32 - New Zealand Flashcards
Outline the situation and climate of New Zealand. (6)
- Remote
- maritime
- cooling Pacific + Tasman
- Temps vary → latitude
- Southern Alps → rainshadow
- Rainfall high
- Sunlight intense → latitude
- hole in ozone
- lack of air pollution → >2000hrs of sunshine per year
- High diurnal
Outline how high sunshine levels influence grape growing. (3)
- Enhances development of colour + tannin
- Possibility of sunburn
Why is proper canopy management so important in NZ? What kind is usually practised?
- Humid, fertile, sunlight → vigour + disease
- Sunburn
- double-Guyot, Lyre, Scott-Henry
- VSP
To what extent is mechanisation practised?
Widely practised due to flat land.
In general, describe the soils of NZ.
Fertile but often free-draining esp. alluvial
Outline the viticultural challenges in NZ (6)
- Managing vigour → trellising
- Fungal disease esp warmer N Island
- Birds - eat grapes → infected → netting, scarers
- Sunburn → leaf position, trellising
- Tropical cyclones → flowering and fruit set
- Drought - due to free-draining soil
To what extent have sustainable growing practices been adopted in New Zealand?
- Almost all producers part of Sustainable Winegrowing NZ
- But small organic → wet, humid
- Central Otago higher
Describe the factors and decisions in the vineyard (5) and the winery (7) to produce the typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
= wine with intense aromatic flavours
Vineyard
- Diurnals ensure long growing season → intensity + acid
- Row orientation - sunny → tropical, shady → herbaceous
- Canopy management → adequate sunlight interception w/o sunburn
- Early picking → herbaceous, acid
- Mehanical harvesting → some skin contact during transportation
Winery
- Refrigerate fruit to reduce contact w/ oxygen → primary fruit
- Selected yeasts → enhance aromatics
- Low ferment temp → retain primary
- Block malo → preserve acid, primary fruit
- Minimal ageing (2-3mnths) → primary fruit
- Age on lees → primary fruit
- Ascrbic acid and SO2 at bottling + screwcap → primary fruit
Producers of Sauvignon Blanc seeking to produce a more complex, age-worthy style may do what? (7)
- riper fruit → less herbaceous
- Skin contact → texture + aromas
- Solids in ferment → texture + non-fruit complexity
- Ambient yeasts → flavour complexity
- Barrel ferment/maturation → non-fruit complexity + flavs
- Partial or full-malo → texture, non fruit complexity
- Lees stirring → texture, non fruit complexity
Describe the typical approach to vinification for red wines. (4)
- High vol - mid-range temps, cultured yeast, neutral vessels
- Wholebunch experim for PN + Syrah → herbal, floral
- Cold maceration common for PN
- Maturation in oak barriques for BDX, larger for PN
Which wines may be made in various levels of sweetness?
Pinot Gris + Riesling + noble-rot affected Semillon
To what extent are screw caps used and why?
What challenges does it present for marketing wine?
90% incl prem → TCA, premox + bottle variation
Domestic and UK acceptance, less so in others
Describe the growing environment of the North Island including details of some of its sub-regions.
- Moderate maritime, high humidity
- Diurnals vary
- Rolling landscape, some vines sheltered
- High rainfall
Briefly describe any notable features and the wines produced in Auckland
- Land $ → urbanisation.
- Waiheke Island CS + Syrah → mod climate, low diurnals → med-full bodied, black fruit, oak, prem
- W Auckland HQ Chard
Briefly describe the growing environment and wines produced in Gisborne.
- Warme sea breeze + sunlight
- Harvests earlier
- Plantings on flood plain
- Vineyard area halved due to kiwis + apples
- Chard range of Q, ripe
- PG dry-med-dry range of Q
Briefly describe the growing environment and wines produced in Hawke’s Bay.
Large
Gimblett Gravels alluvial, stoney topsoil → warm, free-draining →require irrigation
- BDX blends
- Syrah (3/4 of all of NZ Syrah) ripe, HQ
- Chard reductive edge
Briefly describe the growing environment and wines produced in Wairarapa.
- Cooler, high diurnals + strong winds from coast
- Martinborough best known area → prem
- Cool alluvial gravel with silt loam + loess
- PN → riper plum → Abel clone → flowers later (missing stormy), productive, large berries (winds restrict Y)
- SB restrained aromatics
Describe the growing environment of Marlborough.
- Cool maritime with warm summers, mild winters
- Lower rainfall → rainshadow→ extends growing season → flavour intensity
- Free draining, alluvial soil → irrigation via acquifiers
- high sunshine
- Flat landscape → machine harvest
How does machine harvesting change the style of Sauvignon Blanc produced?
Crushing grapes skins → skin contact → generates 5-10x aroma precursors for bell pepper + passionfruit
Compare and contrast the growing conditions in Wairau, Southern Valleys and Awatere.
How do the differences in growing conditions affect the style of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir produced?
Conditions in Wairu vary according to prox to coast - inland → large diurnals, frost → SB passionfruit → herbaceous
Southern Valleys high altitude + more clay → harvest 2 weeks later than Wairu → PN pronounced aromatics and more tannin → longer season
Awatere is cooler + windier - close to coast + higher altitude → later harvest → SB more herbaceous, less tropical, very high acid; PN thicker skins → deeper colour
Outline the styles of wine produced in Marlborough.
SB
- intense aromatics
- dry, high acid w/
- sub-region blending for volume + style
- inexp-mid-priced, some prem
PN
- red fruit, juicy → alluvial plains Wairu
- Southern Valley + Awatere slopes →more colour, riper, tannin + body, oak
Chard
- range of styles
PG
- lighter-bodied, fresh + youthful
- full-bodied, ripe
How do the growing conditions of Nelson differ from Marlborough and how does this affect the style of wine produced?
Less protected from cool, wet, W-winds→ earlier harvest → lighter SB + PN (unoaked/lightly)
similar sunshine hours → able to produce PN → Waima Plains (mod fertility alluvial soils that free drain)
Land prices higher → small-production, HQ → oak ferment/aged SB
Like most regions, Canterbury has a cool climate with high levels of sunshine hours and cool nights. Identify any unique aspects of the region’s growing conditions and how this impacts grape growing (4).
- 90% N
- Hot, dry NW winds → warming but damage → windbreaks
- Rainshadow→ irrigation, fungal disease low
Waipara Valley
- flat plains (light-bodied, less intense)
- N-facing limestone slopes (fuller, more intense)
Name three styles of wine that Canterbury is known for.
- PN - delicate → full-bodied, HQ
- Riesling → Waipara Valley dry → LH, sweet, HQ
- SB
- N.B. PG, Chard
Describe the unique growing environment of Central Otago. (4)
- Protected by mountain ranges → semi-continental, low rainfall
- Very high latitude → long sunshine hours + high UV
- Most above 300m → high diurnals
- gravel + clay with schist sub-soil → low organic matter
What are the opportunities and challenges presented by Central Otago’s growing environment (8).
+ sunshine + UV → phenolic ripeness consistent
+ Diurnals → acidity
+ Low rainfall → disease pressure → organic/bio
+ Low organic matter restrains Y → HQ
- High UV + hot summer → sunburn
- Cold nights → frost $ heli’s
- Low rainfall → irrigation
- Low organic matter→ fertilisers
With examples, describe how the growing conditions vary between Central Otago’s various sub-regions.
Diff in top + soils = varying deg of warmth + rain
Gibbston high + cool + altitude → frost, site selection vital for rip
Bendigo lower + poor soils w/ hot summer days → Syrah
Explain the unique style of Pinot Noir produced in Central Otago. (5)
PN country
- Deep, high, ripe tannin, intense red plum, black cherry → high UV → anthocyanin development
- Full-bodied → high UV + warm summers → sugar rip
- High acid + intense aromas → high diurnals → slower rip
- Vanilla, smoke → barrel-aged
- Aromatic intensity → Wholebunch
VG - outstanding, prem - super-prem
Account for the styles of Pinot Gris and Riesling produced in Central Otago. (3)
- High UV → intense aromatics → VG-outst
- Diurnals → acidity
- Dry climate → LH
How do the growing conditions of Waitaki differ from Central Otago?
Similar in most aspects, however:
- E Soutern Alps → cooling ocean breezes
- Limestone soils → water retention
PN, PG, Riesling, Chard + Gewurtz
