Wineries of New Zealand
New Zealand wine is largely produced in ten major wine growing regions spanning latitudes 36° to 45° South and extending 1,600 km (1,000
miles). They are, from north to south Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough,
Canterbury and Central Otago.

Wine making and vine growing go back to colonial times in New Zealand. Due to economic (the importance of the protein export industry),
legislative (prohibition and temperance) and cultural factors (overwhelming predominance of beer and spirit drinking British immigration), wine
was a marginal activity. Dalmatian immigrants at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century brought with them viticultural
knowledge and set up the nascent NZ wine industry in West and North Auckland. Typically their vineyards produced sherry and port for the
palates of New Zealanders of the time, and table wine for their own community.

The three factors that held back the development of the industry simultaneously underwent subtle but historic changes in the late 1960s and early
1970s. In 1973 Britain entered the European Economic Community, which required the ending of historic trade terms for New Zealand meat and
dairy products. This led ultimately to a dramatic restructuring of the agricultural economy. Before this restructuring was fully implemented,
diversification away from traditional protein products to products with potentially higher economic returns was explored. Vines, which produce
best in low moisture and low soil fertility environments, were seen as suitable for areas that had previously been marginal pasture. The end of the
1960s saw the end of the New Zealand institution of the "six o'clock swill", where pubs were open for only an hour after the end of the working
day and closed all Sunday. The same legislative reform saw the introduction of BYO (bring your own) licences for restaurants. This had a
profound and unexpected effect on New Zealanders' cultural approach to wine.

Finally the late 1960s and early 1970s noted the rise of the OE (Overseas Experience), where young New Zealanders travelled and lived and
worked overseas, predominantly in Europe. The OE as a cultural phenomenon goes back before this time, but by the 1960s a distinctly Kiwi
(New Zealand) identity had developed and the passenger jet made the OE experience possible for a large numbers of New Zealanders who
experienced first-hand the decidedly different wine-drinking cultures of Europe.

Article from
www.wikipedia.com.
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