New World Wine - Waiheke Island
I love #wine and I love #Waiheke. Waiheke has become known as New Zealand's "island of wine". It is home to a group of dedicated winegrowers who have successfully matched the maritime climate and ancient soil structures to the selection of classical grape varieties to produce red and white wines with distinctive varietal character.
Vine growing was introduced on Waiheke in the early 1980’s as a premium wine region for the production of high quality red wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Over the years, Waiheke Island has expanded its varietals to include Chardonnay, Syrah, Montepulciano, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Semillon and Viognier. Today Waiheke has 32 vineyards. Winegrowing and winetourism are the principal drivers of the island's economy.
Climate
The climate on Waiheke is strongly influenced by the surrounding sea. It is both warmer and drier than Auckland isthmus. The ocean acts as both a fan and an insulator. Sea breezes moderate rising temperatures in mid-summer. The ocean moderates falling temperatures at night. Waiheke can grow and ripen a wider range of grape varieties than other regions because of its long, mild season and the significant variations in vineyard site orientation and soil structure.
Geography
Though Waiheke is a small area (only 92 square kilometers), the age and chemical constitution of the base rock under our vineyards can change markedly and abruptly, even in very small distances. The rock that underlies the vineyard is a major factor in determining varietal variations in different terroirs.
The mind-blowing fact about Waiheke is that under the thin layers of soil and clay lays massive sequences of Jurassic strata that range from 145 to 158 million years in age. The island rock on which we now walk is almost entirely of Jurassic age and the wines derived from these sediments are truly distillations of millions of years of earth’s history. The vines are now flourishing where dinosaurs and ammonites once ruled!
The multi-faceted hills created by the early upheaval of the land lead to further variation in vineyard aspect vis-à-vis sunlight and wind which, together with rainfall, have a strong influence on the choice of grape variety. It means that even in a such small area every wine will be characterized by exact location on the island depending on the soil, sea, wind, rainfall and sunlight.
Waiheke is an amazing place to grow vines and the island produces some world class wine which I will introduce you in my future posts. It is a perfect place to visit if you enjoy wine;)
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