WINE-COUNTRIES NEW ZEALAND

Vineyard area: 6 thousand hectares

Total production: 416 thousand hectolitres

Annual consumption
total: 436 thousand hectolitres
per capita: 12.8 litres

Exports: 73 thousand hectolitres

Imports: 85 thousand hectolitres

Principal grape varieties: chardonnay, chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, müller-thurgau,sauvignon blanc, pinot nero, cabernet sauvignon

New Zealand is a cool climate wine producing country that experiences considerable vintage variation. Since 1991 the country's winemakers have been on a roller-coaster ride that has plummeted to the depths of a small, difficult cool vintage experienced in 1993 and risen to the heights of a warm and prolific vintage such as 1991. It must be remembered that the New Zealand wine regions span a latitude of 1,500 kilometres with considerable variation from region to region. It is angerous to generalise about the quality of the "national vintage". In 1993, when the South Island region of Marlborough was experiencing its worst ever vintage, Auckland had one of its best vintages on record.

The national average tonnage of grapes per hectare since 1991 was: 1991 - 4.3 tonnes, 1992 - 9,6 tonnes, 1993 - 6.8 tonnes, and 1994 - 9 tonnes. 1992 and 1993 suffered from the cooling effects of the ash from the Indonesian volcano, Mt. Pinutabo, as well as the cooling effect of the weather condition known as El Nino.

It should also be noted that some of the decrease may be attributed to a trend away from high yielding varieties such as Müller-Thurgau, in favour of lower cropping varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The effect of phylloxera may also have effected productivity. Nearly half the country's vines are not grafted onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock and many are now being attacked by the root louse.

The importation of bulk wine from Australia to supply the lower-quality winecask market is another feature of New Zealand's wine market. The nation's winemakers are becoming specialists in quality wine production, a strategic move which will ultimately enhance the international image of New Zealand wine.

Although the eight litre per capita consumption figure is minuscule by international standards, the total wine consumption is nearly twice that figure, thanks to a sizeable level of imported wine. Around 80 per cent of New Zealand's imported wine was, however, bulk wine from Australia and Spain.

New Zealanders may not be drinking more wine but they are certainly making more of it. In 1994 the number of winemakers increased by around 25 per cent as 31 mostly small "life style" producers released their first wine onto an increasingly crowded market. The country's growing international image and a high demand for export wines had encouraged many to become wine producers while the emergence of contract winemaking facilities has given grape growers the chance to become winemakers without having to invest in equipment.

New Zealand's total vineyard area of 6,000 hectares will increase by one-third when land which has recently been purchased for vineyard use becomes fully productive. Successful export expansion depends on the potential to expand the UK export market and to find new markets. New Zealand's Wine Institute is working hard to achieve both objectives to provide an assured market for the future production of New Zealand wine.