The Hawke's Bay wine industry is in fine shape after two remarkable vintages and a
continuing string of national and international accolades. Among those accolades are a
growing number for chardonnay - a variety once off the consumer radar but now rising in stature with local conditions suiting it perfectly. Roger Moroney investigates
THREE days after stepping forward alongside winery owner George Fistonich to accept the Air New Zealand Wine Awards Wine of the Show Trophy, Vidal Estate's chief winemaker Hugh Crichton happily confessed he was still hovering somewhere around cloud nine.
"Yeah, it's still sinking in and I've been really surprised at how big a deal it was with a lot of people talking about it - and that's a lot of positives."
Positives not only for the winery but also for the Hawke's Bay industry across the board.
"Hawke's Bay wines are so good now - they are world class."
What took the Hastings winery, which comes under the umbrella of Villa Maria, to the loftiest of heights was its 2013 Legacy Chardonnay.
It was not the first accolade the winery's white variety had picked up and it certainly won't be the last.
Chardonnay has sparked up big time.
There is plenty of white wine about in Hawke's Bay, with production of it running around the 57 per cent mark - 43 per cent being red. In terms of full-bodied syrah, the Bay produces about 83 per cent of national production.
Over the past few years, the planting and production of chardonnay across the region has stepped up though - today the Bay's grape-growing landscape turns out about 32 per cent of the country's production.
The popular white has long been a staple of the New Zealand market, being the most widely planted variety from 1990 through to 2002 when it was overtaken by sauvignon blanc.
"There was a time when people were a bit critical of chardonnay - the 'ABC' club - anything but chardonnay.
"But now we are seeing renewed interest in it," Mr Crichton said.
Which was extra reason for him to smile, as chardonnay is a variety he is passionate about.
"In terms of white, it is our main focus," he said, adding however that the reds, like syrah, were still very much in the Vidals picture.
"Hawke's Bay is so very good at creating it - it is world class."
The ingredients to grow chardonnay and to continue to hone it and tweak it for taste and texture are all there.
The climate, the soils, the people and the decisions they make. The planting and the canopy management and yield adjustment. The selection, and how long it stays in the barrel right through to the bottling process.
"The term 'terroir' is often misinterpreted as being just the soil and climate - there is also the human element and that part of it is huge."
In terms of climate, some areas produce a different feel - especially where there was a cooler difference in the night temperatures, and that was something which the chardonnay grapes relish.
And it has a clear affinity with oak in terms of barrels.
Chardonnay can be made in many styles, which allows regions and countries to stand out in their approach, due to climate and soil - and the human touch of course.
With the growth of interest in it, will the white variety challenge the leading reds like syrah in the Bay?
"No I don't think so - reds are still a huge focus and Hawke's Bay is by far the biggest producer of these varieties, so that won't disappear."
But chardonnay would "never drop off the radar" and he believed the already world-class quality would only improve, along with production and sales.
"We are seeing a lot more interest in it," Mr Crichton said.
While in Auckland this week, he attended a wine evening and chardonnay was adjudged the most popular.
And he was "blown away" by the remarks from the chairman of the judges at the Air New Zealand Awards, Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich - whom he considers one of the kings of creating fine chardonnay in his chief winemaking role at Kumeu River Wines.
Mr Brajkovich said the Vidal Legacy Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2013 stood out in a strong line-up - calling it "a very good example of the new wave of chardonnay style we are seeing in New Zealand".
"It was really something to hear a quote like that," Mr Crichton said, adding it reinforced the power of the variety produced in the Bay.
During his time in Auckland, he also assessed the barrelled-up 2014 chardonnay, looking at the blends. His conclusion at this stage of its development?
"They look wicked," he said. A result of an exceptional season which will deliver, he believes, the best chardonnay they will have ever made.
Chardonnay, once not entirely favourably looked upon, had helped create a big plus for the region, Mr Crichton said.
What of the overall wine landscape?
"So many positives," he said. "It's the pure quality of what we can do here - we have a winemaking heritage and we are doing it very well."
Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Association executive officer James Medina agreed with Mr Crichton that there was a time when chardonnay was effectively "written off" by many people due to some of the styles which were produced.
"Now it is taken very seriously and we have been picking up international awards with chardonnay."
Its appeal to the wine-drinking public was matched by its appeal to growers as it was a versatile variety.
While the Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa regions leaned more towards the prime reds, because of the heat factor, chardonnay could be planted from Te Awanga to the Dartmoor Valley - from Crownthorpe to Bridge Pa.
"There are a lot more areas it can be grown."
In terms of hectares planted, chardonnay had grown through the years and was just 9ha behind the spread of sauvignon blanc vines across the region.
"Will it overtake it? I don't know," he said. "It would take several years of increased sales to see people plant more of it - I don't think there will be a big gold rush but I do think it will grow in time."
What had buoyed Mr Medina and the industry as a whole was that the expanding market of China was showing an increased interest in whites.
"Consumers there are becoming much more educated and are trying more varieties and chardonnay has become much more approachable to the Chinese palate."
The Hawke's Bay wine industry was in good heart and good shape, Mr Medina said, adding that the great 2013 and 2014 seasons and resulting vintages would keep the region in the international awards spotlight for "many years to come".
