New Zealand: Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Wellington, New Zealand
The sun shines on Gisborne's grapes earlier than on any other vines in New Zealand. That's because this North Island region is the most easterly of all Kiwi vine-growing areas. So it has a high number of sunshine hours, making it ideal for ripening the fruit.
Gisborne is the country's third most important wine growing region after Auckland and South Island's renowned Marlborough area. Of the three regions featured this month it's both the warmest and wettest. Grapes are cultivated on coastal plains and vineyards are sheltered by mountains in the west.
Soils are mainly alluvial loam with subsoils that are either sandy or volcanically derived, and consequently quite fertile. This explains why much of Gisborne's production used to be Müller-Thurgau used for bag-in-box wines. However, the area has acquired a reputation for producing good quality Chardonnay - among some of the country's best. Nearly half of all New Zealand's Chardonnay plantings can be found here.
Good in terms of quality but somewhat less popular among consumers are Gisborne's Gewürztraminers, particularly those from around Matawhero.
Hawkes Bay
Hawkes Bay boasts a winemaking history stretching back over 100 years with the
first grapes planted by missionaries in the mid-1800s. It's now the second fastest
growing wine area in New Zealand.
This is the country's driest wine region, receiving just under 900mm of rain
annually. It has a maritime climate and is sheltered from the westerly winds
by two mountain ranges - the Kaweka and Ruahine.
It is often described as New Zealand's Bordeaux because it is best suited to
blended red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon does particularly well - in good years
when there is sufficient warm weather and sunshine to ripen the grapes. As in
Bordeaux, Hawkes Bay shows distinct vintage variation. To counter the vagaries
of Cabernet Sauvignon ripeness, earlier ripening varieties are planted - specifically
Merlot and Malbec. Ripening dates for a single grape variety vary by as much
as three weeks between warmer and cooler areas.
If viewed from above or by means of aerial or satellite photography, the amazing
array of soils in the entire Hawkes Bay area is easily apparent. Most are deep
glacial and alluvial, easily explained by New Zealand's glacial history and
high annual rainfall. Soils have also been distributed from higher areas to
coastal plains by water action. This wide variety of soil types - from fertile
silty loams to shingle - explains the huge range of wine styles within the region.
Something like 22 different soil types have been categorised on the Heretaunga
Plains alone… Topography also differs substantially - from cool, high altitude
areas to flat coastal plains.
The water retention capacity of silt, loam and gravel derived soils obviously
differs and farmers soon discovered that the best wines were made from vines
grown on the poorest soils.
The distinctive gravelly soils were apparently laid down by the old Ngaruroro River and first exposed by a massive flood in 1870. The area is roughly three degrees warmer than others within Hawkes Bay - hence better ripening and better wines.
On the white side, good Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are also produced in Hawkes Bay. Many other wineries source fruit from this region when composing critically acclaimed and award-winning multi-regional blends.
Wellington
This can be quite a confusing wine region since people often refer to it as
either Wairarapa or Martinborough. It's the most southerly region on North Island
and therefore cooler than the two above. It has the best reputation for Pinot
Noir in New Zealand, with the wines of Martinborough having a cult following.
Although its contribution in terms of production is very small, its reputation
for quality is huge.
It is essentially divided into two regions - one to the west of the Taraua range
and the other on the eastern side of the island which encompasses Wairarapa
and Martinborough.
Characterised by free-draining gravel soils, the area's well suited to Burgundian
grapes - Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The area best known for these surrounds
the town of Martinborough. Producers here are both dynamic and utterly quality
focused.
Wairarapa's climate is closer to that of Marlborough, across the straits on
South Island, and as such shares its affinity for Sauvignon Blanc.
Some of Wellington's coastal vineyards have rather interesting plantings - Zinfandel,
Sangiovese and even Pinotage! Top producers in this region include Ata Rangi,
Dry River and Martinborough Vineyards.
