North Island, New Zealand

North Island wine regions

Jurassic Ridge Winery.

Separated from the South Island by Cook Strait, New Zealand’s North Island is home to five of its main wine regions (seven, if you include Waikato and Ōhau), and is known for a wider variety of wine styles than its southern counterpart.

The most northern of the North Island’s regions is the aptly named Northland, which is where the country’s first ever vines were reportedly planted in the Bay of Islands subregion in 1819. Today, winegrowing stretches from Karikari in the north to Mangawhai in the south, and the region’s long, narrow shape means no vineyard is further than 50 kilometres from the ocean. Unlike the rest of the country, where sauvignon blanc and pinot noir are the white and red of choice, Northland focuses on tropical-fruited chardonnay and intense aromatics, including viognier and pinot gris, and for reds, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and even pinotage and some chambourcin.

Below Northland lies Auckland, which, despite its small acreage, is one of the country’s most important regions – largely as it incorporates New Zealand’s capital city. Spread across a large, geographically diverse area from Matakana in the north and Clevedon in the south, it includes the vineyard island of Waiheke and the historic subregions of Kumeu, Huapai and Waimauku. Like Northland, Auckland has some of the oldest vines in the country, and at one time, most of the country’s wine producers were based here (some, like Brancott Estate, still have their headquarters here). Auckland is best-known for its various styles of chardonnay, plus syrah and Bordeaux blends.

Man O' War Vineyards.

Southeast of Auckland, on the island’s ‘heel’, is Gisborne, New Zealand’s warmest region. Lots of sunshine and high temperatures mean grapes here are often the first in the country to be harvested. While it was once dominated by large producers, today Gisborne is mostly home to high-quality, small-scale winemakers, many who follow biodynamic principles and experiment with alternative varieties. Still, chardonnay is the dominant grape, making up almost half of plantings, followed by pinot gris and sauvignon blanc. The top-planted red is merlot, although volume at just 24 hectares is small.

Further south on the east coast is Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s second-largest wine region, and considered its oldest – while the first vines were planted in Northland, the industry didn’t take off until much later, whereas production continued steadily in Hawke’s Bay from when the first vines were planted in 1851 to the present day. Boasting a kaleidoscope of soil types and lots of sunshine, it’s thought to be New Zealand’s answer to Bordeaux, and grows 90 per cent of the country’s cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah. It’s also a key region for chardonnay, which it makes in more opulent, luxurious styles.

Villa Maria Estate.

The most southern of the North Island’s wine regions is Wairarapa, which lies about an hour’s drive east of Wellington. Its best-known subregion is Martinborough, which shares similar growing conditions to Burgundy, and like its French counterpart, is known for its premium expressions of pinot noir. In fact, while this tiny region makes just one per cent of the country’s wine, it’s home to some of its most iconic and sought-after producers. As well as pinot noir, Wairarapa produces some of the country’s best sauvignon blanc, despite not sharing Marlborough’s reputation for it, plus chardonnay and riesling.

As New Zealand’s wine industry has evolved, more regions have emerged. In addition to the North Island’s major wine regions detailed above is Waikato, bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawke's Bay on the southeast, and Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki on the south. It’s often grouped together with Bay of Plenty, although distinctions between the two are sometimes made. The Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions have small pockets of vineyard plantings scattered amidst rolling farmland, although most of its producers make wine from grapes purchased from other regions.

The newest wine subregion is Ōhau, in Horowhenua on the island’s southwest. There is only one producer, established in 2009, that currently makes wine (pinot gris and sauvignon blanc) in Ōhau, but the terroir is so unique that the location warrants its own identifier. It’s classified as a subregion of New Zealand, rather than of another region.