Since the 1970’s New Zealand has increasingly become a more well known origin of distinctive and quality wines. Throughout the whole region of New Zealand one can find an abundance of wineries. With a year round abundance of temperate climate conditions, New Zealand is a perfect location for growing healthy grapes. But the growing process has not always been easy.
A country noted for growing Kiwi and apples, grape cultivation has been a bit more of a challenge. The country’s struggle to offer quality and variety that can compete with the other wine regions of the world has been a process of testing styles of production, aging and grape types, as wine growing is not native to New Zealand. Through an extended process of corrections and adaptations New Zealand wine has emerged finally as a strong competitor in the wine industry on the global scene. Presently, the country produces a wide variety of Bordeaux’s, Merlot’s, Cabernet’s and Pinot Noir’s.
For New Zealand the wine producing industry has been a cultivation event. Due to the country’s climate certain types of grapes have been difficult. Because of this, quality wine production has been a slow process. Wines have been created over years and through much trial and error. The rewards have been ample however as New Zealand has finally made its mark on the wine industry. The country now produces high quality wines throughout most of the island. New Zealand wines have been noted as distinctive with the flavors being described as “distinct earthy, mineral and wild thyme notes”, “notable for ripeness and fruitiness” and “fruit-driven and with restrained oak subtleties.”
For such a small country having fifteen different wine regions is a bit of an anomaly. There are however some variations in soil and climate that make production of certain grapes more advantageous in the country’s diverse wine offerings. Over the years the rise of New Zealand wine has spanned the island country. In more recent years their wineries have expanded into the production of some classic sparkling wines as well which have been quite successful, thereby establishing a name in this area as well.
Overall, the last forty years has seen a solid increase in New Zealand’s wine production. The qualifying process of defining soil types, grape variations and weather resistance has been indeed a process for wine producers. However New Zealand has bore this process with pride and now stands among the other great countries that produce top quality distinctive wines unique to their own region of the world.
