New Zealand: then and now by Demetri Walters MW

When I first visited New Zealand back in 2002, I developed an impression of those beautiful islands and their wine scene. That image became a template in my mind’s eye. My most recent visit, part of an Institute of Masters of Wine tour earlier this year, has changed all of that. So much has happened in recent years and nothing that I experienced the first time around really holds true now. My point is that so many of our views are based on outmoded perceptions that ultimately lead to misapprehensions. New Zealand is, perhaps for many wine drinkers, the source of refreshing and pungent Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Of course, both New Zealand and Marlborough can do so much more than that, and not just in the spectrum of that grape or the other standard bearers. 

One of these, Pinot Noir, needs little introduction. As vine ages increases and a real understanding of site selection grows in maturity, so too does the renown of New Zealand Pinot Noir. The more celebrated Pinot Noir regions, from Martinborough to the Central Otago, started to establish their various credentials quite a way back. What seems to be happening now is that consistently good producers are now producing very great wines and with an established sense of place. Those notable names such as Ata Rangi, Kusuda, Neudorf, Greystone, Rippon and Felton Road, to name but a very few, are now producing wines that are invariably excellent and that sing of where they come from.