Wine Regions of New Zealand

WINE MAKING IN NEW ZEALAND

Although the islands of New Zealand were settled by the British in the early 1800’s, the development of a significant wine industry did not occur until recent times, within the last 35 years or so. In spite of this, New Zealand has quickly established itself as the rising star of the international wine industry producing very high quality wines.

The landscape of the two main islands (The North Island and The South Island) is “clean and green” with large areas of farmland and forest. Because of its long (1,200 miles) thin shape, the maritime climate varies between sub tropical in the north to temperate in the south with snow capped mountains all the year round. New Zealand has 11 wine growing regions, the major ones are listed below in bold type:

• The North Island: Northland, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, Waikato, Poverty Bay / Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Wellington / Wairarapa / Martinborough regions.


• The South Island: Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Central Otago regions.

New Zealand is capable of growing a wide range of grape varietals; however, it has focused on two varietals that have become the gold standard of the international wine industry, namely:

• Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand’s most planted varietal
• Pinot Noir

In addition to the above New Zealand wine makers also excel in the making of:

• Methode Traditionelle Sparkling Wines

New Zealand’s dynamic wine makers have produced outstanding examples of these wines and are uniquely identifiable. Sauvignon Blanc’s unexpected flavors of gooseberries, passionfruit and lime or crunchy green asparagus. Pinot Noirs with strong ripe plum and cherry flavors. New Zealand is able to produce consistently good vintages as a result of progressive wine making techniques. This has allowed New Zealand wines to successfully establish themselves in the United States marketplace.

The volcanic islands of New Zealand are situated in the South Pacific, some 1,200 miles southeast of Australia and are a 12 hour plane ride from the United States West Coast. New Zealand has a land area and population (just 4 million people) comparable to the State of Colorado. New Zealand’s population is mainly concentrated in The North Island around Auckland. Other major cities are Wellington, also in the North Island, and Christchurch and Dunedin in The South Island. The Kiwi’s like the Aussies enjoy their sport and there is much rivalry between the two countries which also extends to wine making!