New Zealand is through with being the new kid of the block. Which is totally natural. They have nothing to prove anymore. Their wines (at least many of them) are world-class and as interesting as they come. All this has happened very rapidly in the last 30-40 years.
Of course, there are still things to overcome, the dominance of sauvignon blanc is one of them. Too many boring sauvignon blanc wines leave the country, according to some producers. But sauvignon blanc is a versatile grape and New Zealand has many creative producers. So, we will probably see many different styles of the grape being produced in the near future. Not to mention all the other varieties that exist, albeit in small quantities.
Emma Jenkins, Master of Wine in New Zealand, gives us her take on the changes and challenges in her native country.
Read more in Britt & Per’s article on Forbes: “New Zealand Wines’ Challenges And Opportunities With Emma Jenkins MW”.
Here’s the introduction to the article:
We recently met with New Zealand Master of Wine Emma Jenkins. She has been in the wine business for 20 years and is, of course, very familiar with the New Zealand wine industry. We took the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
What has changed over the last 10 years in New Zealand?
“That is a great question, actually. What has changed, to my mind is a change in confidence. Previously we thought we needed to prove ourselves to the world. To compare our Pinot Noir to Burgundy etc. Now we have proven that we are capable of producing fine wine, that we have a good terroir.”
She stresses though that New Zealand still is a very young wine country, only 30-40 years maximum. “Now we need to do the fine-tuning”, she says. This could involve looking for specific sites among the vineyards and find out which varieties should be planted where. Now, she says, winemakers are confident to express themselves in the wines. “We don’t only produce clean, fruit-forward wines anymore. It is a little more daring.”
Read more in Britt & Per’s article on Forbes: “New Zealand Wines’ Challenges And Opportunities With Emma Jenkins MW”.
You can listen to Emma talking about this on this video interview:
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