Recent years have been ones to savour for Central Otago - pinot noir’s New Zealand poster girl and a good place to celebrate. DAN HUTCHINSON reviews Central Otago wine making.

After two years in the cold, Central Otago wine growers have fire in their bellies, a great 2006 vintage to savour and a lot to look forward to.

Frost affected the 2004 season while poor weather and flowering affected the 2005 harvest - but the demons were put to rest in spectacular style for 2006.

The crucial '06 spring period further frayed the nerves of local growers who were called out on many different occasions to battle frost.

The local industry is continuing to mature in knowledge and size with an estimated 2000ha now planted. President of Central Otago Wine Growers Association, Martin Anderson, says 2006 was an outstanding vintage both in terms of quality and in quantity. He expected the next harvest to be normal with quantities rising from 2005 on the back of new plantings and developing vineyards.

The good fortune for the latest vintage was a combination of early bud burst, fruit set and harvesting and resulted in maximum returns from the relatively small but unique Central Otago industry.

“It has also been beneficial to a number of newly established plantings and it makes up for two very challenging harvests.”

He said 2004 was a very difficult year with a number of people caught by surprise. This year, growers were prepared and had mounted more than 15 separate battles against frost.

Last season, Central Otago produced 6500 tonnes of grapes and even a less-than-bumper season should see volumes rise again this year. Over the next five years, tonnages are expected to double from the region.

“Volumes are increasing and the challenge for us is to sell it and we are heavily promoting Central Otago as a brand.

The growth in the region has also seen Central Otago recognised in legislation as a separate geographic wine growing area.

Specialising in pinot noir, the region is now focusing on branding itself and establishing its own unique identity in the world of wine.

The spectacular scenery helps achieve a special brand but at the end of the day it is the wines that must turn heads quickest. A number of notable successes have been achieved by local wine makers over the past year.

Wooing Tree Vineyards won the Fairfax Media Champion Open Red Wine Trophy at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards with its 2005 Pinot Noir this year.

A liberal sprinkling of gold, silver and bronze has also affirmed accolades for the produce of the deep south.

A company called Central Otago Pinot Noir Ltd has been set up to focus on branding the region.

Particular success is being achieved by Central Otago wines in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. Asia is also emerging as a big market with lots of wine companies attending shows and receiving good orders.

More than 15 Central Otago wines were on the lips of those attending the Wine For Asia Show earlier this year.

Internally, the geographically lonely New Zealand wine region is also having fun and Queenstown fun is the best to be had.

January’s Pinot Noir Festival was the usual red-blooded affair with the region’s most spectacular vineyards on show and several days of workshops and tours to savour.

The region is also exporting its staff with three scholarships handed out to up and coming local wine workers. They spent five weeks in Burgundy sampling the industry and the information sharing continues next year with a return visit from the French.

The small town of Cromwell is showing obvious signs of economic growth as vineyards in the area expand and new sites are developed. It has become the centre of the local industry and significant industrial projects and new wineries are the result.

The most significant project underway at the moment is the conversion of a mothballed meat works into a winery.

Another development, McArthur Ridge, is a 666ha site on the outskirts of Alexandra where 55 lots are being sold to mix lifestyle and wine. Each lot will include a 5ha vineyard along with the building site.

Vineyards are developing at the greatest rate on both sides of Lake Dunstan and in the Gibbston Valley.

However, growth will inevitably slow down in the Central Otago area with so few sites to choose from. Unlike the more temperate swathes of Marlborough grape land, growers in Central Otago must do some serious homework before deciding on a suitable block of land.

Soil type, temperature and tendency to frost are the main limiting factors in the further development of Central Otago . It is getting harder and harder to find those small pockets of suitable land,” Anderson said.

 

Central Otago : Wine Fact File

• Nestled into four distinct areas, Central Otago is the coolest of the New Zealand cool climate wine regions.
   

• Central is ranked seventh in terms of quantity produced. The distinct areas are the Cromwell Basin where 70 per cent of the crop is grown, Gibbston, Clyde and Alexandra and Wanaka.

• Although Wanaka makes up only three per cent of the vineyards in Central Otago , they are arguably the most photographed vines anywhere in the world. 

• Central Otago's wine industry is more than 125 years old. French pioneer Charles Feraud planted a vineyard in the late 1880s. He used to show his wines in Australia and his winery still stands today. It took more than 100 years for everyone else to catch up with the popularity of vineyards starting to grow in the 1980s. Pinot noir exports grew 55 per cent in the year to July 2006, overtaking chardonnay as New Zealand’s second most exported wine style. Seventy percent of Central Otago’s production is pinot noir but it also produces chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling.

• Central Otago has the greatest climatic extremes of any wine growing region in New Zealand. Grapes are grown at altitudes of up to 400 metres. As a result harvest does not occur until April, six weeks later than North Island vineyards.

• There are 92 growers in Central Otago and 21 wineries. Together they produced 6000 tonnes of wine this year.

Wine and the Wooing Tree

When it comes to conceiving the best result first time up, The Wooing Tree has it hands down.

So-called because of its historic, romantic connections with some Cromwell people and their parents, The Wooing Tree sits in the middle of a vineyard of the same name.

In its first year of wine production its pinot noir (2005) won a gold medal and this year’s Trophy for best red wine at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

The fledgling vineyard with just 16ha planted in the Cromwell area won a host of other awards, including a gold medal at the New Zealand International Wine Show.

It received five stars and second top pinot in Cuisine Magazine and Five Stars in Michael Cooper’s latest buyers guide.

The vineyard is family owned by Steve and Thea Farquharson and Steve’s sister and brother-in-law Jane and Geoff Bews.
Mr Farquharson said 2005 was their first vintage and he could not have asked for a better start. Fortunately, production was not lost from the two previous seasons that plagued the Central Otago region.

The wine is 100 per cent sourced from Wooing Tree vineyards and the only headache from this wine could be meeting the demand.

Wines are made at Central Otago’s largest and newest winery, VinPro situated at Cromwell. The winemaker is Carol Bun.

Situated right on the intersection of State Highway 8 and 6, the vineyard lends itself to a mix of wine and tourism.

“The vineyards are taking off and the town is taking off and it has a lot to do with vineyards and tourism,” Farquharson said.   

The company sells to a variety of customers in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Asia is a market they are also developing.

“The awards have made a huge difference but it is too early to say how we will go on supply and demand.”

This year, Farquharson has had a busy time of it with numerous early morning missions brought about by frost. Wind machines are banned close to Cromwell but water protection has saved the season so far.

(Article compiled December 06).