NZ wine industry’s first buds
The history of winemaking in New Zealand is a surprisingly long one, dating back to the early 19th century when missionaries began arriving on our shores. But as Ruby Macandrew found out, it wasn’t just the Christian gospel they were preaching.
Almost 200 years ago Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden made a prediction, preserved in his journal, that New Zealand would prove to be very ‘‘favourable to the vine’’ to the point where it would prove to be of ‘‘vast importance in this part of the globe.’’
Rather than being a throwaway thought,
Marsden took action and made the country’s first recorded planting of grapevines in the balmy Bay of Islands in 1819. Having arrived five years prior to establish a new Church Missionary Society (CMS) outpost, the missionaries’ vineyard marked the start of what would prove to be New Zealand’s multimillion-dollar wine industry.
Not much is known about how Marsden’s planting turned out but the progression of the industry is well-documented. By 1840 Scotsman James Busby, who had initially begun experimenting with vine-growing in Australia’s Hunter River district, was based in Waitangi where he was not only successfully growing grapevines, but also producing white wine. When French explorer, Dumont d’Urville, visited Busby at Waitangi, he was given ‘‘a light white wine, very sparkling and delicious to taste . . .’’ From there, progress on creating any type of industry was slow with a handful of isolated growers around the country.
But from small beginnings came the establishment of Mission Estate, the country’s first winery, set up by a group of French Missionaries, in Hawke’s Bay in 1851. The vines were planted to produce both sacramental and table wine.
It remains New Zealand’s oldest surviving winery.
In 1895 European wine expert Romeo Bragato surveyed the existing wine industry. He saw promise in several areas, especially Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Central Otago. He believed wine could be a considerable source of wealth. From 1897, on his advice, the government stepped in to offer support of the fledgeling industry, planting grapes and making wine on its experimental farm in the Waikato.
However, that support came right in the thick of the country’s temperance movement where a large number of social reformers argued that alcohol was the cause of poverty, ill health, neglect and abuse of families, immorality, and social and economic instability.
They urged individuals to ‘‘sign the pledge’’ and abstain from drink, and pressured Parliament to impose restrictions – or even a total prohibition – on the sale of alcohol.
While prohibition was never introduced in New Zealand, it dulled the allure of manufacturing and consuming alcohol.
The Great Depression in the 1930s did little to help either, however during World War I, when it became too expensive to import wine due to raised duties, the local industry experienced a boom.
As laws became less restrictive through the 1950s and 60s, more New Zealanders were able to purchase and consume wine, prompting the establishment of more vineyards to meet demand and tap in the beginning wine export industry.
The local industry suffered another hit during the late 80s when the government removed significant barriers against foreign wine. The move allowed wineries from around the world to tap into the New Zealand market, with Australian wineries, in particular, proving popular with consumers.
Higher sales tax on local wine forced up prices, and in the tight economy, wine drinkers were reluctant to buy. A glut of lowerquality wine led to the government, in 1986, to pay growers to pull out their vines.
Fortunately, the industry, spurred on by the international competition, bounced back by focusing their attention on exporting overseas.
New Zealand Winegrowers reported in 2017 that export sales had risen to a new record of $1.66 billion, with a goal to achieve $2b by 2020.
While a far cry from the industry’s humble Bay of Islands beginnings, Marsden’s hunch that New Zealand would be favourable to the wine was right on the money.