The largest wine-growing region in New Zealand is located on the north-eastern tip of South Island on the Cook Strait, which separates the two main islands. On the other side of the strait lies the capital Wellington. It is said that the first vines were planted here by a settler as early as 1867. Until 1973, however, there were only sheep pastures, grain fields and cherry trees. In 1973, the wine multinational Montana Wines planted vineyards here for the first time with around 50 hectares, thus opening up viticulture on the South Island. However, the success story did not begin until 1985, when the Australian winemaker David Hohnen founded the Cloudy Bay vineyard. Today, the vineyards cover 29,415 hectares of vines in the wide Wairau River valley with the town of Blenheim at its centre. The growing area is divided into three sub-regions: Southern Valleys, Wairau Valley and Awatere Valley. The climate is characterised by long days with plenty of sunshine and distinctly cool nights. The thermals between the Pacific Ocean and the mountain ranges in the north and south produce extremely fruity wines. Due to the low rainfall and dry summers, artificial irrigation is necessary.
On the gravelly sandy soils with large gravel stones on the surface, mainly the white wine varieties Sauvignon Blanc (share 75%), Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling as well as Pinot Noir are cultivated. The high-growth region has become famous worldwide above all for the white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, which are counted among the best in the world. It is also known for its sparkling wines and noble sweet wines from Riesling. There is also a special custom here for producers outside the region to use the service of custome crush facilities. These wineries produce must or young wine and deliver it to producers for finishing. Well-known producers are Cloudy Bay, Fromm, Goldwater Estate, Gravitas, Highfield, Hunter's, Isabel Estate, Jackson Estate, Montana, Morton Estate, Saint Clair, Allan Scott, Selaks, Seresin, Villa Maria, Wairau River and Wither Hills. Around 300 million litres of wine are produced annually.
