Hot reds in a cool climate

If there’s a red wine that New Zealand excels at, it just has to be pinot noir.

Opposites are a funny thing. They attract for, well, opposite reasons. You might think a cool climate calls for big reds, a warm fire and toasted marshmallows. And you’d be right on the warm flames and the marshmallows, but when it comes to our cool climate, light to medium-bodied reds are the order of the day because they grow best in this country.

Enter pinot noir. This northern European siren of a grape is the most planted red in New Zealand because it ripens best in cool climates.

This guide talks about what makes pinot tick, specifically in New Zealand. There are nine main wine regions in this country. They are: Auckland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Wairarapa (also known as Wellington’s wine country), Nelson, Marlborough, North Canterbury, Waitaki Valley and Central Otago. Two of them (Auckland and Gisborne) are so warm they are best suited to early ripening white grapes such as chardonnay and pinot gris.

Hawke’s Bay has hot days, high sunshine and cool nights so a diversity of grapes can thrive there but its climate is generally not ideal for pinot noir, which can bake and lose its hallmark flavours in too much heat.

So, it falls to winemakers in the Wairarapa, Marlborough, North Canterbury, Central Otago and Nelson to show what pinot noir is all about; silky, smooth, seductively refreshing reds with naturally high acidity that provides incredible elegance with

By Joëlle Thomson long, flavoursome aromas of redcurrant, red cherry, spice and, as they develop over time, earthy mushroom flavours.

Pinot needs a cool climate to retain its edgy appeal of vibrant acidity, which makes wine taste refreshing and which is naturally high in pinot grapes. This means they grow best in cool climates, which allow the retention of acidity. Pinot buds early (prone to spring frost), ripens mid-season (prone to autumn frosts) and has thin skins (prone to fungal disease). All of which make it tricky to grow but enormously rewarding when it works. I sometimes wish New Zealand’s climate was warm enough to ripen malbec the way Argentina can, or touriga nacional like Portugal, or mourvedre; that chocolatey dark grape that thrives as the heart and soul of many great reds in the south of France. But the grass is always greener. And New Zealand reds are on a massive rise in quality, so it was no mean feat to choose just five top drops.