{"id":9921,"date":"2018-04-15T08:05:38","date_gmt":"2018-04-15T06:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markoneill.es\/discover-new-zealand-wines"},"modified":"2018-06-19T16:03:53","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T14:03:53","slug":"discover-new-zealand-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markoneill.es\/en\/discover-new-zealand-wines","title":{"rendered":"Discover New Zealand Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

In just over 40 years, first commercial vineyards were planted in the 1970\u2019s, New Zealand has achieved more than most wine regions have done in a century.\u00a0<\/span>Wines from New Zealand are predominately made from Sauvignon Blanc<\/a> and Pinot Noir<\/a>, the two iconic grape varieties from which who\u2019s wines have put this small island on the world wine map.<\/p>\n

Recently at Prowein<\/strong> in Germany, the largest wine trade fair in the world, I tasted several more New Zealand wines made from grape varieties that we normally associate with the classic regions of the old world; Albari\u00f1o and Tempranillo from Spain, Pinot Gris from France, Riesling from Germany and Gruner Veltliner from Austria.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I found most fascinating about these wines was that all expressed the distinctive characteristics of each varietal while at the same time possessed characteristics which made them stand out as being from New Zealand or more specifically the regions in New Zealand from where they originated. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although the volumes are still small in terms of volume New Zealand producers are the envy of producers around the world, being able to sell all the wine they produce at relatively high prices, average retail price around \u20ac17. So how did they do it?<\/span><\/p>\n

New Zealand, made up of two islands, the North Island and South Island, was known for sheep, dairy farming and agriculture. Back then in the early 1970\u2019s the idea of planting vineyards would have seemed to be most foolish of things to do. Today, there are 35,000 hectares of vineyards, the most widely planted grape being Sauvignon Blanc, 66% of the total production, followed by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay both with 8%. <\/span><\/p>\n

The main growing region is Marlborough, located in the northern part of the South Island. The <\/span>Marlborough Sounds provide some protection from the north-westerly <\/span>winds while <\/span>the Kaikoura mountain<\/span> Ranges block cold southe<\/span>rly winds. <\/span>The combination of sunshine and cool nights means that Marlborough<\/span>\u2019s wines have plenty of fruit flavour <\/span>supported<\/span> by high levels of natural acidity<\/span>. <\/span>It is these <\/span>wide night and day temperature variation, which is an important factor<\/span> in<\/span> the wines <\/span>having<\/span> incredible vibrancy and freshness.<\/span><\/p>\n

For wine drinkers<\/strong> around the world Marlborough is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc so much so that on practically every top international restaurant\u2019s wine list around the world will have wine from this region. <\/span><\/p>\n

One notable difference between growers in New Zealand and other countries is the sense of unity and forward thinking in their methods. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first wine to catch the worlds attention was Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Launched back in the mid 80\u2019s it was cleverly marketed by word of mouth \u2018you\u2019ll be lucky to get hold of a bottle\u2019. It was and continues to be one of the most prized wines from New Zealand. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today there are many wineries from New Zealand that you can you can find here in Spain. The next tasting at <\/span>TheWinePlace.es<\/span><\/a><\/span> will include Gruner Veltliner and Riesling from New Zealand alongside the same grapes from Austria and Germany. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In just over 40 years, first commercial vineyards were planted in the 1970\u2019s, New Zealand has achieved more than most wine regions have done in a century.\u00a0Wines from New Zealand are predominately made from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, the two iconic grape varieties from which who\u2019s wines have put this small island on the world wine map.
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