New Zealand (English New Zealand, Maori Aotearoa) with the capital Wellington covers 269,652 km². The geographically isolated island state in the southern Pacific consists of a North Island (113,729 km², capital Auckland) and a South Island (150,437 km², capital Christchurch), as well as more than 700 smaller islands. The largest are Stewart Island (1,680 km²), Chatham Island (963 km²) and Auckland Island (568 km²). To the west lies AustralienAustralia, to the north the French island of New Caledonia and the island states of Tonga and Fiji, and to the south Antarctica. New Zealand is a kingdom in the "Commonwealth of Nations" (largely former territories of the British Empire) with a democratic constitution. The British monarch is the King of New Zealand, who is represented by the Governor-General of New Zealand.
History
The English navigator James Cook (1728-1779) took possession of the country, which consists of two main islands, for England in 1769. In 1819, the Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden (1765-1838) planted the first vines he had brought with him from Australia near Kerikeri on the north-east coast of the North Island. When Charles Darwin (1809-1882) went ashore from the ship Beagle at this very spot in 1835, he "caught sight of healthy vines". James Busby (1802-1871), who had already founded Australian viticulture, planted a vineyard near Waitangi. He produced the first significant quantities of wine and is regarded as the first producer. The wine-growing region around Auckland was created by immigrants from Dalmatia, and Croatian families are still an integral part of New Zealand viticulture today. They were also the founders of Montana Wines and Nobilo, two of New Zealand's largest wineries.
Bragato Research Institute
The fungal disease powdery mildew was introduced in 1876 and phylloxera in 1895. The Italian oenologist Romeo Bragato (1858-1914) made a special contribution. As a measure, mainly phylloxera-resistant hybrids were planted. As late as 1960, the most common grape variety was the red hybrid Isabella (here called Albany Surprise). Through extensive travel and analyses, Bragato identified the most suitable areas for viticulture. He later became State Director of Viticulture and in this capacity founded the "Bragato Research Institute" (BRI) named after him. This is where the leading New Zealand variety Sauvignon Blanc is researched. A population of 12,000 new varieties of this cultivar is being created and the reaction of the vines to various stress conditions is being analysed.
The aim is to make the New Zealand wine industry more resilient to climate change and other threats by identifying desirable characteristics of this variety. This includes improved yield, as well as resistance to fungi, frost, high temperatures and drought. The New Zealand wine industry has long been committed to sustainability through the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme and various organic and biodynamic programmes. Over 96% of the total vineyard area in New Zealand is already certified as sustainable through the SWNZ programme. Around 10% of New Zealand wineries already have organic certification.
Wine-growing regions
The fertile soil is largely of volcanic origin. There is abundant rainfall in summer and autumn. The climate varies greatly between the warmer North Island and the colder but sunnier South Island. Viticulture was restricted to North Island until 1973. In South Island, the southernmost vineyards in the world are located in the Otago region. Due to the proximity of the International Date Line, New Zealand is also the most easterly wine-growing country. The wine-growing regions stretch for around 1,200 kilometres from north to south across the two islands. The hierarchical organisation is Country (New Zealand), Zone (North Island, South Island, East Coast), Region and Sub-Region. The regions:
North Island with capital Wellington
- Northland with 76 ha
- Auckland with 285 ha
- Waikato/Bay of Planty with 13 ha
- Gisborne with 1,245 ha
- Hawke's Bay with 4,786 ha
- Wairarapa with 1,090 ha
South Island with main town Christchurch
Grape variety index
In 2022, the vineyards covered 41,603 hectares of vines and the wine production volume was 3.83 million hectolitres. Around 70% white wines and 30% red wines are produced. The best are the Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, which have established New Zealand's fame. However, a large proportion of these are simple consumer wines bottled in bag-in-boxes. European varieties were promoted from the 1960s onwards, with Müller-Thurgau in particular causing a furore at the beginning and being the most common variety for a long time. The grape variety index of the top 50:
Wine law
From the end of the 19th century until 1919, there was a prohibition (ban on alcohol) decided by referendum, the turnaround for the abolition was brought about by returning soldiers. Until the 1970s, however, the consumption of wine in public was prohibited in transport vehicles (trains, buses, etc.), theatres and airports. Until 1960, there were bizarre laws: only hotels were allowed to sell wine and a single person could buy a maximum of twelve bottles. It was long customary to dilute wine with water, which was only banned in 1980. Since then, however, New Zealand's winegrowing industry has experienced a huge boom in terms of quantity and, above all, quality.
Wine law is modelled on that of Australia. If a grape variety is stated on the label, at least 75% of this variety must be included. The requirements for winemaking are very liberal. Enrichment, deacidification and acidification are permitted. The cellar master is held in higher esteem than the person responsible for the vineyard. There are no yield restrictions and artificial irrigation is permitted without restriction. In Lincoln on South Island, the Centre for Viticulture and Oenology is run as a department of Lincoln University. The NZ Winegrowers organisation has an enormous influence on the quality and image of New Zealand viticulture. All wineries must be members of the organisation.
Producers
There are 744 wineries run by 706 producers. New Zealand's role as a pioneer in the use of screwcaps since the 1980s is worth mentioning. The "Screwcape Initiative" was founded in 2001. In 2005, two out of three New Zealand bottles were already being filled with screw caps.
The four dominant companies in the country, accounting for around 90% of wine production, are Corbans, Montana Wines, Nobilo and Villa Maria. Other well-known New Zealand producers are Ata Rangi, Babich, Cloudy Bay, Goldwater Estate, Gravitas, Hunter's, Isabel Estate, Jackson Estate, Kemblefield, Kumeu River, Lincoln, Martinborough Vineyard, Matawhero, Matua Valley, Millton, Mission Estate, Morton Estate, Nautilus, Neudorf Vineyards, Ngatarawa, Pask, Palliser Estate, Pegasus Bay, Rippon, Seyfried Estate, Stonecroft, Te Mata, Millton, Trinity Hill, Vidal Estate, Waimea Estates and Wairau River.
Map: © Goruma
Flag: by Albert Hastings Markham, Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by Sodacan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Central Otago: by Karinl - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Lake Wanaka: by David Mark on Pixabay
Map of wine-growing regions: by Mick Stephenson, CC BY 3.0, Link
