New Zealand
Wines
and Wineries
New Zealand consists of relatively small
islands resulting in growing conditions that are marine-influenced. Most
of the vineyards lie in coastal areas, warmed during the day by clear
sunlight and cooled at night by sea breezes. It lies in latitudes that are
roughly equivalent to those of the great wine growing regions of Europe,
ranging from those like some of the warmer areas of Spain in the northern
end of the country to that similar to Germany in the south.
Although the New Zealand wine industry dates back to 1819 it has evolved
dramatically during the past thirty years. There are now over 400
wineries, each with a burning passion to produce premium quality,
distinctive wines. The whites are noted for their intensity of fruit and
crisp acidity. The cooler climate reds of the North Island, especially the
Bordeaux-styled blends and the pinot noirs display a silky soft finesse,
in contrast to other New World blockbuster reds. It is now considered by
many to be the world's finest producer of sauvignon blanc and it is
achieving increasing international success with pinot noir.
Even though export figures are showing impressive growth, the New Zealand
wine industry remains a small player in world terms, a position that it is
happy to keep. Quality is seen as being more important than quantity in
its attempt to carve out its own niche in the world market.
Click on the links to the left for information about the predominant grape
varieties, wine producing regions, a list of wineries arranged by region
with their URL's, a listing of links to New Zealand on-line wine shops,
New Zealand companies providing wine tours and producers of cider, mead
and fruit wines. There is also a brief selection of New Zealand wine
statistics and a selection of annotated links to other New Zealand wine
information.
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© Allan Campbell 1998
- 2009
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