New Zealand’s vineyard will increase from 8,731 ha under vine in 1999 to 11,187 ha in 2002. The largest increases will occur in Marlborough, from 3,477 ha to 4,543 ha, in Hawkes Bay, from 2,336 ha to 2,923 ha, and in Gisborne, from 1,447 ha to 1,756 ha. Small stuff against the huge areas going into Australia and California, but while Australia’s average standard of wine will decline with an increasing riverland focus in coming years, the opposite is happening in New Zealand, whose growth is almost exclusively occurring in regions capable of outstanding wine.
