Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Learning from New Zealand's producers
Good Libations columnist Gordon Kendall
- Gordon Kendall's column, "Good Libations," runs monthly in Extra. He welcomes readers' questions and comments about wine, beer or spirits.
Good Libations
Columns
- Stouts push the flavor envelope
- Here's to toasts
- A toast to comfort foods
- Nero d'Avola: a robust red from Sicily
- Column archive
PlateUp bloggers and columnists
Economists trying to figure out how to fix our dysfunctional economic system would do well to take a look at the business model presented by sauvignon blanc producers in New Zealand. Their cash-flow situation is a beautiful thing. According to one New Zealand owner, who drives a Maserati, "By the time I have to pay my growers for their grapes, the wine is already on the market."
Kiwi sauvignon blanc is a delicious product that moves quickly from vine to the dining table. This quick turnaround creates a veritable gold mine for the wine producers. Consumers snap up these wines even though they are not bargain priced (most are in the teens).
Regional conditions are conducive to producing superior fruit. New Zealand is the most southerly location in the world for grape growing, but moderating ocean winds create temperatures similar to those in Bordeaux, France.
Growers are allowed to irrigate, and winemakers are permitted to acidify, adjust sugar or otherwise manipulate the wine. The grapes are harvested from February through May. The juice is pressed out and cool fermented in stainless-steel tanks, which are readily available, thanks to the area's prolific dairy industry. No need for expensive French oak barrels or time-consuming aging.
After a few weeks of fermentation and stabilization, the wine is ready to be bottled and shipped to thirsty consumers. These wines do not improve with age.
A record $100 million in wine, or 14.4 million bottles, was exported from New Zealand in September. The country's wine exports have increased by 24 percent each year for the past 20 years. For all of 2008, wine exports exceeded $900 million, with the bulk being shipped to Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The New Zealand wine industry supports more than 16,500 full-time jobs and contributes more than $1.5 billion to New Zealand's gross domestic product.
New Zealand's wine industry began when missionaries planted grapes in 1819. Englishman James Busby planted a vineyard on the North Island in 1836, selling his wine to British troops.
The wine producers struggled with poor quality hybrid grapes in the early days, and the government instituted prohibition in 1911. In 1919, returning servicemen helped overturn the ruling. Grape growers fought powdery mildew and the root louse phylloxera.
Innovators began planting sauvignon blanc around Auckland in 1970. In 1985 Australian winemaker David Hohnen began producing a crisp clean sauvignon blanc called Cloudy Bay. The wine's fresh, vibrant taste helped develop a cult following. Many other producers followed suit.
The Marlborough region, on the north end of the South Island, produces more than 70 percent of the country's sauvignon blanc. The vineyards are on a large, flat river valley where stony soils provide ample drainage. Large stones charged with the sun's heat during the day radiate warmth back into the vineyard during cool, clear summer nights. Rainfall is slight during the summer months, so vineyard managers irrigate to increase yields.
Sauvignon blanc is noted for excessive vigor, meaning that it devotes its metabolic processes into the production of massive shoots and leaves. Grapes grown on vigorous vines can exhibit unpleasant green herbaceous flavors. Under the leadership of government viticulturist Richard Smart, grape growers developed effective techniques of canopy management. Foliage is trimmed and leaves are pulled to maximize sunlight on the grapes.
New Zealand sauvignon blanc is fresh and clean with gooseberry, kiwi, grapefruit and citrus flavors predominating. The wines provide bracing summer refreshment and pair especially well with seafood. So pick up a bottle. That winemaker's Maserati needs a tank of gas.
Sources: New Zealand Wine Online; The Oxford Companion to Wine.
Gordon Kendall's column runs monthly in Extra.
