As Hawke's Bay is surrounded by a natural vigour, it is not surprising that one of the characteristics of Hawke's Bay is the sensitivity of its people to their natural environment, an intimacy with soil and climate which is reflected in its produce. This was one of the most fertile gardens for Maori before Europeans emigrated to New Zealand, and it remains the great food bowl of the nation, rich in beef, lamb, fruit, vegetables, fish and game. This bounty is matched by an ancient tradition of fine art and poetry, and an international reputation for architecture, aspects of a sophisticated culture which is a mix of both Polynesian and European histories. Quietly confident, Hawke's Bay is beautifully isolated from the mainstream, yet with a global outlook suited to the realities of the twenty first century, exactly the sort of place to produce wine suited to the contemporary imagination. As the home of New Zealand wine, Hawke's Bay boasts the oldest and most illustrious wine estates in the country, with a century old reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon reds, and a record of vin de garde Chardonnays unmatched elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. Fine wines which are a fusion of transported European culture, innovative technology, and an affinity with the soil which has produced a unique wine-growing culture attuned to the exciting flavours of a new land. THE LAND Hawke's Bay is a large region, larger in European terms than Bordeaux, 180 kilometres from north to south, and roughly 70 kilometres deep, its inland high points being the Ruahine and Kaweka Ranges which form the mountain backbone of the North Island of New Zealand. From these forested mountains the land falls steeply towards the coast, passing through a series of river terraces to the Heretaunga Plains, and on to the dramatic coast which skirts the broad sweep of Hawke's Bay. Across this, following the fall of the land, run a number of fast, wide rivers, west to east, mountains to the sea, congregating around the twin cities of Napier and Hastings which form a focus for the whole Hawkes Bay region. South and north of the Heretaunga Plains and the cities, away from the rivers, steep hills and wild coast run together in a spectacular landscape dominated by extensive farming, with a sparse seasoning of tiny rural villages. Closer in, orchards and vineyards predominate on the terraces and flats which accumulate around Hastings and Napier in a dazzling variety of soils and aspects, scrambled by the ever changing rivers. This myriad of individual locations is influenced in turn by the climatic shifts imposed by swiftly changing landscapes and the ever present Pacific Ocean. Although generally warm and dry in the character of all great wine-growing regions, Hawkes Bay's climate is incredibly complex, and often it is the detail, rather than the generalities, which make the difference between growing fine wine and a simple beverage. Located on the boundary of the cool, southern ocean and yet still within reach of warm tropical ocean air masses, its climate is tempered by both. Away from the coast the influence of the ocean is quickly moderated by altitude and the nearby mountains, making temperature a crucial wine growing consideration. This situation is accentuated by the range of soils, which may have alluvial, marine, or volcanic sources, and can range from fine silts and clays to deep river gravels, or may be rich in limestone. Such variety is Hawke's Bays greatest wine-growing asset, the capacity to grow a wide range of high quality wines. It is as if such different French vineyards as Hermitage and Champagne were within 50 kilometres of each other. But it also imposes the demand that winemakers pay close attention to every detail of their winegrowing. Photo by Richard Brimmer

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S T O N E C R O F T W I N E S Alan and Glen Limmer RD 5, Mere Road Hastings, Hawke's Bay N E W   Z E A L A N D Phone/Fax: +64 6 879-9610 E-Mail: wine@stonecroft.co.nz