Traveling through New Zealand and tasting and visiting some of the best wine producers of the island nation is a true feeling of discovery. You can’t completely understand what New Zealand wine was, is, and will be without seeing it with your own eyes.
It’s a monumental wine country with towering snow-capped mountains, vast green meadows, thundering rivers, and deep blue bays and seas. And a brilliant light shines on them alongside blistering winds and the occasional downpour or snow flurry.
I found it hard to believe sometimes that some people actually grow vines and make outstanding wines. Granted, I was there during the spring (more like winter) and I was told many times how warm and sunny it was during most of the vine-growing season, especially during the summer. But making wine in the Alpine Island seems to be a form of extreme winemaking. It really is winemaker versus nature.
I spent a week in New Zealand traveling to most of the key wine producing areas including just outside Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Martinborough, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Central Otago. I visited, tasted, and filmed more than a dozen of what many New Zealand wine aficionados think are the best including Kumeu River, Te Mata, Craggy Range, Ata Rangi, Escarpment, Martinborough Vineyard, Dry River, Dog Point, Greywacke, Fromm Winery, Cloudy Bay, Bell Hill, Pegasus Bay, Pyramid Valley, Felton Road, Quartz Reef, Mount Edward, and Rippon.
I have the frequent flyer and driver mileage on Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Budget, Avis, and Thrifty to prove it. It’s takes some time to get around to the top wine producers of the island. I had déjà vu feelings of a forgotten road trip around the Rocky Mountains as a college student to find the best powder snow for skiing. But it was, of course, outstanding wines I was looking for this time.
Most of the winemaking areas were maritime in nature with a strong influence of the nearby sea on climates. Mountain ranges were also important in protecting vine-growing regions from wet and cold weather. Central Otago, where many vineyards are planted to their own rootstock and phylloxera free (see photo), was the only region I visited that seemed very Continental, like growing vines in Switzerland – perhaps Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, or Utah would be more like it due to the tall mountain range and deep glacial lakes.
Probably my most memorable visit and tasting was at Rippon, a winery just outside the town of Wanaka. (See photo.) I tasted a range of Pinot Noirs and Rieslings with the family overlooking a massive dark blue glacial lake. The vineyard was below us. The bright sun and flowing clouds were above us. The wines, made from biodynamically grown grapes, seemed positively energized with a vivid fruit character and a beautiful balance between tannin and acidity. (It’s always the vibrant and creamy acidity that makes the best New Zealand wines so special.)
Rippon was a perfect wine moment for me. But there were many other fabulous times in New Zealand.
I still have to edit my 200 or so tasting notes. My cameraman Jacobo (he was on a mountain top shooting down at Queenstown while smoking a cigarette) needs to edit two dozen or so videos. I am looking forward to taking you on the unexpected wine journey – probably the same week as the release of the Hobbit movie.
Great report.....when NZ tasting notes are going to be posted ?
The Hobbit movie is out now :) When do you think we can expect your NZ tasting notes to be posted?