WHAT A SHAME

It seems to me that the potential of the New Zealand wine industry is in chains (and going into the pockets of grocers).

New Zealand, to the wine word is pretty much unique.
Whilst there are a lot of grapes and wine styles that may never do well here (usually those requiring very hot and dry climates like Sherry, Port, Grenache etc), most of the classical 'first tier' styles either have already found a place or are showing promise from being produced here.

Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted, most sold, most consumed and most exported but it is at best only second tier.

Fist tier grapes and wine styles like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah and the various Bordeaux varietals are proving them selves to the point where we are getting international recognition if not at this point actual sales.

The reason that a lot of these classical wine styles do well here is that they usually perform best in 'cool climates' Cool climate doesn't mean cold climate so don't expect a Scandinavian claret too soon. Cool climate wines require: lots of sunshine; dry growing conditions with access to lots of water at crucial times; warm temperatures during the day; cool temperatures at night; dry picking season.
New Zealand's best growing areas provide most or all of these conditions, especially Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Central Otago and Waipara.

The reason that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc does so well and virtually cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world is the abundant sunshine, dry stony soils and cooling maritime winds that give fully ripe grapes and alcoholic wine but with a refreshingly green acidic base. Other countries either have to pick the grapes early to get the greenness and therefore don't get the ripeness and alcohol or they just don't ripen enough anyway.

Chardnnay, Syrah, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Noir, all, in their best defined growing areas can be superb and have the potential to be world beaters.

Good news?

Well it has been encouraging but there are two or three critical factors that jeopardise this.

First there is our predominance of Sauvignon Blanc. This has been great in putting us on the map regards wine supply and recognition but has attracted a lot of volume planting to the point where, in good years, supply can outstrip demand. This leads to discounting and bulk exports which have the effect of diluting Brand New Zealand.

Another problem is the strong New Zealand dollar which inhibits export growth. If our wines are not being exported, to compete in a small domestic market they have to be specialled. In the domestic New Zealand market the two supermarket chains have a very unhealthy market share so they play one wine producer off against another driving prices way down. When prices are down there is little incentive to invest in producing good wine with the commercial necessity to churn out cheap junk.

As Brand New Zealand gets diluted and we gain a reputation for producing ever more cheap Sauvignon Blanc it makes it harder for an international market to grow for our Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the other varietals. Sure, there are many instances of New Zealand Pinot Noir, Syrah and even Bordeaux blends getting international recognition but these are generally isolated and as yet there is not a big demand for the offerings.
With limited outlets for these in the domestic market the potential, at this point of time, is being limited.
This is happening at a time when other big exporting countries are reinventing themselves. Countries like Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina and even France are investing and improving their offerings on a scale that hasn't been seen before.

What shame.