New Zealand Wines By Rusty Scates
Fine wine production and appreciation were late in coming to New Zealand and the early winemakers concentrated on mass production. The first vineyards were established in 1835 and provided wine to the British troops, and until the mid 20th century, industry aspirations were modest.
Early vineyard development parallel population growth and has moved north to south. The North Island around Auckland was first to be developed and between 1960-70, development expanded rapidly towards the south-east into Gisborne and then further south to Hawke's Bay. In 1973, the first vineyards were planted in Marlborough on the South Island, and by 1990, this region at the island's northern tip had become (and continues to be) the nation's largest producer and leading region.
Today New Zealand makes all styles of wines, including top quality sparkling wines, but the single grape which has really put New Zealand on the world map is the Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignons, particularly from Marlborough on the northern tip of the South Island, burst onto the world stage in the 1990s. Though fresh, crisp, pungently-fruity styles are the hallmark of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, more and more makers are starting to experiment with barrel fermentation and oak-aged styles. A wide variety of other white grapes also do well, especially Chardonnay and the 'aromatic' varieties such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris.
The most exciting red variety at present is Pinot Noir. Pinots from Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and central Otago in particular have been produced successfully from this rather difficult grape. Very few world regions have been successful with this Burgundian grape, but New Zealand's silt and loamy soils and a cool, long, dry growing season makes this one of the world's most promising areas for Pinot Noir.
In the past few years New Zealand, like other New World wine producing nations, started paying attention to identifying which regions are best suited to particular grape varieties and wine styles. This has led to a proposed Geographic Indications Act which seeks to classify wine producing areas, very much like California's 'AVA' system (American Viticultural Area).
In order to make the job of selecting wines From New Zealand a bit easier, a list of the major wine-producing areas follows:
Gisborne
Located on the eastern side of North Island, Gisborne is New Zealand's Chardonnay capital. These wines are known for charming peach, pineapple and melon fruit flavours as well as a clean freshness that makes them excellent partners to many different foods. Gisborne's climate also appears to be well suited to growing fine Gewurztraminer.
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay, a historic wine-producing area near the eastern center of the North Island frequently records some of the country's sunniest weather. Chardonnay is its most important variety followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. Hawke's Bay Chardonnay is less fruit-forward than Gisborne wines, but it exhibits strong citrus flavours and great elegance. The Sauvignon Blanc often has a nectarine or stone-fruit character, and is softer than the well known Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
The Hawke's Bay reds are produced in a Bordeaux style. Cabernet Sauvignon is sometimes blended with Cabernet Franc or Merlot and have an intense berry flavour. They also have a slightly herbaceous character and usually show strong oak from barrel aging. Hawke's Bay is considered the Merlot capital and although it is produced in smaller quantities than Cabernet, these wines are also oak aged and are known for firm structure as well as red berry and earthy flavours.
Auckland
Auckland struggled for years to find a wine variety suited to its warm, humid climate. Recently however, the Auckland region has successfully produced fine Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot as well as limited Pinot Noir. These varieties ripen well and show great promise here. Chardonnay from the Kumeu River area near Auckland shows lush varietal flavours and their typically rich style is balanced with a lively lemon finish.
Wellington
Located on North Island, Wellington, around the town of Martinborough, has a cool climate, long dry autumns and gravel soils, perfect conditions for the successful production of the extremely difficult Pinot Noir. Wines from this area rival the finest Pinot Noirs and their refreshing acidity gives them the potential for aging.
Marlborough
Marlborough, on South Island, is relatively young as a wine-growing area, but has the largest acreage in New Zealand with more than 11,000 acres of land under vines.
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc appeared on the international scene in the 1980s with fresh, clean yet complex style that made consumers sit up and take notice. It is this area's most planted varietal and the wine shows tropical fruit and a pungent herbaceousness that has come to represent the national style.
Chardonnay is Marlborough's second most popular varietal and is produced in a number of styles including sparkling. Marlborough Chardonnay often shows tropical aromas and relatively high acidity, and is rarely aged in oak. Riesling also does well here and produces both fine dry dinner wines and luscious botrytized dessert wines. Pinot Noir is gaining a reputation with oak aged wines of balanced structure and supple red fruit flavours not unlike young Burgundy. As a sparkling wine, Marlborough Pinots display much refinement and elegance.
Otago
Otago is the world's most southerly wine region and has the country's only continental (rather than maritime) climate. To maximise sunshine hours and minimise frost danger, vineyards are planted on the hillsides, a rarity in New Zealand. The vineyards produce smaller yields because of their geographical location but the wines can offer great concentration and character, particularly Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer which show great crispness. New vineyards here are being planted faster than anywhere else in New Zealand simply because Otago grapes produce elegant, long-lived Pinot Noir typically with deep black cherry flavours and fine acidity.
New Zealand's wine production is tiny in terms of world wine production, less than a quarter of one per cent of the world's total, and it will never become a force in terms of volume. However by concentrating on quality and controlling pricing, New Zealand wines continue to become more popular and widely recognised in the world of wine. The wines are worth looking into, and although there isn't a wide choice available on the local scene at the moment, that will soon change simply because of the magic that is being performed in the vineyards and wineries of New Zealand.
