Here are some results from a recent survey of members which may interest readers.
• The group was incorporated earlier this year and has 29 members. A measure of how new the local winegrowing industry is can be seen in the fact that our longest established member had their first vintage in 1991 and only six had harvested grapes before 2000. Four had their first vintage this year and another four will have their first in 2007.
• The 2006 vintage was produced from 78 hectares (about 193 acres) and by 2008, there will be 98 hectares (242 acres) in production. While this makes us a rather small region compared with say Marlborough or Hawkes Bay, we would argue that size doesn’t matter. We are all small family-run businesses focused firmly on quality – there are no wine factories in Matakana. We tend our vineyards by hand to maximize fruit quality, and as the motto adopted some years ago by the original group of Matakana winegrowers says “it’s where we are that makes the difference”. We all believe passionately in the Matakana region as a place where great wines can be grown.
• The earliest growers saw the region as a place for red grapes. While more white acreage has been planted recently, there will still be a slight predominance of red grapes in 2008 – 54% of the total. By that time, the largest single grape variety will be the white grape pinot gris, which will account for almost one third of the total regional acreage. Syrah (17%) and merlot (12%) will be the two main red varieties. These three plus chardonnay, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and sangiovese will comprise just on 85% of the total Matakana vineyard, and the remainder will comprise a further seven red varieties and six whites.
The survey paints a confident picture of the Matakana wine industry which will only strengthen in the years ahead.
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