Small New Zealand harvest welcomed

New Zealand wine producers are welcoming a smaller harvest than expected.

Wineries throughout New Zealand are reporting lower yields than originally forecast, leaving some predicting a shift in the industry from oversupply to shortfall.

In the country’s biggest region, Marlborough, Jackson Estate says Sauvignon Blanc is down 15-20% in volume.

Volume of its Pinot Noir has fallen 25% due to cold weather at flowering, and low bunch weights.

Similarly, Seresin Estate’s yields are down 10-15% but winemaker Clive Dougall told decanter.com: ‘That’s got to be a bloody good thing for the industry.’

While the vintage is reportedly promising in terms of quality, volumes have fallen significantly in other regions.

Craggy Range estimates yields are down 15% in Hawke’s Bay while Central Otago wineries Mount Edward and Mt Difficulty report a 25% reduction in volume compared to 2009.

This year’s cold spring will affect next year’s crop and a number of producers have suggested the 2011 harvest will also be small, potentially bringing the oversupply to an end.

The country’s excess production has led to widespread discounting, endangering its premium image.

Matt Dicey, winemaker at Mt Difficulty, added: ‘hopefully the discounting will dry up with a small vintage.’

New Zealand Winegrowers has confirmed the total harvest will be ‘at the lower end’ of its estimate of 265,000-285,000 tonnes.

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Written by Rebecca Gibb

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Rebecca Gibb MW is a wine journalist and editor who has also founded Bamboozled games, ‘the world’s first wine and spirit puzzle makers’. Having spent six years living in New Zealand, she has recently returned to her native north-east England. While in New Zealand, she became a Master of Wine, graduating top of her class and winning the Madame Bollinger medal for excellence in tasting. A former winner of both the UK’s young wine writer of the year and the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer, her first book The Wines of New Zealand was published in 2018. She also runs wine events and has her own consultancy business The Drinks Project. She was a judge at the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).