Tasting Notes: New Zealand

Warm weather turns our thoughts to the outdoors, grilling, and white wines. Some of my favorite wines for such outdoor events over the past couple of years include French and Italian soaves and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as well as Chardonnay. Wine makers such as Kim Crawford, Cloudy Bay, and Nobilo have made deep inroads into the U.S. domestic market and are sought after for their intensely crisp, citrus flavors. And the predominant area that these wines seem to come from out of New Zealand is Marlborough. Pronounced in the same way as Marlboro cigarettes, these wines leave anything but a smoky aftertaste in your mouth.

When the first Marlborough vines were planted in 1973, few people could have predicted that the region would become New Zealand’s largest and best-known winegrowing area in just over 20 years. Worldwide interest in Marlborough wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, continues to create a regional wine boom. Plenty of sunshine, with cool nights and a long growing season help build and maintain the intense fruit notes for which Marlborough is famous. Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted grape variety with Chardonnay in second place, followed by Pinot Noir and Riesling.

Sauvignon Blanc may be the star but Marlborough has also earned an enviable reputation for méthode traditionelle sparkling wines as well as a wide range of both white and red table wines. Another selling factor for the New Zealand wines is their price. The prices rarely jump over $40 per bottle, though they can be hard to find from time to time.
Another region quickly gaining popularity in New Zealand is Hawke’s Bay, the country’s second largest region with a hundred-year heritage in wine. “The varied topography and wide range of soil types, from fertile silty loams to free-draining shingle, produces a considerable range of wine styles in this large region” (nzwines.com). Chardonnay covers the majority of the region, but longer growing days attract a high percentage of later-ripening red grape varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon; merlot; cabernet franc; syrah, and the early ripening Pinot Noir. Though the region hasn’t broken any records for its reds to date, a number of vineyards are gaining recognition. Nobilo (Chardonnay--its Sauvignon Blanc comes from Marlborough), Babbich, and Villa Maria. These wines are reasonable in price, ranging from about $8 to $20 per bottle.

A New Zealand newcomer getting raves from the critics is Central Otago. This area is the southernmost wine-producing region in the world. Summers are hot and dry and winters are crisp and snowy. And according to winesofnz.com, “Soil structures are very different to those of New Zealand’s other regions with heavy mineral deposits in silt loams. Some of New Zealand’s very best Pinot Noir wines are produced in this region.” British wine writer Jancis Robinson named Central Otago in Decanter, alongside Napa Valley, Margaret River, Stellenbosch and Willamette, as one of the top five New World wine producing regions” (winesofnz.com). I have yet to try any of the wines from this region, but look forward to the chance. Anyway you look at it, New Zealand has plenty to offer--so, be safe and enjoy.