Want to try something new, and not already a member? Come on your own, grab a friend, workmate or partner and join us for our next tasting. Take a look and see who's presenting. Scroll down to view the website.
The Albarino Brothers – Ant Saunders, Ollie Powrie and Shaye Bird – have launched their Gisborne 2024 Albarino wine. Photo / Richard Brimer
The Albarino Brothers launched their Gisborne 2024 Albarino wine at a function in the city yesterday.
Ollie Powrie, Shaye Bird and Ant Saunders are three friends connected through wine. They are not at all related.
The men conceived what they describe as a “passion project”, a wine using 100% Gisborne-grown Albarino grapes. The 2024 version is a historic first for the trio.
“We’re all passionate about the quality and potential of the wine,” they said. “It’s a crisp, refreshing and tangy dry white wine that has already been described as the ‘it’ wine for this coming summer.”
A wine industry spokesman said the Albarino grape variety had an affinity to Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions – sharing characteristics with the variety’s native home in northwestern Spain and Portugal.
“The slightly warmer nights are perfect to tame the natural high acidity of the variety, and having evolved in a marine climate, the grape is very resistant to humidity and rain coming in from the ocean.”
Powrie said: ”All said and done, this means that Gisborne was an ideal place from which to source a world-class wine.”
Gisborne grapegrowers Doug and Delwyn Bell played a role in the development of the Albarino variety in New Zealand more than a decade ago.
The Albarino Brothers launch was held at Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club.
New Zealand Winegrowers congratulates Stuart Smith MP and Parliament on the passing of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Winery Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill following its third reading. “These changes will make a difference”, says Philip Gregan, Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers. “The Bill brings legislation on winery cellar doors into the 21st Century. It recognises the contribution made by winery cellar doors to the tourism offering in New Zealand’s wine regions and enables wineries to charge for providing their tourism experience”.
Philip said “It is positive that the legislation will be in force ahead of the busy summer season, which was one of our requests to the Select Committee when hearing submissions on the Bill. We thank them for the timely consideration of the Private Members Bill.”
The changes allow winery cellar doors with an off-license to charge for providing samples of wine, which were previously only able to be given away for free, making it difficult for wineries to cover the costs of providing these experiences.
Philip said “During the submission process the Select Committee heard directly from our members that this change will help them to cover their costs and encourage other members to open new winery cellar doors that would otherwise have not been an economic proposition. We expect this change will create new jobs and new tourism experiences to encourage visitor growth”. Winery cellar doors will continue to observe host responsibility practices, including a maximum sample size of 35ml, meeting the new requirements to have snack food available for purchase and for water to be freely available.
“The robust consideration by the Select Committee and Parliament means these changes will have a positive and lasting impact on New Zealand’s regional wine tourism experiences. We welcome all visitors to one of the 250 plus winery cellar doors and wine tourism experiences throughout New Zealand.”
University of Otago food science senior lecturer Dr Biniam Kebede has been awarded $300,000 in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to carry out a new research project aimed at protecting New Zealand’s wine industry from fraud. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN
As food fraud continues to grow around the world, Otago researchers have begun a ground-breaking project aimed at protecting the New Zealand wine industry from imposters.
University of Otago food science senior lecturer Dr Biniam Kebede is developing an artificial intelligence-powered hyperspectral imaging technique to test wine authenticity and traceability — all without opening the bottle.
The portable cutting-edge initiative aims to strengthen the industry’s integrity, combat fraud and ensure product safety.
There was a growing food fraud problem across all commodities, Dr Kebede said.
“That issue has also been increasing after Covid-19 because there is less control, supply chain disruptions — all those things.
“One of the most common forms of food fraud is geographical origin fraud, where a wine from one country could be claimed to be from another country.”
New Zealand wine was well known for its good quality and unique flavour, so consumers were willing to pay a higher price for it.
“Some people will take advantage of that, so we have to protect that.
“Geographical origin fraud can severely impact a brand’s reputation and market trust.”
One of the ways to check where a wine was from was to taste it or do a chemical analysis on it, he said.
It was a well-established method, but it meant opening the bottle.
“You can’t sell it once you’ve done that.
“So, we are trying to leverage advancements in imaging methods, like hyperspectral imaging.
“There are a number of imaging methods which you can use to analyse the contents without opening the bottle.
“You basically shine infrared light through the bottle, and it will give very complex imaging data, which is where artificial intelligence and deep learning will be used.”
The main part of the research was to create an imaging database of existing New Zealand wines, so it could be used to verify the authenticity of other wines claiming to be from New Zealand.
“We want to focus on protecting the integrity, the traceability and the origin of the product.
“The development of effective techniques for ensuring food integrity has broad national and global benefits.
“It strengthens the economy, enhances market reputation and boosts consumer confidence and premium pricing.”
Similar research had been used to verify the authenticity of coffees, Dr Kebede said.
The project was recently awarded $300,000 in Catalyst funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance.
The project brings together leading research institutes and industry stakeholders from the University of Otago, AgResearch, Oritain and China-based company Sinolight Technology Innovation Centre Ltd.
Mission Estate winemaker Paul Mooney retires after 45 years
After a 45+ year tenure, we have farewelled our famed winemaker, Paul Mooney.
How do you sum up a career that long? Paul has been here since 1979 and has seen numerous changes within the industry and Mission itself.
He has always loved innovation in wine and has been deeply involved in sustainability in the winery. We are 60% more water efficient and 67% more energy efficient than other like-sized NZ wineries, making Mission an industry leader.
If forced to pick one, Paul feels that 2009 was his favourite vintage. It is no coincidence that the 2009 Jewelstone Cabernet Merlot blend (now known as ‘Antoine’) received outstanding reviews, culminating in the infamous tasting led by Lisa Perotti-Brown MV, held in Hong Kong in 2011.
Jewelstone ‘Antoine’ came third in the line-up which included five French First Growths valued at thousands of dollars a bottle.
Paul is a treasured person around Mission, and we wish him well for his next chapter of history in the making.
Having worked alongside Paul for the past 13 years EIT graduate Alex Roper is now relishing the challenge of honouring his legacy, expertly assisted by Jillian Meier and the wider team.
This expertise, passion and dedication are the foundations of Mission’s excellence. The team is excited to be continuing to make history in the Mission spirit.
Along with its famous pinot noir, the region also produces excellent riesling wines CREDIT: Getty
The world’s most southerly commercial wine region, Central Otago produces pinot noir considered among the finest on earth.
There are plenty of reasons people from all over the world make the long journey to the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island.
The majestic, jaw-dropping scenery for one – Mount Cook, Milford Sound, the Southern Alps, glaciers and turquoise lakes – and the many opportunities for hiking, kayaking, climbing and (eek) bungy jumping.
I travelled there recently with another main aim – to visit the wineries of the world’s most southerly commercial vine-growing region, Central Otago. To the east of the Southern Alps, close to popular Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu, the Central Otago vines cling to a rugged, rocky terrain. Winemaking only took off here in the 1990s.
Sheltered by the mountains, it’s very arid with hardly any top soil on the foothills, and the weather can be harsh, wind whistling through the vineyards and frosts striking at almost any time of year.
But vines that have to work hard can make the very best of wines, and the nuanced, beautifully balanced pinot noir eked out in this region is considered among the finest in the world.
Mount Cook National Park is home to some jaw-dropping scenery CREDIT: Getty
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor, owns and is based at his winery Two Paddocks in Alexandra, Central Otago. The most hands-on of “celebrity winemakers”, he tells me half-jokingly that “rational people shouldn’t make wine here”.
‘But,’ he continues, ‘I’ve learned that to produce great pinot, you have to teeter on the edge of viability.’
There’s certainly huge complexity in the region’s hard-won pinots: savoury, spicy notes, a whiff of violets and smoke and something woody-herbal, redolent of the scrubby wild thyme bushes that cling to the hillsides all around.
It’s not just pinot that makes an impact here. Chardonnay and pinot gris can impress but my favourite whites from the region are its Rieslings, usually dry and intensely flavoured with super-fresh citrus and orchard fruit. If you love German, Austrian and Australian Riesling, you really need to try these most southerly ones.
Although very few Central Otago wines make it into the major retailers (the region only produces 3% of New Zealand’s wines), plenty of independent merchants stock a few.
They’re not cheap, as you might expect from a small region with very low-yielding vineyards, but I think the best rank comfortably alongside those from the traditional, long-established vineyard areas of the world.
Peregrine Riesling 2022, Central Otago 12%, Great Wine, £28.85 | $32.00NZD Compelling and beautifully balanced organic riesling, almost dry, and aromatic with lime and lemongrass character and a very succulent long finish. The incisive acidity points to a good “ager”, although it’s delicious now, especially with white fish ceviche.
Two Paddocks Picnic Riesling 2022, Central Otago 12%, ndjohn.co.uk, £19.95; Harvey Nichols, £23 | $36.00NZD Actor Sam Neill’s organic Picnic Riesling is shot through with zesty citrus, and there are notes of green apple and pear too. It’s slightly off-dry and that dab of honey makes it a great match for ham, pork pies and mild cheeses (picnic food then) as well as seafood.
Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, Waitrose, £29.99 | $47NZD Bursting with juicy red fruits, especially red cherries, this is nonetheless much more than a sweet “fruit bomb” of a wine, with savoury, earthy and spicy complexity and ending dry. Its texture is sublimely soft and silky. I’d drink this with medium-rare duck breast.
Rockburn Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, strictlywine.co.uk, £38.50 | From $49NZD Down to £29.99 while stocks last, minimum three bottles Rockburn is one to watch. Named after the craggy landscape and with Felton Road ex-winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis at the helm, its wines are distinctively elegant and poised. This fresh, vivacious pinot offers a beguiling aroma of cherries, violets and tart raspberries. Good offer too.
Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022, Central Otago 14%, Lea & Sandeman, £47.50 | $67NZD Felton Road owns some of the oldest vineyards in the region, dating back to the 1990s, and is part-owned by Englishman Nigel Greening. Its near-cult status is due to pinots like this – inky purple and super-smooth, rich with ripe blackberries and a seam of chocolate, with a dash of woody herbs, especially thyme. Organic, too. Deserves a fine steak.
The wine pictured in the glass urn. / Credit: Juan Manuel Román
Archaeologists have found an urn of wine that is more than 2,000 years old, making it the “oldest wine ever discovered,” researchers said in a new study. The glass funerary urn was found in a Roman tomb in Carmona, Spain, that archaeologists first uncovered in 2019.
A team of chemists at the University of Cordoba recently identified the wine as having been preserved since the first century, researchers said in a study published June 16 in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The discovery bested the previous record held by a Speyer wine bottle discovered in 1867 that dated back to the fourth century.
The urn was used in a funerary ritual that involved two men and two women. As part of the ritual, the skeletal remains of one of the men was immersed in the wine. While the liquid had acquired a reddish hue, a series of chemical tests determined that, due to the absence of a certain acid, the wine was, in fact, white.
“At first we were very surprised that liquid was preserved in one of the funerary urns,” Juan Manuel Román, the city of Carmona’s municipal archaeologist, said in a news release.
Despite millennia having passed, the tomb had been well-sealed, and its conditions were therefore extraordinarily intact, protected from floods and leaks, which allowed the wine to maintain its natural state, researchers said. “Most difficult to determine was the origin of the wine, as there are no amples from the same period with which to compare it,” the news release said. Still, it was no coincidence that the man’s remains were found in the wine. According to the study, women in ancient Rome were prohibited from drinking wine.
“It was a man’s drink,” the release said. “And the two glass urns in the Carmona tomb are elements illustrating Roman society’s gender divisions in its funerary rituals.”
Wine News by Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen – Robb Report – also known as the World Wine Guys, are wine spirits, food and travel writers, educators and hosts.
Sparkling Wine Will Break Free of the Holidays
The Wine Press has been saying this for years, but it looks like consumers are finally embracing the idea that Champagne and other sparkling wines are not only for special occasions and holidays. Expect to see a lot more of your friends ordering a glass of Champagne or popping a bottle open at home at regular dinners and get-togethers, not just celebrations.
The Coming Bubble Boom will have people looking beyond Champagne
RAY MASSEY/GETTY
The increased demand for sparkling wine means that we’re all going to be drinking a vriety of styles and regions, including Spanish Cava; Italian Franciacorta, Trentodoc and Prosecco; and California sparkling. Wine bars, restaurants and shops will also be offering more renditions of ‘pet-nat’, a natural sparkler than can be from anywhere wine is made.
Rosé is Going Haute
Drinking Rosé throughout the year has gone from tend to permanent status and we will see more and more premium offerings entering the market. We’ve been expecting to see luxury competition for pioneers in the space such as Domaine Ott, Château d’Esclans and Gérard Bertrand for some time, and LVMH’s major investment in Château Minuty earlier this year sealed the deal as far as we’re concerned. Expanded – and pricier – Rosé selections are on their way to a restaurant near you.
Expect Italy to Heat Up the Auction Block
WILK
We tapped Nick Pegna, Sotheby’s global head of wine and spirits, for his thoughts, and he in turn polled some of the auction house’s younger specialists to see what they’re hearing about new bright spots in the wine sphere. According to Pegna, Piedmont is on its way up in the auction world, so look to see more Barolo and Barbaresco. We’ve been hearing a lot about (and tasting plenty of) Brunello as well, so keep an eye on Italy’s three B’s.
Connoisseurs Will Have Better Options for Low and No-Alcohol Wines
As Dry January, Sober October, ‘Mindful Drinking’ and well, just drinking less persist in their upward climb, no and low alcohol wine will continue to grow as well. Many people stop drinking temporarily for numerous reasons that include pregnancy, medication regimes or training for a marathon or triathlon, yet they still want to enjoy the social aspect of having a glass of wine with friends.
Although at the onset the category was flooded with low quality dealcoholized bulk wine, we are seeing a growth in single vineyard offerings from well-known regions.
You’ll Be Hearing More About Carbon Footprints
The future of the wine industry is in peril due to rising summer temperatures and unstable weather patterns, and many producers are taking it upon themselves to sound the alarm and become changemakers. Expect to see an increase in the number of back labels talking about sustainability, low water utilization, and regenerative farming, and don’t be surprised when even top icon wines start using lighter-weight bottles to reduce the impact of freight shipping and material usage.
Younger wine drinkers are driving the movement toward transparency on this front.
White Wine’s Upswing Is Nigh
While it was thought for many years that serious wine drinkers only drink red wine, it is now obvious that for multiple reasons white wine is finally starting to be treated with equal respect. A lot of attention is being paid to white Burgundy, Napa, and Sonoma Chardonnay, the whites of the Rhône Valley, and Riesling and other aromatic varieties from Germany, Austria, Alsace, and Alto Adige in Italy. And we’re seeing a rise in interest in premium white wine from Spain, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, New Zealand, and other Italian regions. As much as we love our steak and Cabernet Sauvignon, since we all are moving toward a lighter style of eating—at least occasionally—we are going to see our wine choices change to match.
Two Words Collide – June NZ House & Garden
If you can’t decide between wine or beer, check out Garage Project’s Savoir Faire Pinot Noir Raspberry ’18. It’s a beer/wine hybrid, made from hand-harvested Marlborough pinot noir grapes, lightly crushed, added to a specially brewed malt wort and allowed to ferment for a week before being aged in oak wine barrels then rested on fresh raspberries. 750ml $35 from garageproject.co.nz.
Something Different – July NZ House & Garden
SOUTHERN CHARMS: New to the gin game, Bluff Distillery draws inspiration from the spirit of New Zealand’s southernmost town, making gin that reflects the essence of Bluff – ‘clean, bold and unapologetically authentic’. The London Dry-style gin comes in a custom bottle in the shape of an old glass buoy, a symbol of the maritime heritage that defines this tiny town. 700ml $89.85 from bluffdistillery.com.
ROCKIN’ VERMOUTH: Central Otago distillery Scapegrace has teamed up with its wine-making neighbours, Profhet’s Rock, to produce Scapegrace x Prophet’s Rock Vermouth, available in red and white. Mostly made with local ingredients, the white vermouth is bright and herbaceous with candied floral notes, finishing woody and bitter with wild thyme and wormwood. 705ml $72 from prophetsrock.co.nz and scapegracedistilleryy.com.
Changes could be ahead for food and wine festival Toast Martinborough, after the event was purchased by Foley Wines.
As a run of hard luck threatened to drag Wairarapa’s famous wine and food festival down, one of the most influential industry players stepped in to save the day.
The Covid-19 pandemic, poor weather and increased compliance costs had caught up with the trust – that runs Toast Martinborough, but Foley Wines has offered to take ownership of the event that has been running for more than 30 years.
In a difficult financial situation, Toast Martinborough’s board attempted to raise capital from its shareholders but could not pull together the necessary funds to meet its obligations.
Foley Wines offered to buy out shareholders and pay outstanding debts with suppliers. The board unanimously accepted its offer.
Foley chief executive Mark Turnbull said they were excited by the opportunity to take over custodianship of the event and they were keen to revitalise its format for the future.
This could mean changing the time of year and possibly shifting it from a Sunday to a Saturday. “You know what the weather’s like in November — four seasons in one day.”
“While the strategy is still evolving, our team intends to work collaboratively with the community to ensure Toast Martinborough remains an iconic event for years to come,” Turnbull said.
The international company has deep ties to South Wairarapa. It owns Te Kairanga and Martinborough Vineyard wineries, the Lighthouse Gin distillery, and the recently opened $10 million development The Runholder.
American billionaire Bill Foley is a majority shareholder, and he also has other assets in the region including Wharekauhau Country Estate, and Wellington’s Pravda, Shed 5, and Crab Shack.
Turnbull said Foley was intensely interested in Wairarapa and was on board with the decision to buy out the event. “His family love Toast. We’ve just got off a call with some of his senior people in the US with some ideas from Sonoma and Napa festivals.
“He’s definitely keen and he’d much prefer coming in February when it’s a bit warmer.” Turnbull wouldn’t say the level of investment they were making in the event, but it was important that they looked after the region and cleared the trust’s debts. “I believe it brought in about $15 million to the region from Toast and that’s really important for everyone, so that was our motivation.
“And it was also about making sure that the people that were owed money were paid.” Foley Wines also covered Toast’s $5000 pledge to the Martinborough Youth Trust, which will be matched by Wharekauhau Country Estate and Foley Hospitality, bringing the donation total to $10,000.
Former Toast Martinborough board chair Pete Monk said the festival had faced hurdles in recent years and was thankful that Foley Wines could step in. “The past few years have posed significant challenges,” he said.
“This outcome hands over custodianship to one of our founding shareholders, meaning the festival is in excellent hands for its next chapter.”
Borough Wines are all about giving back to the Community. Founded in 2020, when you buy Borough Wines all proceeds go to the Graeme Dingle Foundation to support child and youth development. All the grapes, winemaking, packaging and bottling have been donated by generous folks in the wine industry, so your dollars go further.
Today’s fast-paced technological change impacts on many levels within society; from education to employment, from communication to recreation. Our young people need to learn skills and strategies to develop into resilient people who can cope and thrive amongst this ongoing evolution and disruption. They need to learn how to work together, understand other perspectives, collaborate for mutual success, and how to bounce back from setbacks. The Graeme Dingle Foundation programmes support the development of these skills an values, so our youth are able to overcome the challenges they will inevitably face in life.
Borough’s 2023 Vintage Growers:
Rob Hammond, Longfield Marlborough
John Flanagan, Ben Glover, Mufaletta
The Palmers, Palmer Vineyard
The Weltons, Welton Vineyard Blenheim
Mark Taggart, Roses Vineyard
Ben McLauchlan, Rothay
James Jones, Starborough
Click into their website to see their supporters, among them Lion NZ, Wineworks Marlborough, Indevin NZ, Wither Hills, etc.
Portuguese distilling company apologises for accident that led to fears a nearby river would suffer environmental damage
It is enough to make a connoisseur weep – the sight of millions of litres of red wine flooding down the streets of a Portuguese village.
The freak occurrence took place when two huge wine tanks burst at a distillery in Sao Lourenco do Bairro in the centre of the country.
Bemused locals watched as an estimated 2.2 million litres – equivalent to the water held in an Olympic-sized swimming pool – cascaded through the village on Sunday, swirling around street signs and parked cars.
Video footage showed the torrent of red wine flowing down a slope and around a bend in the road.
The wine flooded the basement of one house, though much of it was diverted into fields, Portuguese media reported.
There were fears that it could contaminate a nearby river, but local authorities said they had managed to prevent that from happening.
The distilling company, Levira, apologised for the damage and said it took full responsibility for the unusual accident.
“The causes of the incident are being investigated by the competent authorities. We are fully committed to covering the costs associated with cleaning up and repairing the damage, with teams ready to act immediately. We are committed to resolving this situation as quickly as possible,” the company said.
‘The miracle of Settecani’
The incident came three years after locals in a village in Italy were delighted when they found that red wine, rather than water, started pouring out of their taps.
The bizarre water-into-wine mix-up happened in the village of Settecani in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna.
The local winery, Cantina Settecani, is connected to the public water supply, but a valve malfunction during maintenance work meant that instead of water being piped into its bottling plant, sparkling Lambrusco started flowing in the other direction.
“[Our] staff intervened fairly quickly, much to the disappointment of the locals, some of whom had started bottling it,” Luisa Malaguti, a representative of the company, told The Telegraph at the time.
“People are talking about it as ‘the miracle of Settecani’ and comparing it to the story of Jesus turning water into wine.”
The reality was more prosaic.
“The problem was traced to the malfunction of a valve. The pressure of the wine was greater than that of the water and the wine flooded into the public water network,” Ms Malaguti said.
France is about to destroy enough wine to fill more than 100 Olympic-size swimming pools. And it’s going to cost the nation about US$216 million (NZ$365m).
Ruining so much wine may sound ludicrous, but there’s a straightforward economic reason this is happening: Making wine is getting more expensive due in part to recent world events, and people are drinking less of it. That’s left some producers with a surplus that they can’t price low enough to make a profit. Now, some of France’s most famous wine-producing regions, like Bordeaux, are struggling.
In June, the European Union initially gave France about US$172m to destroy nearly 80 million gallons of wine, and the French government announced additional funds this week. Producers will use the funds to distil their wine into pure alcohol to be used for other products, like cleaning supplies or perfume.
Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau told reporters that the money was “aimed at stopping prices collapsing and so that winemakers can find sources of revenue again”, according to Agence France-Presse.
The decline in wine consumption is not new, according to Olivier Gergaud, a professor of economics at France’s Kedge Business School who researches food and wine.
Wine consumption in France has been plummeting since its peak in 1926, when the average French citizen drank about 136 litres per year. Today, that number is closer to 40 litres, The Washington Post previously reported. Consumers are also inundated with beverage choices now, and they’re choosing wine less and less.
“We have an underlying issue of, ‘How do we better engage with the consumer and make wine more relevant, make wine a relevant choice for consumers that have a lot of options?'” said Stephen Rannekleiv, the global sector strategist for beverages at Rabobank, a Dutch financial firm specialising in agribusiness.
As consumption has taken a nosedive, production costs have increased and inflation has tightened budgets around the world. That’s especially true since the Covid-19 pandemic, which shuttered bars, restaurants and wineries, driving up prices. The war in Ukraine also influenced the industry by disrupting shipments of products essential to winemaking, like fertiliser and bottles. And on top of the pandemic and war, climate change is forcing growers to adapt to new harvest schedules and reckon with more extreme weather.
Costs are so high and demand is so low that some producers can’t turn a profit.
While this year’s subsidy is getting a lot of attention, the French government intervention is not a new phenomenon, according to Elizabeth Carter, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire who has studied the French wine market.
“I am not vaguely at all surprised that France is looking to destroy surplus and prop up prices by limiting quantity, because this is something that they’ve actually been struggling with since the 19th century, wine overproduction,” Carter said.
She said there’s been an internal push-and-pull in France for decades as producers grapple with what quantity of grapes to grow and how much wine is too much. The nation has long regulated the wine market intensely, in some cases telling producers how many vines they can grow and how far apart they have to be, in an effort to prevent the market from being flooded.
So while this buyback program isn’t totally new, Gergaud said, he hopes the industry takes this moment to consider longer-term solutions.
“We need to think in terms of, you know, long-run adaptation to these changing conditions,” he said. “We need to help this market to transition to a better future, maybe with more wines that would respect the environment. Adaptation to climate change is a real challenge.”
And regardless of its current woes, wine is too strong a part of France’s identity for the market to go anywhere. It’s certainly in the government’s best interest to keep the industry happy: French President Emmanuel Macron has even said that a meal without wine “is a bit sad”.
An experimental vineyard is one of the ways that science will ensure the world will still be able to enjoy New Zealand wine as the climate changes.
With the ability to fine-tune the environmental conditions, scientists at the Plant & Food Research Experimental Future Vineyard at the New Zealand Wine Centre -Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa – will be able to mimic expected climate scenarios of the future.
Plants grown in the new 600sqm facility which is due for completion in 2024, will help scientists understand how different temperatures, soil types and water availability may impact grape production in the future, and provide the industry with key knowledge to help it adapt.
The experiment comes as a Plant & Food Research study suggests areas of the North Island suitable for growing Sauvignon blanc vines are likely to substantially reduce this century as climate change brings rising temperatures.
Dr Jill Stanley, Plant & Food Research Science Group Leader, Fruit Crops Physiology. Photo / Supplied
However, Plant & Food Research Science Group Leader, Fruit Crops Physiology, Dr Jill Stanley, says it is not all bad news for connoisseurs of the wine – one of New Zealand’s most popular varieties – as modelling under both low and high temperature rise scenarios also shows areas of the South Island are likely to increase in growing suitability.
“Moderate gains are predicted in Marlborough, Canterbury and central Otago under low rise scenarios, but substantial gains under higher temperatures,” she says. “By mid-century, there may be an opportunity for Canterbury and parts of Otago to become global Sauvignon blanc powerhouses, alongside Marlborough (New Zealand’s current prime Sauvignon blanc producing region, accounting for 72 per cent of output).
“So, if you like a drop of New Zealand Sauvignon blanc, you’re probably going to be okay.”
Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr Roger Robson-Williams, says Plant & Food Research is working with a variety of industry sectors, to understand what and where crops can be grown in the future. By using computers to jump in a ‘virtual time machine’, scientists can see what rainfall patterns and temperatures are going to look like in different parts of Aotearoa.
“Climate change is going to affect what we eat over time,” he says. “For wealthy nations, the impact may seem quite small at first, as they will generally have the resources to secure more-or-less whatever foods they want for the time being.
“For less developed countries, climate change will produce real issues in terms of food security; not just impacting the type of foods available but, more worryingly, it will lead to absolute scarcity of food with ever-increasing risks of crop failures around the globe. We want to make sure that New Zealand can continue to grow good, nutritious food, for ourselves and for others.”
Robson-Williams says the first step is to get a picture of what crops will grow well and where; these may be crops we already have, or new crops.
“We’re also looking at improving our current crops so they can cope better with the impacts of climate change – be it drought tolerance, resistance to different pests and diseases, or just the ability to grow in hotter conditions,” he says.
Stanley says the research contains a key message for growers and the industry: “It’s increasingly important growers start thinking about what the future holds and the adaptations they can take to mitigate and reduce the effects of climate change.
“While we don’t know for certain what is ahead as many different factors affect how crops are grown, the research is designed to give the sector some idea of what could occur,” she says.
Dr Zac Hanley, General Manager Science New Cultivar Innovation, Plant & Food Research. Photo / Supplied
As well as changing to varieties that are more suited to the changing climate, Stanley says growers could adapt the way they grow crops, such as using covers to protect them from increasing risk of rain and hail. They could change the crops they grow (for example growing avocados or apples instead of grapes) or consider expanding into different regions.
Dr Zac Hanley, General Manager Science New Cultivar Innovation, says that the changing climate might also create new opportunities for New Zealand’s horticulture sector.
“We’re bringing new crops into New Zealand, testing things that might be able to cope with future conditions. For example, New Zealand might be able to successfully grow sub-tropical plants like dragon fruit as our climate changes, and that could be a potential new industry for growers in these warmer regions.”
New Zealand-Viet Nam dragon fruit breeding programme. Photo / Supplied
A joint New Zealand-Viet Nam dragon fruit breeding programme has resulted in the development of the first varieties of dragon fruit that could form the basis of a New Zealand sector.
Supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the New Premium Fruit Variety Development project has bred three new varieties of dragon fruit which will be commercialised globally by VentureFruit, a T&G Company. Initial testing and evaluation is underway to determine how these new varieties could be commercially grown in Northland.
Plant & Food Research is also looking at the viability of commercial production of other non-traditional crops, such as peanuts in Northland and almonds in the Hawke’s Bay, that may do well in New Zealand’s future climate.
Dr Samantha Baldwin, a Science Group Leader at Plant & Food Research. Photo / Supplied
Growing indoors, away from the weather, is also an option. Dr Samantha Baldwin, a Science Group Leader at Plant & Food Research, says their research is attempting to make sure New Zealand can deliver food than can be grown long into the future, despite the climate issues being experienced.
She says indoor growing could help food security “because we can basically recreate the entire environment within a controlled area so we can take out the risk not only of erratic weather but also seasonal weather. We can create all seasons in one day if we really want.”
Stanley says that climate change will potentially have major impacts on New Zealand and growers are already thinking about how they will respond.
“The horticulture sector needs to weigh the costs of adaptations or mitigations to climate change against the economic impact of doing nothing,” she says. “It is great to see industry bodies starting to think about what these changes might mean and to plan accordingly.”
