New Zealand wines

Wine history

The missionary Samuel Marsden planted New Zealand's first vineyard at Kerikeri in 1819, and James Busby planted vines near Waitangi in the 1830s and was making wine by 1836. French Marist missionaries founded a vineyard in Hawke's Bay in 1851, now Mission Estate, the country's oldest commercial vineyard. The modern industry dates from 1973, when Montana Wines planted the first vineyards in Marlborough, followed by its first Sauvignon Blanc in 1979. In 1985 Cloudy Bay's Sauvignon Blanc won international acclaim and put New Zealand on the world wine map.

Wine regions and appellations

Vineyards stretch over both islands. In 2020 Marlborough, at the north-east tip of the South Island, held 69.6% of the planted area, Hawke's Bay 12.6% and Central Otago 4.8%. Hawke's Bay, on the North Island's east coast, makes Bordeaux-style reds and Syrah, and its Gimblett Gravels district is the best known of its subareas. Martinborough, at the southern end of the North Island, and Central Otago, inland in the far south, focus on Pinot Noir. Nelson and Canterbury's Waipara Valley grow Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay in Nelson and Riesling in Waipara. Since 2017 New Zealand has used a Geographical Indication (GI) system to protect regional names on labels.

Grapes and what to drink

Sauvignon Blanc covered about 25,160 ha in 2020, roughly two-thirds of the national vineyard, and Marlborough's version made the country's name after Cloudy Bay's success in 1985. Pinot Noir is the leading red, grown in Central Otago, Martinborough, Marlborough and Waipara. Chardonnay is planted in Marlborough and Nelson, and the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke's Bay grow Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Riesling is grown in Central Otago and Waipara, and Central Otago also grows Pinot Gris. In 2020 New Zealand made 329 million litres of wine and exported NZ$1.92 billion worth.

Wine regions of New Zealand

• Canterbury 1
• Hawke's Bay 1
• Marlborough 1
• Nelson 1
• Otago 1
• Wellington 1

Grapes of New Zealand

• Pinot Noir 5
• Sauvignon Blanc 4
• Riesling 2
• Chardonnay 2
• Syrah 1
• Merlot 1
• Cabernet Sauvignon 1
• Pinot Gris 1

Wine in New Zealand: questions and answers

Wines from other countries

• France 282
• Italy 70
• Spain 37
• Portugal 20
• United States 19
• Germany 18
• Australia 14
• Chile 10
• Argentina 9
• Austria 9
• South Africa 9
• Greece 4
• Hungary 4
• Switzerland 4