Kōrero: Wine

During the 1970s and 1980s grape production shifted away from the Auckland–Waikato region, to the east coasts of the North and South islands. Existing vineyards expanded, and new ones were developed on the Gisborne plains and the flat land between Napier and the Heretaunga plains in Hawke’s Bay. Large-scale planting on the Wairau plains in Marlborough began in 1979.

The trend for grape growing to move south and east continued into the 2000s. In 2007 Marlborough contained most of the country’s vineyards. Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne were still important centres of production, and Canterbury and Central Otago had become significant grape-growing regions.