Our Country

New Zealand is divided into two islands. The North Island is slightly warmer and has a larger population, and the South Island is cooler and home to our more famous wine growing appellations – Marlborough and Central Otago. New Zealand's wine regions extend 700 miles from subtropical Northland (35°S) down to Central Otago (45°S), the world’s most southerly wine growing region.

Each region has its own unique soils and climatic conditions. Within these diverse regions, subregional characteristics shine through and wines are distinguished as being not just from a wine region, but from a subregion and a place.

The majority of our vineyards are located near the coast where long sunshine hours and nights cooled by sea breezes promote longer growing seasons and slower ripening of fruit. These conditions are perfect for producing the more complex wines that New Zealand has become famous for.