1819–2010s · New Zealand
New Zealand: from nothing to Marlborough
A tiny, hybrid-planted industry transformed within a generation — and not only by Sauvignon Blanc.
What happened
Vines were planted from 1819, but the industry remained small and was constrained for much of the twentieth century by restrictive licensing, a temperance-influenced culture and extensive planting of hybrids and Müller-Thurgau.
The first Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was planted in 1973, and the wines that followed established a style so distinctive that it effectively created a global category.
A government vine pull scheme in 1986 removed a great deal of poor material and accelerated replanting to quality varieties.
Screwcap adoption from the early 2000s was near-total and industry-coordinated, and New Zealand was central to establishing that closure’s credibility for serious wine.
Sauvignon Blanc dominates export volume, and reducing the country to it misses a great deal: Central Otago Pinot Noir, Hawke’s Bay Bordeaux blends and Syrah, Marlborough and Nelson Chardonnay, and an aromatic white sector of real quality.
Sustainability certification has been pursued at industry scale, with the great majority of vineyard area certified under the national programme.
How firmly this is dated
Documented. Recorded contemporaneously. The date is not in question.
New Zealand Winegrowers statistical records and documented plantings history.
What this follows from, and leads to
A timeline is a list; these are the links between its entries.
Sources
Sources consulted
- New Zealand Winegrowers annual report — New Zealand Winegrowers
- Central Otago Winegrowers Association — Central Otago Winegrowers Association
- Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers — Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association
Along the timeline
Before · 1968–1994
The Super Tuscans break the rules
Producers made better wine than the rules allowed, sold it as table wine, and eventually forced the rules to change.
After · 1976
The Judgement of Paris
A blind tasting in which Californian wines beat French benchmarks, and the credibility of New World wine changed overnight.