New Zealand Wine

What is more interesting than stories about wine… and of course New Zealand has its own winegrowers as well.

The first vines in New Zealand were planted in the Bay of Islands, which is a subtropical micro region in the north of New Zealand. The vine was planted by Reverend Samuel Marsden in 1819. Samuel Marsden was an English chaplain, missionary and farmer who came to New Zealand in 1814 to civilize the Maori. He had formed the New South Wales Society for Affording Protection to the Natives of the South Sea Islands and Promoting their Civilization.

In the late 1800’s the Croatian arrived in Northland. They were interested in Kauri gum, which is a fossilized resin detracted from Kauri trees and can be made into jewellery. The Croatians then brought their European tradition of winemaking to New Zealand.

Today wine regions can be found everywhere in New Zealand, at least everywhere close to the sea because the vineyards benefit from the moderating effect of the maritime climate with long sunshine hours and nights cooled by sea breezes. Therefore, no vineyard is further away than 120km from the ocean.

Wine regions which are renowned for their good wine quality are Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke´s Bay, Wairarape, Marlborough, Nelson, Canterbury and Central Otago.

Unique soil, water, and climate, especially the cool temperatures, which assure a long ripening period lead to extraordinary wines, which are famous for their purity, vibrancy and intensity.

The wine industry in New Zealand has steadily grown from 2005 until 2014 and has quite a high export value today.

So next time that you order a wine, have a look if the place has a wine from New Zealand. It might be worth a try. I will definitely try one the next chance I get.