NZ welcomes smaller vintage

The 2010 New Zealand vintage has come in 19,000 tonnes smaller than in 2009, at 266,000 tonnes which is good news for grape growers and wineries who had planned for a reduced crop to adjust supply imbalances over the last 2 years. New Zealand Winegrowers’ CEO, Philip Gregan, said the vintage quality should be excellent due to lower yields combined with great weather conditions delivering superb fruit.

The 2010 harvest was lower in most of New Zealand’s key winegrowing regions. In Marlborough, the vintage was down five percent, with production of the signature variety Sauvignon Blanc four percent lower than in 2009. The Hawkes Bay crop was also down five percent, while the harvest in Gisborne reduced 21 percent from 2009. In Central Otago production was unchanged on 2009, but in Waipara, Canterbury and Northland the harvest was larger this year.