Central Otago

Central Otago has made a brilliant, record-breaking start as the world's southernmost wine-growing region. Twenty five years ago the region was virtually unknown, there were just a handful of daring winemakers cultivating a few hectares each. But the sheer beauty of the scenery and pioneering spirit of young winemakers has put this region on the New World fine wine map. As predicted back in 1895 by an Italian viticulturist, the soils and climate are perfect for vines; Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay excel here. Within the last quarter of a century, the area under vine has grown to an impressive 2,055 hectares. The most significant difference to the rest of New Zealand is climate; Central Otago is the country's only continental climate with short, sunny, dry summers and cold nights. Frosts are a constant worry and even early ripening Pinot Noir can struggle to fully mature. In addition, there is an unusually diverse soil structure in the valley, the terroir ranges from scree and gravel to limestone, loess, marl, volcanic rock and granite, often changing every few metres. This offers ambitious winemakers many opportunities to be creative and experiment with all the different aspects. There is no doubt that Pinot Noir is the star here occupying 1,656 hectares and today these wines rank amongst the some of the best in the world and still afford value for money compared to some of their European counterparts.
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