marlborough is the biggest of New Zealand's big three wine regions.
Industry giant Montana planted the first vines in Marlborough when
it established the South Island's first commercial vineyard in 1973.
At the time it seemed an enormous gamble but after the vines reached
full production Montana's investment returned a handsome dividend
in terms of quality and profit. Other producers soon followed to
establish wineries in the region or to secure a supply of grapes
for the 18-hour journey north to Auckland or Gisborne. The single
wine that put Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc on the international map
was Cloudy Bay, in 1985. It remains today the most sought after
New Zealand wine and one of the most sought after wines in the world.
Wairarapa, which includes the Martinborough region, is at the southern
end of the North Island about one hour's drive from the nation's
capital, Wellington. In 1998 Wairarapa had less than three per cent
of the country's vines but 12 per cent of its wine-makers. They
are typically small-scale, `lifestyle' producers with a quality-at-all-costs
attitude to wine-making and a passionate faith in their region's
potential. Wairarapa wine-makers argue over whether the region is
more suitable for Pinot Noir (Ata Rangi, Dry River, Martinborough
Vineyards) or Cabernet Sauvignon (Benfield & Delamere), but there
is ample evidence that both varieties perform well. In their quest
to make great wine most producers crop their vines so that yields
are considerably below the national average, a significant factor
in the region's success. In terms of topography, climate, and soils
Wairarapa might easily be considered a miniature Marlborough, were
it not for the region's ability to make top-quality reds on a regular
basis.
In terms of grape varieties, expansion is concentrated in those
varieties for which new Zealand is building a strong international
reputation. Between 1998 and 2001 the changes in the producing area
for these key varieties are:
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Pinot Noir growth of 71%
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Merlot growth of 49%
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Chardonnay growth of 40%
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Sauvignon Blanc growth of 15%
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Riesling growth of 13%
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Cabernet Sauvignon growth of 12%
