Quality-driven niche player
As a Premium Player, New Zealand is a land like no other. In a similar context, New Zealand wine is an experience like no other.
Participants in the 2016 New Zealand Wine Festival, held in a waterpool garden, Grand Hyatt Seoul last Saturday afternoon, were able to find out that in every glass of New Zealand wine is a world of pure discovery.
Including of course New Zealand Amb. Clare Patricia FEARNLEY, Mr. Marc Knapper, Deputy Chief of Mission from U.S. Embassy, Seoul, AMCHAM President John Schuldt, & Canadian Chamber of Commerce President Brian G Ford who serves as Chairman of HSBC Korea etc. joined the Kiwi Chamber’s 8th wine festival since 2008 as distinguished guests.
In an opening ceremony, New Zealand Amb. Clare Patricia FEARNLEY stressed: “The New Zealand wine industry is a quality-driven niche player. Within a relatively short time, our wines have acquired a reputation that is the envy of much larger wine producing countries”.
International critics rate New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as the world’s best, and the growing acclaim for New Zealand Chardonnay, Cabernet Merlot blends and Pinot Noir is helping to further secure New Zealand’s position as a producer of premium wines, according to FEARNLEY.
As a nation of islands, New Zealand benefits from the temperature modulating effect of the sea. The extremes of heat and cold experienced by landlocked, continental countries simply don’t apply.
Host Kiwi Chamber official said: “New Zealand also enjoys long, dry autumns, which allow slow ripening-our grapes develop intensity as well as good acid structure”. This balance between fruit and acidity is one of the key differentiators of New Zealand wine, and an important reason for why they work so well with food, he added.
In reality, New Zealand’s small population, distant location and agricultural economy have earned the country’s clean, and green image. Visitors often describe it as an unspoiled paradise.
New Zealand’s winemakers including BABICH, CLARK ESTATE, CLEAR VIEW ESTATE which showcased their winery at the poolside garden to name just a few, have been determined to keep it this way, through the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Programme, which was established in 1995.
On the other hand, New Zealand’s status as a producer of world class wines has been accelerated by the skillful implementation of traditional, established methods from the world’s great wine regions, says New Zealand Amb. Clare Patricia FEARNLEY.
At the same time, our wine industry is able to adopt proven new innoivations-such as canopy management, stainless steel fermentation and screwcaps-to optimize the quality and distinctiveness of the wines, she explained.