New Zealand Wine Overview
Presentation to Carljohansvern Vinselskab, Horten
25 October, 2012Klaus Møller
Presentation Summary
• Impact of Sauvignon Blanc
• Acclaim for other varieties
• Review of some of New Zealand’s greatest varietal wines :– Aromatics (Riesling)
– Sauvignon Blanc
– Pinot Noir
– Syrah
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Wows the World!
“No previous wine had shocked thrilled, offended and entranced the world before”
- Oz Clarke (UK)
"Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has become arguably the world's only great new wine style this century”
- Huon Hooke, The Age (Australia)
“ New Zealand has shown that it just might make the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc”
- Charles Laverick, Restaurant Hospitality (USA)
Much More Than Just Sauvignon Blanc
Merlot6%
Cab.Sav2% Riesling
4%
Pinot Gris4%
Pinot Noir18%Sauvignon
Blanc42%
Chardonnay16%
Other8%
More than 25 different varieties planted
International Acclaim for Other Varieties
“New Zealand excels beyond Sauvignon Blanc. The country can produce distinctive wines from diverse selection of grapes” Paul Lukacs, Washington Times
How can we produce such a wide range of distinctive wines?
Great Terroir = Key
1. Climate 2. Soils 3. People
• 1,600km from nearest landmass .• Coastal vineyards in rain shadow-
long sunshine hours (average 2200 annually), sea breezes and cool nights.
• Long ripening period – develops great acid/fruit balance.
• Wine regions span latitudes of 34 and 47 degrees.
• Great diversity - aids a wide range of wine styles.
1. Climate - Temperate, Maritime
2. Soils – Young &Volcanic
• NZ = last landmass to be discovered and therefore the youngest country on earth.
• Youth of the land means NZ has enormous variety of soils – still in the throes of being weathered by climate and vegetation.
• Wine regions mainly established on young soils (most are less than 10,000 years old) of silt, sand, gravel and stonier alluvial soils, deposited by flowing water across the coastal flood plains.
3. People – not bound by tradition
• Young & Dynamic• From mid-1970s. • Exports up from NZ$166 million in
2000 to a billion NZ dollars in 2009.
• Innovative • Trellising and canopy-management.• Use of stainless steel.• Screwcap movement (now 95% of all
NZ wine in screwcap).
• Quality-focused • Continually achieve highest average
price in UK market.
• Environmentally-focused• World-leading sustainable programme.• Goal of being 100% sustainable by
2012.
NZ Aromatics Review
• Pinot Gris 1,501 hectares– Hawke’s Bay 24%– Marlborough 36%– Central Otago 10%
Plantings 2009
• Gewürztraminer : 311 hectares– Gisborne 35%– Hawke’s Bay 18%– Marlborough 27%
• Riesling 979 hectares– Nelson 6%– Marlborough 46%– Waipara/Canterbury 29%
Key Regions for Aromatics
Riesling
• 90% from South Island regions with cool, long, dry, sunny autumns and large diurnal variance.
• Stony, gravelly sites favoured to enhance minerality.
• In the vineyard - careful canopy management to ensure low yields and avoid rot. (Moderate Yields 8 –10 tonnes/hec).
• In the winery - harvest for ripe flavours at low Brix.
• Stainless steel fermentation and manage skin contact for desired style.
Climate
Soils
People
Forrest ”The Doctor’s” Marlborough Riesling 2011
- This deliberately low-alcohol style is like biting
into a fresh, crunchy granny Smith apple. The
2010 vintage is deliciously light (8.5% alcohol)
and lively, with plentiful sweetness (42 grams
per litre of residual sugar), and fresh, strong,
lemon and lime flavours, showing lovely
delicacy and poise.
- Four and a Half Stars (2010 Vintage)
- NOK 160
Marlborough
NZ Sauvignon Blanc Review
Marlborough – 84%
13,988 hectares planted.
Marlborough dominates plantings
Sauvignon Blanc
Hawke’s Bay – 6%
Plantings 2009
Sauvignon Blanc• Over 80% from Marlborough - maritime,
vineyards in east-facing river valleys in rain shadow. Large diurnal variance. Awatere sub-region cooler and more windy than Wairau Valley & Southern Valleys.
• Mainly grown on infertile, alluvial soils. Vary from big river stones to fine silt in Wairau Valley, semi-infertile alluvial of Southern Valleys and more free-draining alluvial silt in Awatere.
• In vineyard – trellising & canopy management to control vigour and promote ripeness.
• In winery most cold-fermented in stainless steel to retain vibrancy and flavour. Small amount have oak fermentation, time on yeast lees etc to add complexity.
Climate
Soils
People
Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
- New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed
wine is sought after from Sydney to New York
and London. Its irresistably aromatic and zesty
style and intense flavours stem from the fruit
characters that are in the grapes when they
arrive at the winery. The juice is mostly cool-
fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged for
up to two months on its yeast lees before
bottling.
- The 2011 vintage was harvested over a
month, at an average of 22.5 brix, and a
small proportion of the blend was fermented
in old French oak barriques. A weighty, dry
wine, finely textured, it has fresh, ripe
passionfruit, melon, capsicum and lime
flavours that build across the palate to a
resounding finish. A sophisticated – rather
than ”full-on”, pungently herbaceous – style
of Sauvignon Blanc, it has great finesse and
drinkability.
- Five Stars
- Super Classic Status
- NOK 225
NZ Pinot Noir Review
Nelson – 5 %
Marlborough – 42%
4, 240 hectares of table Pinot Noir
Five key regions for Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Wairarapa/
Martinborough– 11%
Canterbury/ Waipara - 10%Central Otago 29%
Plantings 2009
Pinot Noir
• Favours cooler regions with sunny, dry autumns with low humidity.
• Prefers older, more complex free draining soils with clay deposits.
• Clone selection & rootstock selection.• Planting density & canopy
management.• Harvest date & hand harvesting.• Fermentation & maturation techniques.
Climate
Soils
People
Yealands Way Pinot Noir 2010
- The 2010 vintage is a generous , savoury silky
red with full, bright colour and substantial body.
Already enjoyable but well worth cellaring, it has
strong, plummy, slightly spicy flavours, gentle
tannins and good complexity.
- Four Stars (2010) – Otherwise Three and a Half
Stars
- NOK 155
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2009
- Typically a delightful wine, this is often Nw
Zealands’s best-value Pinot Noir. It is hand-
picked, fermented partly with indigenous
yeasts, and matured in French oak barriques.
Densely coloured, the 2009 vintage is weighty,
vibrant and sweet-fruited, with concentrated,
ripe cherry and plum flavours and a subtle
seasoning of oak. A tight, youthful wine, it is
firm and spicy, with fresh acidity, good intensity
and length.
- Five Stars
- Potential Classic Status
- NOK 200
NZ Syrah Review
Northland/ Auckland 15%
290 hectares
Mainly found in warmer regions of Hawkes Bay and Auckland
Syrah
Hawke’s Bay – 68%
Plantings 2009
• Favours sunny, warm, maritime climates. Moderate rainfall- dry in autumn.
• Syrah grown on low vigour site to achieve canopy/fruit balance.
• In vineyard, original French clone used , plus now Chave, 174 and 470.
• In winery , strong leaning towards winemaking methods similar to those used for Pinot Noir.. Blending – use of viognier.
Climate
Soils
People
Syrah
Mills Reef Elspeth Syrah 2009
- In top vintages, this has been one of Hawke’s
Bay’s greatest Syrahs. The 2009 vintage, estate-
grown and hand-picked in the Mere Road
Vineyard, in the Gimblett Gravels, was matured
for 16 months in large French oak casks, which
give a more refined style of Syrah. Highly
perfumed and supple, it has fresh, deep plum and
black-pepper flavours, with a subtle seasoning of
oak, and good tannin support.
- Four and a Half Stars (2009) – otherwise Five
Stars
- Classic Status
- NOK 280
The Future70% of vines in NZ are 10 years old or less.
With maturing vines, optimum site selection for
new plantings and continued fine-tuning ofvineyard/winemaking techniques, you can be
sure…the best is yet to be discovered!
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