It’s probably safe to say that if you ask somebody who has an average knowledge of the global wine market to say the first thing about wine that comes to their mind when you say New Zealand, they will say “Sauvignon Blanc,” and if they have more than an average knowledge, they might say “Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.” And this is a completely understandable association given that the Sauvignon Blanc grape varietal accounts for sixty percent of New Zealand's total vineyards and a whopping eighty-six percent of the nation's wine exports, and that the Marlborough region accounts for two-thirds of the nation’s total vineyards. Yet New Zealand is much more than Sauvignon Blanc and Marlborough is one of many wine regions in the country. The first plantings of Vitus vinifera in New Zealand were in 1819. That said, despite the country being fortuitously located in the southern hemisphere Vitus vinifera wine belt (Read more about wine belts in our High Altitude Wine Club edition newsletter.), winemaking in the country was a marginal economic activity well into the 20th century. Most New Zealanders favored beer and spirits in line with their mostly British cultural heritage and the country’s membership in the British Commonwealth. But just like what happened in Australia and the United States, New Zealanders developed a taste for wine after significant immigration into the country and air travel abroad exposed New Zealanders to the wine drinking habits of Continental Europe. It was just a matter of time that they would look inward at the already strong seeds (pun intended) they had for winemaking at home.
Central Otago is especially known for its Pinot Noir, along with Chardonnay. This is Lord of the Rings geography with exaggerated towering snowcapped mountain peaks sheltering lush river valleys, all making for varied microclimates. There are six subregions in Central Otago: Gibbston, Bannockburn, Cromwell, Lowburn and Pisa, Bendigo, Wanaka, and Alexandra. Each region has its own microclimates, which in turn results in marked differences among the Pinot Noir produced from each, especially given that Pinot Noir is already an impressionable varietal in terms of how it reacts to different terrains and climates.
Although Kumeu is now recognized as one of the 18 GIs, it has traditionally been known as a subregion of the bigger Auckland region in the northern half of the North Island. Its proximity to the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean makes for a moderate, maritime microclimate, and the clay and underlying sandstone base soils of the area retain water, eliminating the need for irrigation. For context, Kumeu is in the southern hemisphere wine belt at a similar distance from the Equator as southern Spain is in the northern hemisphere, and the average temperatures reflect this comparison.
There are almost 30,000 hectares of vines planted in Marlborough, which constitutes two-thirds of the nation’s total vineyard acreage. Located in the northern tip of the South Island, Marlborough is the country’s largest wine region. There are only three subregions (Southern Valleys, Wairau Valley, and Awatere Valley), but the variety of soils and generally cool, dry climates allow for a range of varietals to thrive. So far, Sauvignon Blanc dominates the acreage by far at almost 24,000 hectares versus second-largest Pinot Noir at only 2,700 hectares and Pinot Gris and Chardonnay claiming 2,200 together, leaving 527 for the rest. But plantings are changing rapidly as the industry flourishes and growers and winemakers innovate. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Viognier, Syrah, Arneis, and Tempranillo are varietals that constitute some of these other acres, and the region is also turning out very drinkable Méthode Traditionelle sparkling wines.
