Hawke’s Bay vintners elated over ‘legendary’ vintage
Winemakers in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay are fizzing with excitement as they say the region’s 2025 vintage could be “the one”.
Last month db reported that two years on from the devastation caused to Hawke’s Bay by Cyclone Gabrielle, the region was looking at what had the potential to be an “exceptional vintage”.
Following a NZ$1.2 billion dollar clean-up operation, including forking out NZ$228 million to remove or save vines that were “neck-high ” in silt, Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said there had been a silver lining to the shock event, the quality coming through from the surviving grapes.
Vintage of the century
Now, winemakers are saying that vintage 2025 could even surpass that of 2013, which is widely thought to have been one of Hawke’s Bay’s best years, with some calling 2013 the “vintage of the century”.
“From budburst, this season has been unique…we are experiencing the potential to detail this as a legendary one. It’s really exciting,” says Phil Brodie, senior winemaker at Te Mata.
Echoing Brodie’s gut feeling is Peter Robertson of Brookfields Winery. Having worked an incredible 51 harvests so far during his winemaking career Robertson said that “the white varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Gris in particular – have the promise of making great wines.”
“We are just about to start harvesting our reds, starting with Merlot, and the fruit quality is exceptional. I like the prospects…”
Partner Content
Ben Tombs of Craggy Range adds that 2025 was the producer’s earliest harvest on record, with its first Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay picked on 8 February. He said it could turn out to be “a classic year” for the region.
“With early ripeness and fruit in pristine condition, excitement is building for what’s shaping up to be a classic year for both reds and whites.”
Size matters
In terms of the size of the harvest, Sally Duncan, chair of Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers, confirmed that the region will produce more than 32 million bottles of wine this year.
According to the annual report from national trade body New Zealand Winegrowers, Hawke’s Bay harvested 24,143 tonnes of grapes in 2024 compared with just 38,409 tonnes in 2023, the year that Cyclone Gabrielle struck. Many regarded the fact that the region’s yields only fell by about 4% that year as miraculous, given the extent of the damage. At the time Brett Linn, executive officer of Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers, called the numbers “a pleasant surprise” and pointed out that there was “potential for far greater losses had it not been for the late second summer that saw some of the region’s key varieties, especially later ripening reds, presenting beautifully at vintage”.
The Hawke’s Bay wine industry contributes more than half a billion dollars to Hastings’ GDP.
Related news
Dua Lipa breaks from world tour to visit New Zealand winery
