The right varieties in the right regions help the Kiwis stay a step ahead of Australian wines.
Those pesky Kiwis have done it again. They have trounced us in the Tri Nations. Not at rugby but wine.
It's becoming a regular thing in the Tri Nations Wine Challenge. They were the most successful nation last year and this year. But what really hurts is they've won the coveted shiraz trophy three years out of the past four and last year South Africa won.
This year, New Zealand won six trophies to Australia's five (and South Africa's two), along with seven double-gold medals to our six (and South Africa's four), and tied with us for gold medals - 40 each - while South Africa won 25.
The categories New Zealand topped were sauvignon blanc (oh, really?), pinot noir (hmm), shiraz (damn!), aromatic whites, bordeaux red blends and other red varieties. Considering New Zealand's wine industry is about one-sixth the size of Australia's, how do they do so well?
This analysis isn't about self-flagellation or paranoia - as with all judgings, a different panel on a different day might have come up with a different result - but even if we disregard the challenge, now in its eighth year, it is evident our Kiwi cousins more than match us in quite a few vinous arenas.
As the Australian representative in this competition and hence the guy with the job of selecting the Australian entries in this by-invitation-only judging, I have done some soul-searching and come up with some theories.
Let's look at shiraz (called syrah in NZ) for starters. Australia has probably at least 20 regions that consistently produce outstanding shiraz. New Zealand has one: Hawkes Bay. But they're regularly winning this class. Why?
The answer is not hard. Hawkes Bay, and within the region, the amazing Gimblett Gravels, produces all the NZ entries. Kiwi judge Bob Campbell doesn't have to tear his hair out: just pick his 10 favourites from Hawkes Bay. But Australia has a baffling array of shiraz from which to choose. Last year I elected to be democratic; this year I favoured the cooler climes that approximate the Hawkes Bay style. Neither strategy was successful.
Similarly with other varieties, such as riesling, chardonnay, sweet white and sauvignon blanc, Australia has a wider stylistic range of each of these than New Zealand. In sweet white, we have the opulent, forward-developed, mouthfilling Riverina botrytis styles and, at the opposite end, delicate, refined, subtle, less-sweet examples such as Tasmanian rieslings.
On the other hand, Australia has its shoo-ins. We tend to win cabernet sauvignon decisively. The Kiwis are at least our equal with bordeaux blends, though the best Hawkes Bay cabernet is much more complete when blended with merlot, cabernet franc and others.
And, in the other white varieties and blends class, the other two countries have little answer to our Hunter Valley semillons at five years of age. Even the best pinot gris and chenin blanc tends to surrender when faced with a 2005 Brokenwood, Mount Pleasant or Meerea Park semillon.
And here is the nub of the issue: New Zealand has matched its grape varieties to its sites more precisely than Australia. Merlot and cabernet sauvignon are pretty well restricted to Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island; shiraz to Hawkes Bay and Central Otago. Sauvignon blanc is grown in several regions but Marlborough rules in quantity and quality. Top pinot noir is confined to four regions: Martinborough, Marlborough, Central Otago and Canterbury. Chardonnay is grown in several regions but Marlborough dominates; riesling ditto.
Why has New Zealand matched its grape varieties to its regions so precisely? Its wine industry was reborn in the 1980s after muller-thurgau was junked and hybrid varieties such as baco were uprooted. Pinot noir and sauvignon blanc were virtually unheard of before then; syrah arrived even more recently and chardonnay plantings didn't boom until the '80s. Pinot gris and other fringe varieties are very recent arrivals.
When New Zealand replanted, it did so with a great deal of scientific insight. As in Australia, site selection was a phrase never heard until Richard Smart and other enlightened viticulturists started to hammer it in the early '80s. This has also had an impact in Australia, of course, but in New Zealand, planting since the late '70s had the luxury of an almost blank slate to work with.
And finally: New Zealand's climates are cooler and less forgiving than ours. There's less room for error. The variety must suit the region, otherwise the result is poor. Well done, those Kiwis.
THE BIG WINNERS
Trophy winners in the Tri Nations Wine Challenge include Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2008 (best red wine of show); Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2005 (best white wine, pictured); Brown Brothers Patricia Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut 2005; Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008; Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2008; Capital Wines Backbencher Merlot 2008.
Runners-up
Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Tim Adams Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2006, Murray Street Vineyards Shiraz Mataro Grenache 2007, Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 2007, Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2009, Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon 2005.
