New Zealand comprises two islands — North Island and South Island. The North Island is on the same latitude as Tasmania, The most quality producers are based in North Island as wine industry was founded there. Most producers are based around Auckland area. The North Island climate is warmer and wetter than South Island. The North Island producers buy their grapes from important vineyard areas of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, Bay of Plenty and Kumeu.
The South Island has cooler climate with lower rainfall. The South Island is also home to many producers too famous one being Cooks (owned by Corbans), one ofNewZealand first wine exporters. In South Island Vineyards are sited in Marlborough, Nelson, Canterbury and Central Otago.
Vines were first introduced and planted in the year 1819 at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands but it is not certain whether or not wine was made from them. Australia's wine Industry founder James Busby planted vineyard in 1832 from which wine was produced.
Until recently New Zealand was famous for its lamb and kiwi fruitThe 1980 marked the renaissance of New Zealand wine industry. NewZealand is famous for its white wine Sauvignon Blanc which is comparable to French Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. The quality wines are being produced in New Zealand by two major companies i.e. Montana and Corbans.
Climate and soil
Wine regions are mostly located in free draining alluvial valleys (Hawke's Bay, Martinborough, Nelson, the Wairau and Awatere valleys of Marlborough, and Canterbury) with notable exceptions (Waiheke Island, Kawarau Gorge in Central Otago). The alluvial deposits are typically the local sandstone called greywacke, which makes up much of the mountainous spine of New Zealand.
Sometimes the alluvial nature of the soil is important, as in Hawke's Bay where the deposits known as the Gimblett Gravels represent such quality characteristics that they are often mentioned on the wine label. The Gimblett Gravels is an area of former river bed with very stoney soils. The effect of the stones is to lower fertility, lower the water table, and act as a heat store that tempers the cool sea breezes that Hawke's Bay experiences. This creates a significantly warmer meso-climate.
Another soil type is represented in Waipara, Canterbury. Here there are the Omihi Hills which are part of the Torlesse group of limestone deposits. Viticulturalists have planted Pinot Noir here due to French experience of the affinity between the grape type and the chalky soil on the Côte-d'Or. Even the greywacke alluvial soils in the Waipara valley floor has a higher calcium carbonate concentration as can be witnessed from the milky water that flows in the Waipara River.
The wine regions in New Zealand stretch from latitudes 36°S in the north (Northland) (comparable in latitude to Jerez, Spain), to 45°S (Central Otago) in the south (comparable in latitude to Bordeaux, France). The climate in New Zealand is maritime, meaning that the sea moderates the weather producing cooler summers and milder winters than would be expected at similar latitudes in Europe and North America. Maritime climates tend also to demonstrate higher variability with cold snaps possible at any time of the year and warm periods even in the depth of winter. The climate is typically wetter, but wine regions have developed in rain shadows and in the east, on the opposite coast from the prevailing moisture-laden wind. The wine regions of New Zealand tend to experience cool nights even in the hottest of summers. The effect of consistently cool nights is to produce fruit which is nearly always high in acidity.
FAMOUS WINES OF NEWZEALAND
White Wines—Savingnon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon (Oaky), Chenin Blanc By Cooks.
Red Wines — Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Pinot Noir.
Dessert Wines — Red Wood Valley Late Harvest Rhine Riesling, Matua's Late Harvest Gewurztaminer.
Like australian wines these wines are sold by the name of grape variety used with the name of producer.
some famous producer-
Brookfield
Collard Brothers
Coppers Creek
Goldwater
Lincoln
Hunters
Montana
Morton estate
Stoneleigh
Totara
CHILE (SOUTH AMERICA)
South America's best two wine producing nations are Chile and Argentina. Chile is a long Ribbon like country in South America running East to West between Andes and the Pacific ocean and Atacama desert to the north. The natural barriers is the reason why Chile has never been attacked by phylloxera, sines in Chile have much longer life span than anywhere else. The present vines therefore can be called pre-Phylloxera stock, lineal descendants of the great continental vines. The vines variety brought from Europe planted in Chile were Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Semilion, Ptnot noir and were planted in volcanic soil.WINE LAWS
1. Wine sold under the name of grape must contain 75 per cent of the stated varietal.2. Wine sold under a vintage must contain a minimum of 75 per cent of the stated year's harvest
3. Wine sold under the name of region or sub-region of origin must contain a minimum of 75 per cent from the stated varietal.
Main Wine Producing Regions
a) Maipo Valley is famous for its red wine
b) Secano Region is famous for production of classic white grape varieties.
FAMOUS WINES
1. Cabernet Sauvignon (Sweet Wine) (Red) by Caliterra Reserva
2. Burgundy—(Red Wine) from Pirot noir
3. Bar sac—sweet (White wine)
4. Steinwein—dry (White wine)
5. Tocornal (Red)
6. Escorial De Panquehue (Red)
7. Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Rita and Concho ytoro
8. Jlerruca—(Red) grape variety—Merlot
9. Chablis—a dry, cool, well rounded white wine
FAMOUS WINE PRODUCERS (1) Vifta Linderos (8) Los Vascos (I) Miguel Torris
SOUTH AFRICA
A complete range of wines are produced in South Africa. South African wines embrace a variety similar to that of Australia, but with this difference; South Africa excels more in sherries and white wines of hock style, whereas Australia is eminent in the production of port types and burgundies. The vineyards are situated in the south-western cape and along the Orange river further to the north.South Africa has a long history of wine making. The colony's founder Jan Van Riebeeck planted the first vines in 1652. He was the surgeon on board on a Dutch ship.
GRAPE VARIETIES
For white winea) Chenin Blanc- used for making white wine. - used for making botrytis sweet wines – best one — Nederberg's world famous Paarl Edelkeur.
b) Muscat d' Aiexandrie locally known as Hanepoot — used for making fortified and non fortified white dessert wines.
c) Sauvignon Blanc
d) Chardonnay used for varietal wines and also fizzy wines.
For Red Wine
a) Pinotage: South Africa's own grape variety invented in 1925 by Professor Perold who crossed Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
b) Cabernet Sauvignon: sold as varietal or blended with merlot.
c) Syrah: locally known as shiraz.
The vintage takes place in April or May. All new vines planted are grafted on American root-stock as order to prevent phylloxera. Fine quality sparkling wines are made by the "cuve close tank method, A famous liqueur Van der hum (meaning what is his name) is made from tangerines. South African Sherries from dry to sweet are made as Spanish Sherries.
KWV (Ko-Operaticve Wijabouwers Vereniging) or the South African farmer's association) was founded in 1918 and is responsible for 90 percent of all wine production in South Africa. KWV is encouraging and promoting planting of French vines like Chenin blanc known as steen in South Africa and also advising on production techniques and marketing, KWV completely controls production, marketing and sale of surplus wine
The wine of origin system (W.O.) seal is put on the bottle neck of wine which are certified by south African wine and spirit board.
Wine regions
1. Coastal Region- are stellen Bosch and Paarl, constantia, durbanville, ceres, malmesbury. red bullfull bodied and light wines comes from constantia district. the wihte wines full bodied and higher in alcohol than their counterparts i.e European come from Paarl, Stellenbosch and Tulbagh district.2. Little Karoo (little desert) region produces well known South African sherry and port types wines. The little Karoo has a rich, alluvial soil but a meagre rainfall of about 10 inches a year.
3. Breed river valley- region includes Worcester and robertson
Major Wholesale Producers
o Gilbeys
o Stellenbosch Farmers Winery
o Oude Meester Group
o Douglas Green of Paarl
4. Union Wine Bellingham and Culemborg.
ALGERIA (NORTH AFRICA)
Algeria produces as much wine as Spain. Wine is being produced here is since Roman times but production declined because of still dominant Islamic region. Wine making re-established when Algeria became French colony. Wine is made by modern methods. Red wines are more famous than white wines. Wines of Algeria can be classified as —a) Wines of Plains from departments of Alger and Constantine. They are drunk in France, alone or blended.
b) Hill side and Coastal Wines are dark and have high tannin content
c) Mountain Wines are fruity, strong in alcohol and of varied bouquet.
Red wines Carignan, Cinsautt and Alicante Bouschet wines
Rose wines Aramon, Cinsault and Grenache wines
White wines Ugni Blanc Grapes from the Clairette de provence
Example - (i) Coteau de mascara - red wine
(ii) Coteau de tle'mcen - red wine
CHINA
In Chinese the word for alcohol "jiu" is used to mean all types of alcoholic beverages, from 'pijiu' (beer) to liquors (just called 'jiu') to grape wine ('putao jiu'). The same character is used in Japanese and Korean, for that matter. This lumping together of all intoxicating beverages gives us great insight into the traditional use for alcohol, intoxication. Even in modern China alcoholic beverages are generally classed by the general population by how much intoxication it delivers for the money. From this point of view table wine is at the bottom rung of the consumer preference list, with brandy being much higher.History Of Chinese Wine
In China, wine could also be called the "Water of History" because stories about wine can be found in almost every period of China's long story. The origins of the alcoholic beverage from fermented grain in China cannot be traced definitively. It is believed to have 4,000 years history. A legend said that Yidi, the wife of the first dynasty's king Yu (about 2100 BC) invented the method. At that time millet was the main grain, the so-called "yellow wine", then rice became more popular. It was not until the 19th century that distilled drinks become more popular. Traditionally, Chinese distilled liquors are consumed together with food rather than drunk on their own. Although China has a 6,000 year history in grape growing, and a 4,000 year history in wine making, it was not until this century that Chinese wine was recognized in the West.
Chinese Wine General Classification
Chinese wines can be generally classified into two types, namely yellow liquors (huangjiu) or clear (white) liquors (baijiu). Chinese yellow liquors, are fermented wines that are brewed directly from grains such as rice or wheat. Such liquors contain less than 20% alcohol, due to the inhibition of fermentation by ethanol at this concentration. These wine are traditionally pasteurized, aged, and filtered before their final bottling for sale to consumers. Yellow liquors can also be distilled to produce white liquors, or baijiu (see below). White liquors (baijiu) are also commonly called shaojiu, which means "hot liquor" or "burned liquor", either because of the burning sensation in the mouth during consumption, the fact that they are usually warmed before being consumed, or because of the heating required for distillation. Liquors of this type typically contain more than 30% alcohol in volume since they have undergone distillation. There are a great many varieties of distilled liquors, both unflavored and flavored.China (including Hong Kong) is among the top ten global markets for wine consumption. The market has traditionally been dominated by beer, but beginning in the 1980s, connections have been made to the international wine market, specifically to France, and the taste of Chinese drinkers has begun to change. Over the next few decades, the country’s standing as a wine consumer is expected to rise.
List Famous Chinese Liquors, Wines
Fen jiu - this wine was dated back to Northern and Southern Dynasties (550 A.D.). It is the original Chinese white wine made from sorghum. Alcohol content by volume: 63-65%.Zhu Ye Qing jiu - this wine is Fen jiu brewed with a dozen or more of selected Chinese herbal medicine. One of the ingredients is bamboo leaves which gives the wine a greenish color and its name. Alcohol content by volumne: 46%.
Mao Tai jiu - this wine has a production history of over 200 years. It is named after its origin at Mao Tai town in Guizhou Province. It is make from wheat and sorghum with a unique distilling process that involves seven iterations of the brewing cycle. This wine is made famous to the western world when the Chinese government served this in state banquets entertaining the US presidents. Alcohol content by volume: 54-55%.
Gao Liang jiu - Goa Liang is the Chinese name for sorghum. Besides sorghum, the brewing process also use barley, wheat etc. The wine was originated from DaZhiGu since the Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, Taiwan is a large producer of gao liang jiu. Alcohol content by volume: 61-63%. Mei Gui Lu jiu (rose essence wine) - a variety of gao liang jiu with distill from a special species of rose and crystal sugar. Alcohol content by volume: 54-55%.
Wu Jia Pi jiu - a variety of gao liang jiu with a unique selection of Chinese herbal medicine added to the brew. Alcohol content by volume: 54-55%.
Da Gu jiu - Originate from Sichuan with 300 year of history. This wine is made of sorghum and wheat by fermenting in a unique process for a long period in the cellar. Alcohol content by volume: 52%.
Yuk Bing Shiu jiu - a rice wine with over 100 year history. It is made of steamed rice. It is stored a long period after distillation. Alcohol content by volumne: 30%.
Sheung Jing (double distill) and San Jing (triple distill) Jiu - two varieties of rice wine by distilling twice and three times respectively. Alcohol content by volume: 32% and 38-39% respectively.
San Hua (three flowers) jiu - a rice wine made in Guilin with allegedly over a thousand year history. It is famous for the fragrant herbal addition and the use of spring water from Mount Elephant in the region. Alcohol content by volumne: 55-57%.
Fujian Glutinous Rice wine - made by adding a long list of expensive Chinese herbal medicine to glutinous rice and a low alcohol rice wine distill. The unique brewing technique use another wine as raw material, not starting with water. The wine has an orange red color. Alcohol content by volume: 18%.
Hua Diao jiu - a variety of yellow wine originates from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. It is made of glutinous rice and wheat. Alcohol content by volume: 16%.