Wines from New Zealand

Wine has been produced in New Zealand for 175 years, with the oldest existing winery (Mission Estate, Hawke's Bay, North Island) dating back to 1851, but wine has really come into its own only in the last 50 years

New Zealand is so far away from anywhere that there's not even a term for the place.

Also called the 'Shaky Isles' because of the frequency of low-amplitude earthquakes, the two islands are famous for their breath-taking natural beauty - they have: 3 million people and 60 million sheep (!), the Southern Alps (Mt Cook is over 12,000 feet - Sir Edmund Hillary came from New Zealand), and in 2012 they produced 218 million litres of wine (and exported 160 million). To put things in perspective, the total wine consumption in all of India in 2012 (including a lot of stuff that is barely wine) was only about 18 million litres!

Wine has been produced in New Zealand for 175 years, with the oldest existing winery (Mission Estate, Hawke's Bay, North Island) dating back to 1851. However, the early settlers were mostly from England and preferred whisky of beer, so wine has really come into its own in just the last 50 years: today there are some 700 wineries spread out over 10 wine-producing regions, and nearly 85 per cent of all wine produced is white, with Sauvignon Blanc alone being 50 per cent of the total. So what's so great about wines from New Zealand?

For one, the Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region (South Island) is unlike any in the world - Indians would recognise its pungent aroma as ripe guava, westerners term it "green capsicum, gooseberry, passion fruit". First made world famous by Cloudy Bay, the aroma just leaps out of the glass, while the wine itself tends to be crisp, balanced, and delightful to drink!

For another, their Pinot Noirs are fast re-defining the standard for modestly-priced but elegant and high-quality reds - and giving Burgundies a run for their money. While the best Burgundies are still untouchable, they are also impossibly expensive: a Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2005 sells for US $3,000 per bottle (okay, Wine Spectator gives it 100 points), while the highest-priced Pinots from Central Otago (South Island) are from Felton Road: 93 - 95 points, priced at between $63 and $80 per bottle.

Then there is the Hawke's Bay wine region in North Island, which is relatively warmer and drier, and which is where the classical red wine grapes (Cab Sauv, Merlot, and Shiraz/Syrah) produce fruity but complex and well-structured wines that are very drinkable - the Craggy Range Le Sole Gimblett Gravels 2009 is 93 points and retails at $100.

The best-known wineries from New Zealand include Cloudy Bay, Brancott Estate, Hunter's, Saint Clair, and Herzog from Marlborough; Craggy Range, Mission Estate, and Te Mata from Hawke's Bay; and Villa Maria, Babich, and Waipara Springs from elsewhere.

Wines I've been drinking: Naturally one of the best-value wines from New Zealand - the Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (88 points, Rs 2,620 in Bangalore). The wine has the classic aroma of ripe guavas (ok, blackcurrant, passion fruit, gooseberry, and grapefruit) and is crisp, medium-bodied and balanced, with a good lingering finish. A brilliant match for light salads and seafood cooked in a continental style, and good to quaff on its own as an aperitif.

Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant