With just under 5,000 hectares, Hawkes Bay is the second largest winegrowing region in New Zealand. It is located in the southern part of the North Island near the city of Napier and borders on the Gisborne region in the northeast and on the Bay of Plenty, a vine growing region in the northwest.
Climatically Hawkes Bay is, like most vine growing regions, cool and also protected from rain by a mountain range in the west. Many vineyards must therefore be irrigated. The soils are mostly alluvial, on which Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are grown. However, red wine accounts for an unusually high proportion in Hawkes Bay.
On the one hand this is due to the dry climate but on the other hand also due to a small enclave of about 800 hectares called "Gimblett Gravels". The soil there is gravel and crushed stone, not unlike that of the Haut-Médoc in Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which are mostly blended into a Bordeaux blend, thrive particularly well on this terroir, which the locals also refer to as the "Médoc of New Zealand". Syrah also develops excellently here.
Therefore the very best red wines of New Zealand come from the "Gimblett Gravels", apart from the Pinot Noirs, which have a very good ageing potential.
