Second largest wine harvest

Winegrowers are this week toasting the second largest harvest in the country's history.

More than 100 million litres of wine are expected to be produced from the harvest of 142,000 tonnes of grapes.

However, the harvest is 14 per cent down on last year's record.

New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said: "This makes it our second-largest vintage ever, following on from last year's record of 166,000 tonnes."

He said the vintage size and quality was a result of good growing conditions.

The 2004-2005 summer began unsettled and unusually cool but, from early January onwards, growing conditions were ideal, producing high-quality grapes through nearly all winegrowing regions.

The Indian summer during the main harvest month of April had been a great finish to the ripening season.

Gregan said the vintage was good news for wine exports. The record vintage of 2004 helped to increase exports by 70 per cent in the past year and open new markets.

With the supplies from the large 2005 vintage, continued export growth is envisaged in the year ahead - although at a slower pace than this year.

Regionally, Marlborough continues to lead grape production, accounting for 58 per cent of the vintage, followed by Hawkes Bay at 20 per cent and Gisborne at 16 per cent.

Reflecting the overall trend most grape varieties experienced production falls compared with the 2004 vintage.

However, New Zealand's leading export style, sauvignon blanc, was only marginally affected, as a result of new vineyard areas offsetting lower yields.

Sauvignon blanc, with 63,000 tonnes harvested, represents 45 per cent of the vintage.

Red grape production was led by pinot noir at 14,600 tonnes, making up 10 per cent of the vintage.