More to New Zealand White Wine than Sauvignon Blanc

“You have only to look at the way the Kiwis have handled Covid to see why their wine industry is such a success: clear, focused and decisive,” Guardian wine critic Fiona Beckett writes. And, “there are more strings to New Zealand’s bow” than sauvignon blanc, Beckett says.

“I’d say the two highlights are chardonnay and pinot noir, though the country’s winemakers also do a great job with aromatic varieties such as pinot gris, riesling, gewürztraminer and, more recently, grüner veltliner and albariño (87 per cent of the country’s production is white wine.

“New Zealand has also been an early adopter of new approaches to viticulture and winemaking that have since become commonplace elsewhere … if there’s a trend, the Kiwis are on top of it,” Beckett writes.

“For a country that accounts for a minuscule 1 per cent of world wine production, it’s an impressive achievement, not least because the average value of a bottle of New Zealand wine in the UK is currently £7.43, as opposed to £6.09 for the market as a whole. They’re smart, those Kiwis.”

Original article by Fiona Beckett, The Guardian, March 19, 2021.

Photo by Jon Moore.