New Zealand
The Islands of New Zealand
New Zealand is a young country, being populated by the Maori only about a thousand years ago.
The Maori called New Zealand, Aotearoa or “The Land of the Long White Cloud”. Europeans did not “discover” New Zealand until the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman arrived in 1642. His stay was quite brief and it was not until after James Cook arrived in 1769 that regular European contact was developed with the onset of whaling and sealing industries.
The British Government claimed sovereignty of New Zealand on February 6th, 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which recognized the rights of the Maori people in New Zealand.
Today New Zealand is a Nation unto itself and remains a member of the British Commonwealth.
New Zealand is an island country composed of two main land masses, the North Island and South island with many smaller islands included, most notably Stewart, Cook and Chatham Islands.
New Zealand has a land mass of about 103,000 square miles and a population of just over four million people. Of the two major inlands, the South Island is larger, more rugged in topography with the Southern Alps ranging along its west coast. Mount Cook is located in the Southern Alps and as New Zealand highest mountain reaches to 12,320 feet. New Zealand is geographically isolated in the South Pacific approximately 1250 miles southeast of Australia and is quite different from Australia in climate and indigenous plants and animals.
If you are interested in signing up to receive our newsletter when it is released, please click here.
The South Island
A Beach near Dunedin
Walter Peak
The Region Of Central Otago
Legend
Lake Wanaka Region
Gibbston Valley
Cromwell Basin
Alexandra
In the northern hemisphere, the 45° North parallel runs through the northern Rhône Valley. At first glance there does not seem to be much in common with these two growing areas, but the one notable connection is wine.
Many consumers are aware of the fine wines of the Rhône Valley, while the Central Otago region of New Zealand is just beginning to make a presence on the world wine stage. Only 20 years ago the Rhône valley was also fairly unknown in international wine circles.
Early pioneers of the Central Otago area were soundly criticized for suggesting that world quality wine could be produced in this most southern growing area. Today this criticism has been replaced by accolades for high quality wines that have earned it's place in the world market, winning top awards in many international competitions. With soil composition consisting mainly of schist and silt loam, this low fertility ground has proved immensely successful for grape growing.
Most new plantings are Pinot Noir clones, making Central Otago an area of Pinot specialists. Still, other grape varieties such as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling are also enjoying a return to popularity, providing the area with depth and selection of fine wines.
With dry, warm summer days, and cool nights, a day-night temperature swing that is often over 25 degrees, Central Otago provides a climate for the production of grapes containing a near perfect balance of sugars and acids, creating wines with wonderful complexity, depth and tannin structure. Try some and see if you don't agree with us!
Note of Interest: The Remarkables and Cecil Peak is the area where J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings" was filmed. The land of Mordor is just beyond. This is truly a remarkable area!
The climate of Central Otago is continental. The southern most part of the island is wider than the rest of the mountainous island which contributes to a climate that is more typically found in the interior of a large continent.
Continental climates have a wider swing of daily temperatures than do coastal climates. This means the days are hotter and the nights colder than any other part of the island, save for the high peaks.
Central Otago is a mountainous region surrounded by rain forests and coastal areas. Central Otago is the only true continental climate in the entire country. This uniquely qualifies this region for growing fine Pinot Noir grapes as well as a host of other fine grapes including Chardonnays.
Rainfall varies between 220 inches per year at Milford Sound to about 30 inches in Dunedin.
Kawarau Gorge
Lake Wakatipu And Queenstown
The Remarkables and Cecil Peak
The Region Of Marlborough
When the first Marlborough vines were planted in 1973 few people predicted that the region would become New Zealand’s largest and best known winegrowing area in little more than 20 years. The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavours of the first wines captured the imagination of the country’s winemakers and wine drinkers alike and sparked an unparalleled boom in vineyard development.
Worldwide interest in Marlborough wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, has continued to fuel that regional wine boom. The free-draining, alluvial loams over gravelly subsoils in the Wairau and Awatere River valleys provides ideal growing conditions.
Abundant sunshine with cool nights and a long growing season helps to build and maintain the vibrant fruit flavours for which Marlborough is now 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.
The Region Of Hawkes Bay
Hawkes Bay is the country’s second largest region and has a respected 100 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. There are 22 categories of soil types on the Heretaunga Plains alone, from stones to hard pans to heavy silts.
Ripening dates for a single grape variety can vary by as much as three weeks between the hot, shingle soils of the Gimblett Gravels area to the cool, higher altitude vineyards of central Hawkes Bay.
Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape variety but the long sunshine hours attract a high percentage of later ripening red grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, as well as the early ripening Pinot Noir.
Map of New Zealand
This Web Page © Copyright Dec 2010 Station Imports Inc. Phone: 719.633.2184