New Zealand

New Zealand is a relative newcomer to the global wine scene with winemaking having only really taken off in the past two decades. Grapes have been planted in certain northerly areas since as far back as the early 1800s but with little success.Most of the country's recent acclaim is attributable to Sauvignon Blanc although Pinot Noir is fast becoming equally well received.

Wine writers such as Oz Clarke promoted Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc in the early '90s, bowled over by the fresh crispness of the wine, as well as its "crunchy asparagus spears, passionfruit, gooseberry and lime flavours". More recently Kiwi Pinot has been punted as the closest thing to red Burgundy outside Burgundy.

New Zealand is very small in global wine production terms with just 55 million litres produced in 2003, up from 40 million litres in 1994. The number of wineries has risen from 190 in 1993 to 421 just 10 years later. Similarly the total area under vine stood at 6 680 hectares (ha) in 1994 and was at 19 432ha last year. In 1960 the figure was a scant 400ha!

Most of this expansion and growth has taken place since 1990 with many boutique wineries being established on small patches of land, farmed by families. In spite of this the industry is still dominated by three main producers: Montana, Corbans and Villa Maria.

This country, two long islands divided into north and south, was mostly covered in rain forest until 150 years ago. A result of all the excellent leaf mulch, compost and high rainfall is that the vines grow vigorously, and ways have had to be developed to deal with this problem. Viticulturist Dr Richard Smart is credited with having introduced canopy management techniques that thin out the leaf cover, resulting in more even ripening of grape bunches and a consequent improvement in quality winemaking.

Wine growing extends between latitudes 36º and 45º south or for 1 600km from north to south. The climate is essentially maritime and temperate, and rainfall is high throughout - between 800mm and 900mm annually. Naturally sea breezes play a major role, as does the strong diurnal temperature fluctuation. This results in a slow ripening period, with the harvest usually starting in March and extending into April where other southern hemisphere producers such as South Africa harvest from January to March.

There are 10 winegrowing regions: Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Canterbury and Central Otago.

Northland
Northland is where the first vines were planted in 1819 and they had all but died out until recently. It's now growing by leaps and bounds because this is the most northern - and hence warmest - region. Vineyards can be found near Kataia on the west coast, near Bay of Islands and near the area's biggest city, Whangarei.

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay do well here because they ripen better in the warmer climate. Vines are planted on mainly flat or gently sloping areas in soils that are either shallow clay over sandy-clay subsoils or volcanically derived. Humidity can cause problems with fungal diseases and rot.

Auckland
This is the centre of the wine industry - not because of its vineyard area but because this is where most of the large producers are based, trucking grapes in from all over for vinification.

The vineyards can be found northwest of Auckland in Henderson, Kumeu and Huapai. Waiheke Island in Auckland harbour is also cultivated because it gets less rain than the city itself. Matakana, 100km north of the city and Clevedon, roughly 50km south, have also grown substantially in recent years.

Grapes grown in these areas include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay although Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are increasing in popularity. Soils are mainly shallow clay over silty-clay subsoil or sandy loams.

Waikato/Bay of Plenty
As the name suggests this area surrounds a large ocean bay, south of Auckland. It's a small region but expanding rapidly on small pockets of land in amongst rolling farmland.

Chardonnay is the main planting here, although Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are in second and third spot respectively. It has a moderately warm climate and the soils are heavy loam over clay.

FACT FILE
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot.
Soils: Varied - from rich loam to clay to gravel.
Climate: Temperate maritime in most places but with high rainfall (around 800 to 900mm a year), cooling sea breezes and cool nights.