New Zealand Pinot Gris production is growing fast.

Up until now New Zealand wine has been synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc but a new grape pretender is waiting in the wings. The white Pinot Gris, from the home of the All Blacks, looks set tnd wine has been synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc but a new grape pretender is waiting in the wings. The white Pinot Gris, from the home of the Ao take the world by storm. Production of this grape is up 122 per cent on last year and, although it remains small fry compared to the volumes of Sauvignon Blanc sloshing about, it comes top of the percentage-increase table for varieties planted over the past year.

Increased planting in New Zealand has meant a new record this year for the country’s wine industry, with the vintage coming in at 184,000 tonnes. This increased volume, however, has meant that the average UK bottle price of New Zealand wine has dropped from £6.01 last year to £5.92. That said, it’s still the highest of any country. Australia comes second, but only at £4.30. Warren Adamson, Director UK and Europe for New Zealand Winegrowers, explained to ThirtyFifty that, ‘We are seeing higher volumes being sold in the UK across all of the price points and, as a generic country, we are not immune to price promotions, which have an impact on our average price.’ But, he said, ‘I remain confident that we will remain as premium as we have always been, which includes our average price.’