Hawke’s Bay ripe for export boom

A Hawke’s Bay winemaker has suggested that a recent surge in investment from major producers has put New Zealand’s second largest wine region in a prime position to raise its profile abroad.

One of Crossroads’ vineyards in Gimblett Gravels

“We’re kind of like where Marlborough was 15 years ago before Sauvignon Blanc took off,” observed Miles Dineen, winemaker at Crossroads, a 55-hectare property that came under the Yealands Estate portfolio following a merger in 2011.

Among other large producers to show an increased interest in Hawke’s Bay in recent years has been Villa Maria, whose various acquisitions since 2012 have bolstered its position as the biggest owner in the region’s prime Gimblett Gravels area.

Villa Maria is also building a new winery in Hawke’s Bay, as is Oyster Bay owner Delegat’s Wine Estates. Meanwhile Constellation Brands is understood to be planting more Chardonnay as part of wider investment in this corner of New Zealand’s North Island. Other high profile producers in the region include Craggy Range, Te Mata and Trinity Hill.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for Hawke’s Bay,” Dineen told the drinks business. “Some of the significant players are putting in a lot of investment so we’re getting more and more wine out there. That’s the key to cementing people’s perspective of the region.”

Having just switched UK distributor to join the rest of Yealands’ portfolio at Enotria, Dineen positioned the move as part of a wider step up in export focus for Crossroads, whose business is still primarily based on domestic sales, with Auckland its largest market.

Outlining the scale of the region’s export opportunity, Dineen noted “A lot of Hawke’s Bay red has been going into China since the free trade agreement in 2008.”

Meanwhile with the US poised to become New Zealand’s largest export market by next year, Dineen acknowledged that Hawke’s Bay might take a bit more time to catch on there. “The shops are still very, very Sauvignon Blanc focused so there’s still a long way to go,” he remarked. “They’ve still got to fully explore Sauvignon Blanc but Pinot Noir is still growing in the States so there’s a lot of room for New Zealand to grow there too.”

With 4,816 hectares under vine, according to 2014 data from New Zealand Winegrowers, Hawke’s Bay is the country’s second largest wine region by some distance, although it still lags far behind Marlborough’s 22,903ha.

However, in contrast to Marlborough, where most of the land suitable for viticulture has already been planted, Dineen suggested that there were as yet no such space constraints in Hawke’s Bay. “Gimblett Gravels is pretty planted up, but there’s plenty of other soils,” he commented.

Crossroads’ winemaker Miles Dineen

With reference to the region’s suitability as alternative source of New Zealand’s flagship grape variety, Dineen remarked that although Chardonnay is the main focus for the brand and most other local producers, “We kept making Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc and I’m glad we did because it’s a little more tropical without the herbal thing. It’s not as overtly punchy as Marlborough.”

Despite the region’s suitability for Sauvignon Blanc, Dineen highlighted the broader stylistic appeal of Hawke’s Bay for Marlborough-based producers such as Yealands looking to expand.

“On the coast it’s cool, then in the middle of the plains where Gimblett Gravels are you have Cabernet, Syrah and great Bordeaux blends, then you head up the valleys to cooler, aromatic white territory,” he outlined.

This combination of scale and diversity makes the region particularly attractive for companies with a strong domestic customer base where, explained Dineen, “You don’t just want a portfolio of aromatic whites, but reds too and Chardonnay.”

As for the styles likely to make the biggest impact for Hawke’s Bay abroad, he suggested: “Most winemakers’ main white is Chardonnay, then they have Bordeaux blends and Syrah. For red wine it’s probably going to be Merlot-based blends, but Syrah is coming through too – it’s the darling of Hawke’s Bay that’s got the most press. Merlot is much bigger in volume terms, but perhaps Syrah has the X-factor.”