Fruits Of Middle Earth

National Liquor News - March 2004

When Dr Neil McCallum planted his Wairarapa vineyard, Dry River Wines, in 1980 he paid $800 an acre for the land and thought he was being generous. Just over two decades later, Te Kairanga Wines paid $44,000 an acre in the same area. The Wairarapa region around Martinborough on New Zealand’s North Island is fast earning a reputation for its Pinot Noir. The enormous increase in land prices is indicative of just how much Pinot is on a roll in the Land of the Long White Cloud. In a determined effort to prove that New Zealand can excel in more than just Sauvignon Blanc, producers are pinning their hopes on Pinot Noir. Three years ago, they organised the country’s first Pinot Noir conference, attracting high-profile figures from around the world.

While Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay together account for more than half of all plantings in New Zealand, producers have been quick to take up the challenge. In 2003, there were 2036 hectares of Pinot vines throughout New Zealand, up 85 per cent on figures for 2000. Sauvignon blanc plantings increased by 41 per cent during the same period. A further 1200 hectares of Pinot Noir have been planted but have yet to yield a crop. The extensive plantings, huge investments in infrastructure (many of the country’s cellar doors are surprisingly sophisticated) and New Zealand’s small population all point to a need for the country to establish overseas markets. A second conference, Pinot Noir 2004, held in Wellington in January, was preceded by the New Zealand Wine Exporters Forum to discuss strategic development of wine exports.

In world terms, New Zealand is a small player, contributing less than 0.3 per cent to world production (120,000 tonnes in 2002). However, with clever marketing – pitching its wines in the premium segment of a handful of high-potential markets – it has built a strong profile. The UK is its largest export destination, followed by the USA and Australia. Despite its ever-expanding vineyards, New Zealand has had a roller coaster ride in vintages over the past few years. The 2001 vintage was the smallest harvest in five years, whereas 2002 was bountiful, producing nearly 50 per cent more grapes than any previous harvest. For the 2003 vintage, production was 36 per cent down on 2002, unseasonably cool spring weather causing frost damage to vines and poor fruit set in many regions. The Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions were particularly hard hit by rain around harvest time. Only the Nelson and Central Otago regions had increases in production, which is somewhat ironic given that in 2002 they were the only regions where production fell. The three major regions, Marlborough, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, together represented nearly 88 per cent of the 2003 output.

There are now more than 420 wineries in New Zealand, more than half of them having opened in the past decade. West Auckland is the “cradle” of the industry, thanks to the Croatians, English and Lebanese who settled there from the end of the 19 th century and planted vines with their orchards and market gardens. Although the region now represents only 2 per cent of the national crop, 20 per cent of New Zealand wine companies are still based around Auckland. Two of the biggest names are Matua Valley, now part of the Beringer Blass stable, and the Nobilo Wine Group, owned by Constellation Wines, which also owns Australia’s BRL Hardy. Nobilo has extensive plantings in Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, produces wine under a number of labels including Nobilo, Selaks and Drylands, and has two wineries, Drylands in Marlborough and Huapai in West Auckland. Its 2002 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc and 2001 Drylands Pinot Noir retail for around the $24 mark in Australia.

Matua, reputedly the first to grow Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, produces wine under both the Matua Valley and Shingle Peak labels. It recently bought land in Hawke’s Bay to expand its flagship Matheson range; its 2002 Judd Estate Chardonnay, from Gisborne, is particularly good. While the Auckland region gave birth to the country’s commercial wine industry, Hawke’s Bay is its oldest wine region, with its first vines planted in 1851. It has so much variety in soil, slope and climate that it is almost impossible to define a local style, but it is noted for its Bordeaux-style reds and botrytis Semillon wines. Trinity Hill, which has a strikingly modern cellar door, is acclaimed for its Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet blends.

Highly recommended of the smaller wineries is Alpha Domus, where the Ham family make a strong line-up, and Ngatawara, where the cellar door is in century-old stables. An 800 hectare area around Gimblett Road has its own appellation, Gimblett Gravels, to denote its special attributes. Its gravely soils were laid down by the old Ngaruroro River, exposed after a huge flood in the 1870s, and the area is up to 3 deg C warmer than other parts of Hawke’s Bay, resulting in high-quality reds. Craggy Range, which opened a $60 million winery in Hawke’s Bay in 2002, has 96 hectares on the Gimblett Gravels and a second winery on Gimblett Road. The first release of its wines in 2001 included an excellent Gimblett Gravels Merlot.

Merlot is the flagship variety of Sileni Estates, which also has an impressive cellar door in Hawke’s Bay. Developed by Graeme Avery, a driving force in the local food and wine scene, it has two vineyards 10km apart, one planted with Semillon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, the other more suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Between Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, the Wairarapa region has a bet each way. Occasionally, but not always, its Sauvignon Blanc has the grassy herbaceousness of those from Marlborough. Its Riesling and Gewurztraminer are more robust than their South Island equivalent. The region has long hot summers and dry autumns reminiscent of southern France. Noted producers include Palliser Estate, Dry River Wines and Ata Rangi, which produces one of New Zealand’s finest Pinots.

Across the Cook Strait in the north-east corner of the South Island, the long hours of sunshine, stony, free-draining soils and cool nights of the Marlborough region produce distinctive wines with intense varietal flavour. Its Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand’s greatest success story and companies are scrambling to get on the bandwagon. In 2002, Lion Nathan paid $52 million for Wither Hills which started life as a small family business not so long ago. The seeds of Marlborough’s export industry were sown in the early 1970s when Montana planted the first commercial vineyard in the region. People were sceptical but the rest is history.

Today, Montana is New Zealand’s largest winemaker, with cellar doors in Gisborne and Marlborough. It produces wine across a range of varieties and prices, its 2002 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region one of the stand-outs of the current line-up. Its Deutz Marlborough Cuvee was awarded Great Value Sparkling Wine of the Year at the London International Wine Challenge in 2002 and in October 2003 it launched a 200ml single-serve Deutz. In November, it added another sparkling wine to its portfolio. Lindauer Grandeur was 10 years in the making. Another Marlborough success story is Cloudy Bay, established in 1985 by Cape Mentelle. Its Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Merlot and premium sparkling wine, Pelorous, have a strong following on both sides of the Tasman. While its 2002 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc exhibits the passionfruit aroma and grassiness that Marlborough is renowned for, the company also produces a Sauvignon Blanc called Te Koko, which is lightly oaked and beautifully subtle.

Seresin Estate Wines also produces a Sauvignon Blanc that is an exception to the Marlborough norm, achieving complexity without the overt grassy herbaceousness. Owned by Michael Seresin, a London-based filmmaker, it uses bio-dynamic techniques and the hand-picked fruit is put across a sorting table before processing. Villa Maria, New Zealand’s second largest wine company after Montana, opened its winery and cellar door in Marlborough in 1999. The company was founded in 1961 by Croatian George Fistonich, who is still very much hands-on. During the 1970’s it developed rapidly and it now sources grapes from Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. Its Auckland winery, built in 1969 in Mangere, close to the airport, will soon be replaced with a new winery, cellar door and restaurant in South Auckland. Villa Maria wines are probably the most medalled in the country and its first Reserve 2000 Pinot Noir was outstanding.

Delegat’s Wine Estate, which last year launched its Oyster Bay Wines in Australia, has vineyards in Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay. The launch here follows the success of the Oyster Bay brand in Canada where it is the top selling New Zealand wine, and in the UK. The line-up includes a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, widely stocked in bottle shops and listed with many leading restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. Managing director Jim Delegat and his sister, executive director Rosemari Delegat, are among a handful of second-generation family wine producers in New Zealand. Their parents, Nikola and Vidosava, came from Croatia in the late 1930s and established a vineyard and winery in west Auckland in 1947. In the 1970s and 80s, the family bought land in the Hawke’s Bay region, including the Gimblett Gravels, this fruit now underpinning the quality of their Delegat Reserve labels.

Protected by mountains, the Nelson region west of Marlborough has a climate that is often out of step with the east coast wine regions. It avoided the early frosts which affected 2003 crop levels elsewhere and had a better-than-average year in terms of both yield and quality. Seifried pioneered grape-growing in the region, Hermann and Agnes Seifried establishing their vineyard in 1973, a year before planting began in Marlborough.The business is still family owned, with winemaker son Chris producing some particularly good aromatic whites, among others. Further south, the Central Otago region is not much bigger than Nelson in terms of volume, but this is rapidly changing. With large areas of vine coming into full production, it’s another case of investors hoping to strike gold. The Gibbston Valley cellar door here is popular with overseas visitors, lured by news that it is producing Pinot with particularly spectacular results.

While you're there:

The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail is a great way to mosey around New Zealand on a driving holiday. It starts at Hawke’s Bay in the North Island and winds its way down through the Wairarapa, passing through Wellington and crossing the Cook Straight to Marlborough in the South Island. Napier, a fabulous art deco town, is the perfect starting point for tours of Hawke’s Bay. Town & Country Elite Tours (06-843 9971) uses luxury vehicles, including a stretch limousine, for its wine and food indulgence tours. Brigid Ormond’s Long Island Tours (0800 877 097) have an emphasis on Maori culture but include wineries in some of the themed tours. On Yer Bike (06-879 8735), rents out bikes with a map, drink bottle, lunch box and mobile phone so that cyclists can call the owners to come and collect the wine they have bought. The route is flat and quiet, taking visitors past pretty farms and vineyards.

Two of the region’s most impressive cellar doors are Craggy Range and Sileni Estates. Craggy Range (06-873 7126) has a French country-themed restaurant while Sileni (06-879 8768) has two excellent restaurants, a gourmet food store, wine education centre, culinary school and luxury accommodation. Pick up a brochure on the Hawke’s Bay Wine Country Food Trail, which lists more than 85 businesses, farms, restaurants, cafes and wineries open to visitors. The charming County Hotel in Napier (06-835 7800), located in the former County Council Chambers, is renowned for its elegant Chambers Restaurant.

Driving south, the Wairarapa region is centred around Martinborough, a quaint village with 33 boutique vineyards, many within walking distance of the town square. At the Martinborough Wine Centre (06-306 9040), visitors can taste a huge number of local wines. There is also a good selection of food and wine accessories for sale. Owners Mike and Sally Laven have also done a great job of restoring the 1882 Martinborough Hotel (06-306 9350) to its former colonial elegance. It has 16 individually designed rooms. If you are looking for somewhere truly sumptuous to stay, Fernside (06-308 8265) is an historic home in a splendid garden where some of the scenes for Lord of the Rings were filmed. In nearby Greytown, New Zealand’s most complete main street of original wooden architecture, Wakelin restaurant (06 304 8869) serves fine food and wine with a local flavour.

Across the Cook Strait, the Marlborough region has more than 30 vineyards within 15 km of the main township of Blenheim and plenty of places to stay. In the heart of Blenheim, the Hotel d’Urville (03-577 9945) has an imposing Georgian façade, 11 quirky and colourful guest rooms and an excellent brasserie serving local produce. It also runs cooking classes and food tours. Look for the green mussels on the roof at Mussel Boys (03-574 2824) , in Havelock, where green-lipped mussels from the nearby Marlborough Sounds are used in a fantastic array of dishes.

One of Marlborough’s best attractions is Savour New Zealand (03-570 2192), a restaurant, wine tasting facility and gourmet food shop selling cheese and other delicatessen and pantry items. Southern Wilderness NZ (www.southernwilderness.com) offers wilderness treks with gourmet food and quality accommodation. Operators Steve Gibbons and Juliet Jordan also lead walks through the Marlborough vineyards. Montana’s Brancott Winery (03-577 5777), just south of Blenheim, offers winery tours, tastings and a restaurant serving local produce.

Auckland and Wellington have plenty of fantastic restaurants. In Auckland, take the ferry to Waiheke Island and explore some of the island’s vineyards and galleries. Fine Wine Tours (09-8494519) offers a range of tours to wineries in the west Auckland region. “I like to think of it as a package, a slice of New Zealand that you can do in half a day,” says owner Philip Parker. In Wellington, The Wellesley (04-474 1308) is a boutique hotel in a magnificently restored heritage building, with claw foot baths in each of the ensuites. Don’t miss the fabulous Te Papa Museum, one of the best national museums in the world.

© Christine Salins

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