New Zealand Wine Industry

New Zeland Wine Industry

New Zealand Wine Industry

Critically evaluate the development of quality wine by the New Zealand wine industry between 1985 and 1996.

New Zealand is a premier new-world wine country, producing award-winning wines that reflect the clean air and sunshine. Top quality wines are exported to cellars worldwide.

Best known internationally for sauvignon blanc, New Zealand also has a growing international reputation for pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and methode traditionnelle sparkling wines. Most of the country's more than 500 winemakers are boutique, small scale operations producing low volumes of niche varieties.

Auckland is the founding region of New Zealand's wine industry, and features more than 50 vineyards across a range of locations from West Auckland to the beautiful Waiheke Island. West Auckland was the first area to produce wine in New Zealand, driven by the Croatian community, who introduced New Zealand to their wine-loving way of life. Croatian and Dalmatian names are behind many of the best known labels in the Auckland area today, including Selaks, Babich and Villa Maria.

Wine production and viticulture in New Zealand go back to colonial times when British Resident James Busby attempted to produce wine at Waitangi as early as 1836.

Several wineries in Hawke's Bay have been in existence for more than 100 years, originally making wine inspired by French techniques. The most noteworthy of these estates are the Te Mata Estate, dating back to 1892, and the Mission Estate, the origin of wine in Hawke's Bay, tracing its origins back to French Catholic missionaries who brought vines to the area in 1851 to produce sacramental and table wine. The Mission's first commercial sale, of dry reds, is recorded in 1870.

Much of the early wine in the Hawke's Bay region was rough wine fortified with additional alcohol, making it even rougher! Within a few decades, however, local farmers had become aware of French wines, and by 1900 a few were beginning to produce passable reds.

The modern wine industry has its origins in the dramatic changes in New Zealand agriculture brought about by Britain's entry into the European Economic Community in 1973. EEC membership meant an end to New Zealand's traditional pattern of trade in meat and dairy products, and pulled the rug from under the comfortable post-war New Zealand lifestyle, initiating a major reappraisal of the potential of viticulture.

Wine is generally produced in areas of dryish alluvial soils between Northland (36°S) and Central Otago (45°S), notably in Hawke's Bay, Martinborough, Nelson, the Wairau and Awatere valleys in Marlborough, and Canterbury.

During the viticulture boom of the 1970s and 1980s, areas previously considered as marginal pasture for stock were planted in vines, taking advantage of the low moisture and low soil fertility ideal for vines. Many of the current vineyards were established during this era, driven by the need of many farmers for an additional income.

Much of Hawke's Bay is alluvial plain, with a variety of soils suitable for viticulture. This diversity in soils supports a diversity of grape varieties, ...