New Zealand Flashcards
How big or small is New Zealand wine production?
Small
Area under vine makes New Zealand only in top 50 countries
Production - top 30
85% is controlled by non-New Zealanders
Half of production in hands of one international company
When were the first vines planted in Marlborough?
As recently as 1973
When were the first vines planted in New Zealand?
1833 by James Busby, Australian wine pioneer
But vines only planted in Marlborough as recently as 1973
What is the climate in New Zealand?
Predominantly cool, maritime climate
Although vineyards around Auckland are sub tropical
Continental at Central Otago
Where is the sunniest vineyard region in New Zealand?
Marlborough, NE of the South Island
What is the driest and most continental vineyard region in New Zealand?
Central Otago, south of South Island
What is the most important climatic problem in New Zealand?
Excessive rain, which is why most vineyards are on the eastern seaboard where they are protected from the prevailing west wind and rain by the mountainous spine of the country
What happened during the 1986 vine pull initiative in New Zealand?
Low quality varieties replaced with international varieties planted in grafted rootstocks
What did New Zealand pioneer in the vineyard?
Canopy management and trellising techniques to make the best use of available heat and sunlight to create sugars and flavours in grapes
What is the wine New Zealand has become famous for?
Sauvignon Blanc, particularly the herbaceous wines of Sauvignon Blanc
What has allowed a very pure intense varietal expression of wines particularly Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand?
Use of stainless steel and temperature control - harnessed from being a leader in the dairy industry
High standards of hygiene and careful handling of fermenting wines results in a very pure intense varietal expression in the wines
What are the key flavours of a classic Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand?
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is widely regarded as a world benchmark for the variety.
Intense aromas centre on capsicum, cut grass and elderflower but may includes passion fruit, stony mineral notes and hints of creamy oak.
Better wines with their intense fruit concentration are capable of developing vegetal, asparagus notes with bottle age.
What is the third most planted grape in New Zealand?
Chardonnay
What is the second most planted variety after Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand?
Pinot Noir
Where produces Bordeaux style wines in New Zealand?
Hawkes Bay - north island
Where are you most likely to find Pinot Noir in New Zealand?
Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago
What are the key differences between Pinot Noir from Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago?
Martinborough - rich, cherry fruit and velvet textured
Marlborough usually a little lighter and more vegetal
Central Otago - complex and powerful yet elegant
What are the key wine regions in New Zealand’s north island?
Auckland
Gisborne
Hawkes Bay
Martinborough
What are the key wine regions on the South Island of New Zealand?
Marlborough
Nelson
Canterbury
Central Otago
Where is Central Otago? And what makes its climate special?
It is on New Zealand’s South Island.
Towards the south of the South Island in the middle of the Southern Alps.
The climate is continental, with warm days and cold nights due to altitude.
These extreme differences in temperature make for concentration of fruit flavours.
Many of the vineyards are planted in desert conditions but there is plenty of river water for irrigation.
What is grown mostly in Central Otago, New Zealand?
Pinot Noir
Also
Riesling
Pinot Gris
What is grown in Gisborne?
Mostly Chardonnay (not the fancy stuff either)
Where is the best place for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in New Zealand?
Hawkes Bay around the twin towns of Hastings and Napier.
Although Chardonnay is the most important variety, it is probably making the best Cab Sav and Merlot in New Zealand
What has Lincoln contributed to the wine world?
The University Centre for Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln, Canterbury is the South Island of New Zealand has researched heavily on the growth and production of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand.
Specifically how cool climate growing conditions such as those found in New Zealand affect the flavour aromas, mouthfeel, phenolicd and tannins of these grape varieties.
What viticulture technique arguable had the biggest impact on wine quality improvement in New Zealand the 1980s?
Dr Smart’s Canopy Management techniques to ensure grapes get maximum sunlight and ripens fully
Before that excessive vine vigor and the resulting dense canopies produced green herbaceous flavours, delayed ripening and promoted fungal diseases
What does BYO stand for?
Bring Your Own (Wine)
Common in Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand claims the BYO concept was born in 1976 when the NZ authorities, still notably cautious re distribution of alcoholic drinks devised the BYO license to allow diners to bring their own wine
Corkage is sometimes but not always charged
How far away from Australia is New Zealand?
1,000 miles away
Which Southern Hemisphere country had prohibition from 1910-1919?
New Zealand
What brought an end to prohibition in New Zealand?
Votes from returning servicemen in 1919
What adversely affected the viability of winemaking in New Zealand from 1945-1958?
A flood of imports
What led to heavy discounting of New Zealand wine between 1985-1986?
Rapid expansion of vineyards
Large harvest in 1983
Led to a wine surplus and heavy discounting of New Zealand wines
What was the New Zealand’s governments response to the wine surplus and heavy discounting in 1985-1986?
A sponsored vine pull scheme in 1986 where 1/4 of New Zealand’s wines were uprooted
What viticultural problems did New Zealand suffer in the 1800s?
Powdery mildew in 1876
Phylloxera in 1895
How did New Zealand respond to the Phylloxera crisis?
It planted American Phylloxera resistant hybrids like the American Isabella vine nicknamed Albany Surprise
Albany Surprise was New Zealand’s most planted variety in the late 1800s
The rest of the world planted European grape varieties on American rootstocks.
It was only as recently as the 1960s that American hybrids were gradually replaced with European Vinifera varieties
And 1973 before the first Vinifera vines were planted in Marlborough- now the holy grail of Sauvignon Blanc
What was forbidden in New Zealand until 1881?
Wineries selling direct to consumers.
All wines sales had to be channeled via hotels the country’s only liquor outlets at the time
What was legal in New Zealand from 1955?
From 1955 specialist wine shops where able to sell single bottles of New Zealand table wine to consumers, although the allocation of licenses was carefully controlled.
From when were restaurants in New Zealand finally allowed to sell wine?
Only from 1960
A BYO license was introduced to restaurants from 1976 to allow diners to take their own wine to restaurants
When were supermarkets finally allowed to sell wine to consumers in New Zealand?
Only as recently as 1990!
New Zealand’s liquor laws were super strict