Tag Archives: NZ Wine Industry

NZ’s Wine “Quirky, Exciting And Worth Studying”

NZ’s Wine “Quirky, Exciting And Worth Studying”

“New Zealand is sort of out there on its own, mysterious and captivating. We’re talking about two islands, inextricably linked, yet with quirky underdog identities all their own,” writes Michael Austin in an article…

A Toast to New Zealand’s Wine

A Toast to New Zealand’s Wine

“New Zealand wine regions are at their most spectacular in fall, when the days are long and bathed in late sunshine,” as reported in an article in the Canada Free Press, which features some…

Big on Exports

Big on Exports

New Zealand is now the world’s 10th largest wine exporter, despite producing only 1 per cent of the world’s wine, according to the latest figures, which saw exports hit a record $1.18bn in the…

Local Wineries Entice Chinese Market

Local Wineries Entice Chinese Market

New Zealand winemakers are preparing for a major push in China this month with their biggest-ever road show taking place in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. The New Zealand government and wine industry are…

Hollywood Star Cellaring Well

Hollywood Star Cellaring Well

An interview with New Zealand actor and vigneron Sam Neill has been Huffington Post freelancer Mike Matthews’ most viewed wine blog entry. To celebrate Matthews’ blog’s birthday, the November 2011 piece, about Neill’s vineyard Two Paddocks,…

Groundswell Of Riesling

Groundswell Of Riesling

“The emergence of exceptionally fine New Zealand wines proves there is a groundswell of real talent and ambition in these islands,” Jancis Robinson writes in the Financial Times. “Two weeks ago, I came across the…

Emissions by the glass

Emissions by the glass

New Zealand wine Mobius Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc will be the first in the world to display its carbon emissions by individual glass servings of 125ml. The carbon emissions, which are calculated to measure the…

Understanding Terroir

Understanding Terroir

Auckland University scientists are working with winemakers attempting to solve the puzzle of terroir by researching yeast varieties indigenous to West Auckland vineyard Kumeu River Estate. The study has uncovered close to 100 new…

Palpable Landscapes

Palpable Landscapes

Winemaker and international landscape photographer Kevin Judd’s book The Landscape of New Zealand Wine is one of seven of the “best wine reading on offer this year” according to Jeni Port of Melbourne newspaper,…

Pricey Contest

Pricey Contest

A New Zealand sauvignon blanc was the biggest selling wine in Australia last year, with three out of the five top selling wines coming from this country. New Zealand Winegrowers data shows the country’s…

Looking offshore

Looking offshore

New Zealand’s wine industry has further opened up to foreign investment, most recently with the purchase of the New Zealand Wine Fund by California firm Foley Family Wines, pushing the level of foreign ownership…

NZ Wine a Popular Drop

NZ Wine a Popular Drop

New Zealand wine is becoming increasingly popular for Australian drinkers with exports across the Tasman up by 31 per cent to $323 million in the 2008/09 financial year, according to the New Zealand Winegrowers…

Greenhouse Boom

Greenhouse Boom

New Zealand vineyards are benefiting from a warming planet, prompting traditionally cooler areas of the country to cultivate grapes and a bright forecast for export growth. Pinot noirs from the South Island region of…

Natural Selection

Natural Selection

Telegraph writer Jonathan Ray discovers the art of high-altitude wine tasting with Air New Zealand’s team of wine buyers: Jim Harré, John Belsham and Kate Radburnd. Air NZ is the single largest purchaser of NZ wine…

Two Atkins for NZ Wine

Two Atkins for NZ Wine

Influential Observer wine columnist Tim Atkin has published his Best Of list for 2007. Atkin named NZ his wine producing country of the year, with the 2006 Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir (Central Otago) and 2007 The…

Next Big Things

Next Big Things

NZ’s white aromatic wines rival its world-famous sauvignon blanc, according to Telegraph writer Jonathan Ray. Ray vowed not to drink any sauvignon on his week-long tour of NZ wineries, despite being a “sucker” for the…

Champion Red

Champion Red

Central Otago vineyard Bald Hills has continued its remarkable winning streak with three more major international awards for its 2005 Pinot Noir. The wine beat 4,760 other entries to take the Champion Red award at the International…

Wine of the Times

Wine of the Times

Guardian wine writer Victoria Moore reports on the overwhelming success of NZ wine in the UK. NZ wine boasts the highest average retail price in the UK (second-place Australia lags by £1.77) and almost 10% of…

Decanter Double

Decanter Double

Two NZ wines received top honours in Decanter magazine’s (US) annual World Wine Awards. Central Otago’s Bald Hills Pinot Noir 2005 won the International Pinot Noir Over £10 Trophy and Nelson’s Seifried Riesling Sweet Agnes 2006 the…

Tributes Flow for Industry Titans

Tributes Flow for Industry Titans

NZ has lost two of its leading business figures with the deaths of Sir James Fletcher and Nick Nobilo (pictured) on August 29. Fletcher, 92, became Managing Director of construction dynasty Fletcher…

NZ a Top Foodie Destination

NZ a Top Foodie Destination

The past 15 years have seen a seismic shift in NZ gastro-tourism, according to  Telegraph wine columnist Susy Atkins. Since her last visit in 1992, NZ has shrugged off its reputation for “unappetising food, grim…

Jeweller Finds Wonderland in NZ

Jeweller Finds Wonderland in NZ

British jeweller Alice Hughes has created a range of bespoke pieces inspired by NZ plants and sea life. She established Alice in Wonderland Jewellery in 2004 after undertaking an apprenticeship in NZ, where she…

Taking Issue with Food Miles

Taking Issue with Food Miles

A UK Times eco-columnist’s suggestion to reduce food miles by drinking French rather than NZ wine has stimulated a response by NZ winemakers and politicians. She argued that transporting wines from France results in fewer greenhouse…

Tour of Beauty

Tour of Beauty

Times journalist Paul Grogan undertook a two-day kayaking tour of Abel Tasman National Park with local company Wilson’s Experiences. “Gaining in confidence, we rock-hop along the coast, ducking in and out of little lagoons and darting through…

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s premium on board wine selection has been recognised as one of the best in the world. UK Business Traveller magazine named Air New Zealand the winner of three awards in its annual Cellars…

Premium Export

Premium Export

An ABC Radio report on Wellington’s Pinot Noir festival credits the grape’s – and NZ wine in general’s – explosion in popularity in the US to the success of 2004 indie film, Sideways. “We had $500 million…

Life After Savvy

Life After Savvy

A Massachusetts newspaper feature on NZ wine covers the country’s world famous sauvignon blanc, increasingly renowned pinot noir and the cool climate whites now waiting for their turn in the spotlight. The author talks to winemakers…

Medal Worthy Drops

Medal Worthy Drops

NZ producers picked up a swathe of trophies at the 2006 Decanter World Wine Awards this month. The medal haul included 86 bronze, 36 silver and one gold medal, for the 2005 Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc….

Bumper Crop

Bumper Crop

Kiwi wine exports hit a record high of half a billion dollars this year, according the New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. Pinot noir sales increased 55% to overtake chardonnay as NZ’s second most exported varietal, after perennial…

Liquid Gold

Liquid Gold

One of NZ’s most respected wineries, Waiheke Island’s Goldwater Estate, has been sold to the NZ Wine Fund for $10 million. The Wine Fund, which also purchased Marlborough’s Vavasour Wines in 2003, is predicting combined sales this…

Kiwi Wine Takes US by Storm

Kiwi Wine Takes US by Storm

An extensive article on NZ’s burgeoning wine industry examines its history and development in an American context, interviewing US importers and connoisseurs of NZ wine as well as ex pat US vineyard owners such as Barbara…

Post Praise NZ Wine

Post Praise NZ Wine

Washington Post writer notes the timely rise of NZ wine, which is strong in today’s most in-demand varietals. ” is the emerging star for wines that live on delicacy and finesse, most notably, pinot noir and…

NZ in a Nutshell

NZ in a Nutshell

A travel guide to NZ written for a Tennessee paper offers a brief overview of the country, focussing on geographical features and native flora and fauna. Cultural insight is offered by Travel NZ’s Bruce Lahood, who…

Cloudy Bay Credibility

Cloudy Bay Credibility

The burgeoning NZ wine industry gets an extensive survey in The Drinks Business magazine (UK.) Author Penny Boothman cites several factors behind NZ’s success on the international market, including the ongoing Cloudy Bay effect….

Grapes Aplenty

Grapes Aplenty

June marked a significant viticultural milestone for NZ, with the opening of its 500th winery. The honour goes to St Lukes Estate Wines Ltd in Blenheim. “In 1995 there were 204 wineries in NZ,” said John…

Supply and Demand

Supply and Demand

The NZ wine industry continues to break monthly export sales records, with over seven million bottles of wine exported in March and growth continuing into April and May. The staggering 5.2 million litres of wine exported in…

Diamond and the Rough

Diamond and the Rough

Independent travel writer indulges mind, body and soul in NZ’s up and coming wine and tourism centre, the Wairarapa. After experiencing chocolate therapy at Greytown’s Schoc, sampling the region’s famed Pinot Noir at Tirohana Estate, trout fishing…

Waiheke Out-Bordeauxs Bordeaux

Waiheke Out-Bordeauxs Bordeaux

The Turkish Weekly featured NZ’s premiere boutique wine event, the Waiheke Wine Festival. Waiheke reds have become increasingly popular internationally in recent years, with viticultural studies hailing the region’s weather as “more like Bordeaux than Bordeaux.” …

Sheep Ranch Deluxe

Sheep Ranch Deluxe

Wairarapa’s Wharekauhau Country Estate is given a rapturous write-up in the IHT. “A temple to order and calm, the Estate is located on the southern tip of the North Island of NZ, where the prevailing winds…

Wine Double Feature

Wine Double Feature

A Malaysian Star story on the NZ wine industry takes as its focus the award winning Villa Maria winery. According to the writer, NZ “has developed a unique niche on the world wine stage, with wines characterised…

North Island Odyssey

North Island Odyssey

The Telegraph‘s Max Davidson takes a leisurely tour of the North Island’s wine-producing hot spots. The trail begins in “cosmopolitan Wellington,” followed by the Wairarapa, Auckland, and Waiheke Island. Further north, the scenery becomes more and more…

Dissecting the Edge

Dissecting the Edge

Outside Online writer, Stephanie Pearson, takes a month-long tour of NZ, in a bid to discover “why everyone wants a piece of the Kiwi magic.” After interviewing a slew of overachievers, including Icebreaker’s Jeremy Moon, Peter Jackson,…

Staying Power

Staying Power

Aotearoa has a starring role in wine writer Thom Elkjer’s overview of sauvignon blanc – past and present – for the  SF Chronicle. NZ has been a major player in the grape’s popularity since ” out…

I Spy with My Little Eye

I Spy with My Little Eye

NZ wines scored a slew of major awards at America’s largest and most prestigious wine show – the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Best in Show awards went to the 2002 Lake Hayes ‘Amisfield’…

Wine Boom Continues

Wine Boom Continues

NZ wine producers are going for quantity as well as quality, with 2004 officially the largest vintage on record. At 166,000 tons, the national harvest was 40% higher than the previous high of 118,700 tons in 2002….

Best of the Summer Wine

Best of the Summer Wine

The NZ wine industry is set to benefit from the country’s Rings-inspired tourist influx this year, with two major travel features in the  Chicago Tribune and  Boston Globe. The former relates an American journalist’s experience…

The ‘Rapa’s Best Kept Secrets

The ‘Rapa’s Best Kept Secrets

Herald writer, Tim Dick, extols the many virtues of his Wairarapa homeland – which have thus far escaped the notice of Wellingtonian wine tourists. High on his list of recommendations are having a “three-scoop ice-cream from the…

Bottoms Up

Bottoms Up

CNN feature reveals a hemisphere-reversal in wine appreciation and availability in America. New World wines are doing a roaring trade in the US, in many cases outstripping their European counterparts in sales. “One of the…

Zealand of Approval

Zealand of Approval

Waiheke retreat gets relaxed raves in Wallpaper: “There should be more lodges like Delamore. Abandoning the servere straight lines of urban architecture, this four-suite sanctuary is deliciously organic, setting off the rugged surroundings of Waiheke Island. All…

Leading Lights and Walk-overs

Leading Lights and Walk-overs

NZ wines rate highly in Tim Atkin’s list of ‘summer corkers’ at their peak of drinkability. 2002 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc: “I’ve never tasted a better vintage of this intense, guava, gooseberry and mango-like South…

Kiwi Wine Puts a Cork in Critics

Kiwi Wine Puts a Cork in Critics

“The idea that screw-caps are not socially acceptable is absolute nonsense. People should go by their senses, palate, and nose.” The trend-setting move by NZ winemakers in favour of screw-caps over corks is applauded by Guardian wine…

A Toast to the “New Classics”

A Toast to the “New Classics”

British wine writer, John Hunter, educates his readers in the (remarkably brief) history of NZ wine. Urging them to cast aside any lingering associations with Australia – “it’s a darn sight closer to Antarctica” – Hunter recommends…

NZ: Wine Enthusiast ‘Region of the Year’

NZ: Wine Enthusiast ‘Region of the Year’

American-based Wine Enthusiast Magazine named NZ “Region of the Year” at their prestigious Wine Awards for 2002. Said judges of our viticultural edge; “When examining the NZ wine industry, broader themes emerge, encompassing such important concepts as innovation,…

Sacred Hill Win on Sacred Turf

Sacred Hill Win on Sacred Turf

Sacred Hill’s 2001 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay became the first NZ wine to win gold at the prestigious Chardonnay du Monde competition in Burgundy, France. Sacred Hill marketing manager Duncan Elliott: “This is like winning the French equivalent…

Change of Pace

Change of Pace

BBC series on ex-pat Brits profiles Jake Barnett, a London banker turned Christchurch viticulture student. Barnett has nothing but praise for the NZ wine industry, not to mention his adopted homeland. “The nearest we get to…

Pays Au Long Nuage Blanc

Pays Au Long Nuage Blanc

Special assignment NZ: Le Monde heads Down Under in search of good wine and finds it in abundance. “NZ, long considered a land of beer-drinkers, has made a sudden and remarkable appearance on the world wine…