21st February 2020 | Cork Talk
New Zealand has earned a global reputation for premium quality white wine in recent decades, with Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region the spearhead of its rise. The two have become so synonymous with our understanding of great NZ wine that we tend to overlook anything that isn’t Marlborough Savvy. A huge missed opportunity when you realise how much is going on over there!
We caught up with legendary winemaker John Forrest to get the low down on current kiwi wine trends, as well as what Forrest Wine Estates have been meticulously working on over the past few years.
A current trend in the wine world, and one that isn’t going away, is the demand for low and no alcohol wines. People like the idea of being able to have two or three glasses of wine and still legally be allowed to drive home. But there’s always been a shortfall with this, in that most low/no products simply weren’t nice to drink! Where most people saw a problem, John saw an opportunity.
John stumbled across the low alcohol wine trend in 2005, when his light, German-style Riesling received heaps of positive feedback. People simply enjoyed having a good, low alcohol wine.
From then onwards, he has used his mastery of science to come up with, and perfect, a process for producing quality wine with 30-40% less alcohol – without compromising on taste or regionality! Here he explains the process:
As well as being an increasingly popular part of our range, lower alcohol wines now account for more than half of production for Forrest Wine Estates, helping them achieve huge growth over the last ten years. As John explains:
“We’re growing hugely because of it, the opportunity is massive. Our desire is to stay absolute premium in that space. We’re not trying to be the biggest producer in the world, even though we’ve got the technical lead in the world. I’ve told my staff many times over the last ten years as we’ve developed and grown, we will stay the Cloudy Bay of the low alcohol wine offering globally. That’s our absolute focus.“
John Forrest, Forrest Wines
While typically renowned for outstanding whites, there is also a serious amount of quality red wine being produced up and down the Marlborough region. With a slightly cooler climate, the key red varietal here is of course Pinot Noir, and you’ll find some brilliant, origin-reflective examples from various vineyards throughout the region.
Within New Zealand, these reds have earned a sterling reputation, however they aren’t as celebrated around the globe as kiwi savvie. While they probably should be celebrated more, their obscurity means you can typically pick them up without the premium price tag!
New Zealand has several brilliant wine regions to offer outside of Marlborough, with many winemakers being quite experimental with grape varieties too. The country’s climate varies quite significantly from North to South, with John believing almost any grape variety could likely find a “quirky home” somewhere in NZ and still produce good, terroir-expressive wine!
As far as regions are concerned, there are some brilliant areas across the country producing brilliant white and red wines. Some of the highlights include the beautiful and warm Central Otago for their white wines and Pinot Noir reds, the Waitaki Valley in North Otago – quoted as one of the most exciting up and coming wine regions in New Zealand, and of course the all-important Hawke’s Bay with their Chardonnay and Bordeaux Reds.
Like many NZ winemakers, John has also experimented with a lot of grape varieties over the past 15 years. Some performed better than others, however the key success story has been the Spanish white grape Albarino, for which Forrest wines now has two hectares planted in its warmer vineyards. John has tipped Albarino as the key New Zealand wine to look out for in the coming years, alongside Petit Manseng and the Austrian variety St Laurent.
