History

The winemaking industry in New Zealand may have begun in 1819, when the first vines were planted on North Island. It may have begun in 1836, when an Australian winemaker made New Zealands first wine. Or it may have begun in 1873, when the country produced its first wine for commercial purposes. Any way you look at it, winemaking in New Zealand was extraordinarily slow to develop.

When phylloxera devastated the countrys vines at the end of the 1800s, New Zealand approached the problem differently than other countries. Instead of grafting their own vines onto American rootstock, they simply planted American vines and used American grapes to produce New Zealand wine.

In addition, New Zealand growers were permitted to add both sugar and water to wines to increase volume and compensate for underripe grapes. American vines and these questionable practices produced wine of such poor quality that, for much of the 20th century, most of the wine drunk in New Zealand was actually imported from Australia.

As if that wasnt bad enough, New Zealand barely rejected a law mandating the national prohibition of alcohol in 1919. Although prohibition was never established, the government discouraged alcohol consumption in a variety of ways. Through the 1950s, wine could not be sold in shops or in restaurants, and it wasnt until 1990 that supermarkets were finally allowed to sell wine.

The situation began to brighten in the 1970s, when growers started to place more of an emphasis on quality. Hardy grapes were replaced with superior vinfera varieties, and the government finally put limits on the amount of water that growers could add to wine. Local interest and government subsides led to an explosion of production, and exports soon became a major market.

Today, New Zealands wine industry is thriving. In 1990, New Zealand exported only 9% of its wine. By 2002, that number had climbed to 66%. New Zealand wines are sold and prized throughout the world, and New Zealand winemakers can finally put themselves on the same level as their Australian neighbors. New Zealand produces primarily Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, and is especially famous for the grassy aromas and the grapefruit tang of its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.