23 May 2007 -

Australian Article on Central Otago Riesling

Riesling on the rise

Ken Gargett

May 22, 2007 12:00am

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WATER is the issue du jour for all agriculture these days and viticulture is far from exempt.

Hence, this week's trivia question. What region receives less rainfall? Is it Uluru, stuck out in the middle of the Australian outback, or Central Otago, New Zealand's highest, and the world's most southerly, wine region? Surprisingly, it is Central Otago (known just as Central by locals), though with 300mm a year (some parts get more), it is not far behind the 308mm that fall at Uluru. This lack of rain is even more extraordinary when one considers that only a few hours' drive away is Milford Sound, which has the second highest rainfall on the planet. The intervening mountains prove an effective barrier.

Few regions have had such a meteoric rise as Central. A century and a half ago, it made a mark as a goldmining district, though that ended long ago. Since then, it has featured as a backdrop for some of the most spectacular shots in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There was considerable scepticism when grapes were first planted here. Surely, it was too cold and not sufficient water. Irrigation has been necessary but the unique microclimate of the region has proved ideal for certain varieties.

The quality of the wines, especially pinot noir, has brought winelovers from around the globe on a pilgrimage. Toss in skiing in winter, fabulous trout fishing, great restaurants, Queenstown, wonderful hospitality and scenery that really does deserve the term, "breathtaking" and this is a region not to miss.

Few places in the world do pinot noir successfully but Central has quickly attained status as a serious challenger to Burgundy. A visit there two years ago revealed how quickly winemakers had adapted to the variety. What else do they do? There were some good chardonnays and a little sauv blanc. The white that had locals excited was pinot gris. Winemakers love riesling so a few were making an effort but more for personal consumption and as a curiosity. Returning this year confirmed the wonderful quality of the pinots but there had been a seismic shift in the attitude to whites. Few were bothering with sauv blanc, recognising the futility of competing with Marlborough, while both chardonnay and gris still had adherents. Riesling has made the greatest gains.

This interest in riesling is not restricted to Central. Other regions of New Zealand are realising this noble grape's potential but one suspects that, in time, the really exciting examples will come from Central. It is hard not to think that perhaps part of the reason that riesling has been slow out of the blocks here is that winemakers saw no point in competing with the fine rieslings from Australia, just as we struggle in comparison with the sauv blancs of New Zealand.

Ironically, the Kiwis suffered from image problems just as we did. When it was possible to put almost anything on the label, we saw many wines called riesling that were poor quality, overly sweet, unbalanced and containing not a drop of riesling. It affected sales, and the reputation of the variety for many years.

In New Zealand, a similar thing happened. They had planted vast hectares of a third-rate variety called muller-thurgau, believed to be a cross between riesling and sylvaner, though later proved to be riesling, and a table grape called madeleine royale. Often the "sylvaner" was dropped from the label, so Kiwis also enjoyed/endured truckloads of slightly sweet, unbalanced and poor quality wine called riesling that was anything but.

Riesling from Central is usually slightly sweet. This is because some sugar is necessary to balance the almost tooth-jarring acidity the region provides. Balance is the key. When done well, the sweetness melds into the wine, in some cases appearing imperceptible and in others, a pleasant overlay. These wines can be wonderful if well matched with food and the export markets are starting to take notice. We run the risk of missing out. This is partly because we have plenty of excellent riesling here, so there is little point in the Kiwis expending effort to crack a difficult market (partly why we see so few top German rieslings). Also, because the mind-set is currently that any hint of sweetness, unless done as a deliberate dessert style, is an aberration and unacceptable. It wasn't always so. A vertical tasting a few years ago of Plantagenet riesling, as merely one example, showed the early wines to have some residual sweetness. This helped these wines age wonderfully. I suspect that it is only when we read overseas reports of how exciting these Kiwi rieslings are that we will take the plunge here.

Central rieslings have differing sweetness levels. Felton Road is an example. Carrick and Mt Difficulty are others that offer a choice and are worth chasing. Also look for Olssens, Mt Edward and Amisfield.

These are exciting wines and any lover of riesling