Marlborough wine region

The Marlborough wine region is by far New Zealand's largest, accounting for three quarters of the country's wine production, 70% of its vineyard area and 85% of its wine exports.[1] A Geographical Indication in the north-east of the South Island, it covers the entire Marlborough Region and the Kaikōura District of the Canterbury region,[2] but in practice the vineyards are concentrated around the Blenheim and Seddon townships. Internationally, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is recognised as world class; wine writers such as Oz Clarke and George Taber have described it as the best in the world.[3][4]

Marlborough
Wine region
Awatere Valley vineyard in early autumn
TypeGeographical Indication
Year established2018
CountryNew Zealand
Sub-regions
  • Awatere Valley
  • Southern Valleys
  • Wairau Valley
Size of planted vineyards26,850 hectares (66,300 acres)
Grapes produced305,467 tonnes
Varietals produced
No. of wineries150
CommentsGI established 2018, commercial vineyards first established in 1973; data from 2019[1]

History

Early settlers in Marlborough planted vines as early as the 1870s. A small block of Brown Muscat was planted in 1873 by David Herd, but in 1931 his son pulled up the last of the vines, and no others were recorded in the region for the next forty years.[5] Commercial wine-making began in earnest only in 1973 when the first large-scale vineyards were planted by Montana Wines, at the time New Zealand's largest producer (now Brancott Estate, owned by Pernod Ricard).[6] Meanwhile in 1975 Daniel Le Brun, a Champagne maker, emigrated to New Zealand to begin producing méthode traditionelle in Marlborough. Wineries in the Marlborough region were producing outstanding Sauvignon Blanc by the early 1980s, and in 1985 the Sauvignon Blanc from Cloudy Bay Vineyards finally garnered international attention and critical acclaim for New Zealand wine.[7] Wine writer George Taber recounted in 2006 that Cloudy Bay is "what many people consider to be the world's best Sauvignon Blanc" and Oz Clarke wrote that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is "arguably the best in the world."[4][3] The suitability of the region and later success of Daniel Le Brun's sparkling wines were also sufficient to attract significant investment from Champagne producers.

New Zealand's plantings of Sauvignon Blanc experienced enormous growth in the 21st century, driven almost exclusively by investment in the Marlborough region.[5] It expanded from 4,516 hectares (11,160 acres) of vineyard area in 2003 to 23,102 hectares (57,090 acres) in 2018, a five-fold increase in just 15 years.[1]

Climate and geography

The soils in the Wairau Valley and the wine-growing districts surrounding Blenheim are primarily free-draining alluvial gravels. The valley is situated between the Richmond Ranges to the north and the Wither Hills to the south, which protect it from extreme weather conditions. These two factors make the valley ideal for viticulture. The climate is usually sunny and warm in summer and autumn, resulting in a long growing season, and the cool night-time sea breezes provide the temperature variation required for good characterful wines.[6] It can also be very dry, and younger vines often require some degree of irrigation.[8] Extensive planting has been undertaken on the river terraces and flood plains on the valley floor, although some wineries are using organic practices to also dry-farm vines on north-facing hill slopes.

Climate data for Blenheim (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 24.1
(75.4)		 23.8
(74.8)		 21.9
(71.4)		 19.0
(66.2)		 16.0
(60.8)		 13.3
(55.9)		 12.6
(54.7)		 13.8
(56.8)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.0
(64.4)		 20.0
(68.0)		 22.2
(72.0)		 18.4
(65.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.0
(64.4)		 17.6
(63.7)		 15.8
(60.4)		 13.0
(55.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 7.7
(45.9)		 7.0
(44.6)		 8.2
(46.8)		 10.3
(50.5)		 12.2
(54.0)		 14.2
(57.6)		 16.5
(61.7)		 12.6
(54.7)
Average low °C (°F) 11.8
(53.2)		 11.5
(52.7)		 9.8
(49.6)		 6.9
(44.4)		 4.5
(40.1)		 2.2
(36.0)		 1.5
(34.7)		 2.6
(36.7)		 4.7
(40.5)		 6.5
(43.7)		 8.4
(47.1)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.8
(44.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 48.9
(1.93)		 49.4
(1.94)		 46.5
(1.83)		 52.7
(2.07)		 60.6
(2.39)		 70.7
(2.78)		 74.3
(2.93)		 62.2
(2.45)		 65.2
(2.57)		 67.4
(2.65)		 55.0
(2.17)		 58.1
(2.29)		 711.0
(27.99)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.0 5.1 5.5 5.3 6.7 7.9 7.6 8.0 8.5 8.3 6.9 6.7 81.5
Average relative humidity (%) 68.7 74.2 74.9 77.5 81.5 82.3 83.7 80.8 73.3 72.1 67.7 67.5 75.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 262.2 223.7 230.8 193.7 172.7 151.6 157.1 183.9 189.5 226.7 234.7 248.8 2,475.3
Source: NIWA Climate Data[9]

Sub-regions

Broadly, there are three sub-regions. The Wairau Valley is the river flood plain around the town of Blenheim, with deep alluvial gravel soils and river terraces. The Southern Valleys are to the south, and include the north-facing hill slopes of the Wither Hills, with largely glacial loess soils. Awatere Valley is to the south-east, around the town of Seddon, with a generally cooler climate. It accounts for about a third of the total Marlborough vineyard area.[6]

Winemaking and regulations

Marlborough was established in 2018 as a New Zealand geographical indication (GI) under new legislation.[10][11] In the same year, several Marlborough wineries formed Appellation Marlborough Wine to further protect the integrity and quality standards of Marlborough wines through a certification process. To qualify, wines must be made entirely from sustainably grown grapes from Marlborough, comply with cropping rates set annually, and be bottled in New Zealand.[12]

Méthode Marlborough, a collaboration of sparkling wine producers.

Marlborough also hosts significant production of méthode traditionelle sparkling wine made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sufficient to attract investment from large Champagne producers Mumm, Deutz, Moët & Chandon (which now owns Cloudy Bay) and Veuve Clicquot.[13] In 2013 several Marlborough producers established Méthode Marlborough, a collaborative organisation to standardise and promote the brand both domestically and internationally.[14]

References
  1. "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). New Zealand Winegrowers. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  2. "Marlborough Wine geographical indication". Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  3. Rachman, Gideon (16 December 1999). "The globe in a glass". The Economist. according to Oz Clarke, a respected British critic, New Zealand sauvignon blanc is now “arguably the best in the world.”
  4. Taber, George (2005). Judgment of Paris: California vs France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. New York: Scribner. pp. 243. ISBN 978-0-74-324751-1. [Cloudy Bay is ...] what many people consider to be the world's best Sauvignon Blanc
  5. Nicholson, Tessa. "Marlborough's Wine History". Wine Marlborough. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. "Marlborough Wine". Wine-Searcher. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  7. Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia, eds. (2015). "New Zealand". The Oxford Companion to Wine (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 505–509. ISBN 978-0-19-870538-3.
  8. Johnson, Hugh; Robinson, Jancis, eds. (2013). "Marlborough". The World Atlas of Wine (7th ed.). Mitchell Beazley. p. 360. ISBN 978-1-84533-689-9.
  9. "Climate Data and Activities". NIWA. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  10. "Geographical Indications Register: Marlborough". Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  11. Fallis, Catherine (10 November 2018). "New Act Protects New Zealand's Geographical Indications for Wine". The Somm Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  12. Robinson, Jancis (7 June 2018). "Appellation Marlborough Wine launched". jancisrobinson.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  13. Hooke, Huon (12 September 2015). "New Zealand gets some food for thought from Tom Stevenson". The Real Review. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  14. "About Us". Méthode Marlborough. Retrieved 27 June 2018. Méthode Marlborough is a society of highly regarded Marborough producers; established with the aim to communicate the quality and heritage of Marlborough traditional method sparkling wines.
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