New Zealand: Regions Flashcards
New Zealand: Greater Auckland
NORTH ISLAND
- area was once the heart of wine production
-Three sub regions :
Waiheke Island - 40 mins from Auckland , Cab SAuv and Syrah are the specialities - warmer island with low diurnal range - mid to late ripening grapes can ripen fully - hilly landascapes provide protection from onshore winds
Wines are med to full bodied , black fruited, with hints of oak spice
Some outstanding examples
Land prices are rising = premi prices for the wines
eg. Man O’War
**West Auckland ** - high cost of land is decreasing the area
Some cellar door but most source fruit from other regions
**Matakana ** - Strong local toursit trade - wide range of grapes
Moderate maritime climate - fungal disease an issue
New Zealand : Gisborne
NORTH ISLAND
Eastern Tip of the island
-Halved the vineyards to plant kiwi and apples = more money for growers
-Flat, fertiel land floodplains ; clay loam and silt
-Moderate maritime climate with no frost issues and high sunshine hours
Rainfall 1,000mm - no irritgation / fetile soils - but need careful canopy management
To prevent rot, picking times are cruical
Chardonnay 50% - boutigue and high volume
Simple fruity, unoaked - acceptable
Full bodied , barrel fermented with ripe stone fruit and creamy flavours, medium to med plus acidity -outstanding
Pinot Gris. - dry to medium dry , premium have lees stirring and oak maturation
Also , SB, Gewutztraminer and Viognier
Merlot eg. Lindauer
and Bio Milton Vineyards
New Zealand : Hawkes Bay
-since 1851
-second largest region
-Moderate maritime similar to Bordeaux
2,180 sunshine hours
Rainfall - 1,000mm
SOILS Gravelly, alluvial similar to Medoc - Merlot
Caberent Sauv struggles to ripen but improved planting and clones are helping
Gimblett Gravels - inland , warm days
frost can be an issue
Stony topsoils gets hot and release UV back to the grapes at night
Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauv
Free draining soils, irrigation is necessary
**Bridge Pa **- deeper topsoil of sandy loam clay aiding water retention
Fresh expressions of Chardonnay and Syrah
Bordeaux VBlends - Merlot
Wines are simple, fruity with little oak to oustanding premium bleds in Oak for 12-18 months and incl Cab sauv and Cab Franc
Also perfumed,deep coloured Malbec
Syrah - 77% of all plantings in NZ
Wines are concentrated ripe black berry , black pepper and spice, floral , med-med plus body and Med plus acidity
Usually in oak for 12-18 months
Outstanding and Prem Priced
Chardonnay. - simpple to premium
White stone and grapefruit , medium bodied with medium acid
Premium get barrels adding spice and vanilla
Coastal wines are higher in acidity , citrus and lower abv
Good to outstandind and prem pruced
eg. Craggy Range
Te Mata
New Zealand : Wairarapa
2.5% of all vineyards but only premium wines
One hour from Wellington , tourism is the driver
-Cool maritime climate
Summer is warm but there is a large diurnal range to slwo ripening and aid in acidity
Low yields can be caused by the Cook Strait -winds blow in and affect flowering and fruit set
-Grapes are smaller with thicker skins = fine grained tannins in the Pinot Noir
Frost can impact yields - wind machines used widely
SOILS - range
free-draining alluvial gravel terraces with silt loam and **loess ** ( cooling infleuences - allowikng for a longer ripening time and more complexity )
Three sub regions know as
Wellington Wine Country :
Masterton -
Gladstone
Martinborough
eg. Ata Rangi and Dry River
Pinot Noir - 50% of all plantings
wines are premium and very to outstanding
Medium plus acid, red cherry , black plum, spicy notes,
Low yields from winds lead to intense concentraion - medium to med plus tannins
French ooak for 12-18 months
Clones range from Abel Clone - from Domain Romanee Conti
flowers late and misses the worst weather that could reduce yields
Productive with large berries , restricted by strong winds in Malborough
Also Dijon 667 and 777
Sauvignon Blanc - premium very good and outstanding
Restrained herbaceous / fruit notes
High acid
Lower yields =intense fruit
Wild yeast and partial barrel ferment with extended lees contact for complexity and texture
New Zealand: Malborough
SOUTH ISLAND
- largest grape growing area with 70% of vineyards in this region
- -1873 first planting - went through a down period
- modern era started in 1973 , Brancott Estate saw the potential for high quality wines
- critical acclaim for the wines and the 90’s =cheap land and good climate made for a rappid growth in the industry
- Very sunny 2,140 hours of sunlight
- Climate is cool, with warm summers and mild winters
- Rainfall 650mm
- SOILS - free draining , alluvial ( undergroung aquifieres for irrigation)
- Sun and a dry growing season allows fruit to be left on longer = intense
- also fungal pressue is relatively low
- Mainly flat - machine harvesting is common
- -aromas have been shown to be 5-10 higher when machine harvested
Two main valleys ( and new vineyards in the SOuthern Valleys )
**Wairau **- along the Wairau River , to Cloudy Bay
-inland more risk of frost
coastal is moderated by the ocean
-The Wairau Valley is aforemr riverbed - gravel,silty,sand and loam clay soils
more fertile and a higher water table = high volume wines / warmer soils =intense aromas build up
-require irrigation
SB tropical, grassy, passionfruit and herbaceous notes
Also ,Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris
**Awatere **
cooler and windier , higher elevation and closer to the coast
Harvest is later
SB are more herbaceous and less tropical with high acid
Smaller berries with thicker skins
(from wind) lead to more deeply coloured wines
**Southern Valley **
N-S running vallets south of the Wairau
Plantings on hillsides
More clay helps retain water / cooling
Slow ripening and can leafd to harvest two weeks later
Pinot Noir thrives here - develops aromatics , tannins over a long period
New Zealand : Marlborough SB
SOUTH
- 80% of all plantings
- dry, intense aromatics and high acid
- Herbaceous, floral,tropical and passionfruit
- good to very good , inexpensive to mid priced
- May blend grapes from different sub regions
- for consistency and volume
- Cool ferment =s in SS wih cultured yeasts
- NO MLFC or oak
- some are experimenting with oak, lees contact / complexity = very good to outstanding
- Focus on site specific expressions
New Zealand: Marlborough Pinot Noir
- more popular
- 10% of plantings
- from Southern Valley
- 3 main styles
- 1) light bodied , juicy red fruits for early drinking from Wairau -mid price
- 2) Southern Valleys clay slopes creaste intense fruit and aromas cherry, plum with a medium to full body
- Matured in oak and very good to outstanding premium priced
- 3) Windier, cooler Awatere Valley have thicker skins , more colour and floral, herbal res plum fruit
- Oak is used , good to outstanding and prem priced
New Zealand: Marlborough Chardonnay
-range of styles, unoaked, medium bodied with simple stone fruit and citrus
-good to very good and mid priced
-outstanding complex wimes with intense stone friut , citrus and spicy oak notes of toast , dairy aromas from MLFC and yeast from lees stirring
Premium priced
New Zealand: Marlborough Pinot Gris
- 1) lighter bodied, fresh frutiy style, crisp semi aromatic easy drinking , dry to off dry and cool fermented in SS tanks , good quality
-2) full bodied ripe fruit with some barrel maturation , intense stone fruit , honeysuckle and spice . Dry to off -dry, partial barrel, lees stirring and ambient yeast for complexity
eg. Cloudy Bay. Villa Maria
New Zealand: Nelson
- NW corner of the island
- Rainfall 970mm ( not protected )
- 2,405 hours of sunshine
- Cool, maritime climate - cooling sea breezes and warm nights
- focus on small scale with higher land prices
- Sub regions :
-** Moutere Hills - NW of the town of Nelson. Soils are clay-based gravel with sandy loam topsoil and hills - low in nutrients and water retaining - lots of dry farming - Fuller bodied wines and some very high quality wines
- eg. Pinot Noir - full bodied with ripe tannins and spicy notes from oak.Very good to outstanding
- 50-150m **
- **Waimea Plains -
- low lying riverbed of alluvial soils with fine silt ad clay loams - moderate fertility
- Very free darining and irrigation is neccessary
- Lighter in body with fresh fruit
SB - restrained. Gentle stone fruit, tropical and herbal nuances
Complexity is added by barrel ferment /maturation and lees stirring
Good to very good and mid-prem priced
Pinot Noir - fresh, red fruits and medium body
Unoaked or short time
Good to very good and mid priced
New Zealand: Canterbury
- flat, open plain facing the ocean
- covers 200km with two sub regions :
- 1) North Canterbury , 90% of vineyards
- cool climate , sheltered by the Southern Alps ( in the rainshoadow =650mm rain) , lots of sunshine hours and warm summers
- Nights are cold, with frost an issue
- Dry NW winds can be warming but are strong and require a windbreak of trees
- Hot dry winds = evapotranspiration and irrigation is neccessary
- grapes can be left due to low fungal pressure from winds
Waipara Valley - Teviotdale Hills protec tthe region from the winds
Flay valley floors
SOILS - gravelly , sandy laom
Hills, slopes N and NW - SOILS - clay loams and limestone
Riesling - very expressive, intense , ripe fruit with high acid levels - high diuranl , the long growing and dry autmn . Dry to late harvest styles . Very good to outstanding and prem priced
Waikari - inland with Limestone and Clay soils - very small production of outstanding Pinot Noir
eg. Bell hill and Pegasus Bay
Pinot Noir - range from delicate, red berries to full bodied dark fruits with high levels of acid. Very good to outstanding. Dry sunny summers allow for long hang time
SB - widely planted - range of styles - lots of experimenting with winemaking techniques
New Zealand: Central Otago
- one of the worlds most southerly regions at 46 degrees S
- surrounded by the Southern Alps
- Semi continental
- Very dry, 360mm - irrigation is neccessary but reduced fungal pressure means lots of organic and biodynamic farming
- Summers are warm and dry and sunlight hours are long with high UV levels
- 300m up , with high diurnal range = fresh acidity and ripe fruit with delicate floral aromas
- frost is an issue and use helicopters
- canopies must be managed to shade the grapes on thte west side from sunburn
SOILS -range from gravel to clay, schist is the parent rock
Low in organic matter so compost is used to imporve nutrients and soil
6 sub regions :
Alexandra : hottest summer temps , cool nights - fresh fruit aromas and medim plus acidity
Gibbston : highest and coolest - 320-420 m high in the North facing Kawarau Gorge
Fresh flavours and high acidity. Site selction is important
Bannockburn : south banks of the Kawarau River - diverse range of soils - densley planted - warma nd dry =intense wines
Cromwell, Lowburn and Pisa : run from Cromwell on the west side of Lake Dunstan - semi aird moraines, fans and terraces . Warm climate
Bendigo - warmest region - good for Syrah - vines are on N facing slopes and terraces with semi arid , poor stony , free draining soils, and a continental cliamte
Low yields of concentrated wines
Wanaka : Lake Wanaka -moderates temps
290-320 m , slightly cooler
Pinot Noir - see card
Pinot Gris and Riesling are very good to outstanding with dry -medium sweet styles of very good to outstanding quality . No noble rot due to dry climate
eg. Felton Road
New Zealand: Central Otago Pinot Noir
- 80% of crush
- 30% of all of NZ crush
- The wines are very good to outstanding and prem to super prem
- high UV , cold nights and sunny days =deep coloured wines with full body, good acid, ripe tannins, and intense plum and black cherry
- ## Oak is used / whole bunch
New Zealand: Waitaki
NORTH OTAGO
- east of the Southern Alps
- Waitaki River
- remot area with small holdings
- inn the rain shadow of the Alps -
- Hot dry summers with breeze off the Pacific Ocean
- long hang times = full ripe tannins
- Limestone -eg. Ostler
- Very good Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Rielsing and Chardonnay
