The Central Otago wine region is a geographical indication in New Zealand's South Island, and the world's southernmost commercial wine growing region. While Central Otago is best known for Pinot Noir, many white wine varieties are also popular.
History of the wine region
Significant European occupation in this region started with the Otago gold rush in the 1860s. French immigrant gold miner Jean Desire Feraud soon started planting vines and embarking upon small-scale commercial wine production, even winning medals in Australian wine competitions. Late in the nineteenth century, the New Zealand government hired Romeo Bragato to survey the country. While this early experimentation showed the wine-growing potential of the region, the wine industry did not survive for long on a commercial basis.
From the 1950s through to the late 1970s, there were many small-scale trial plantings of vines by private individuals and under the auspices of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture. By 1980 enough experience and confidence had been gained for commercial plantings to start.
Vineyard planting and production remained modest until the middle of the 1990s when the industry began to expand rapidly. In 1996 there were just 11 wineries in the Central Otago region, according to New Zealand Winegrowers, accounting for 4.6% of the national total. By 2020 this had risen to 133 wineries and 18.5%. Over the same period, the area planted with vines rose from 92 to 1,930 hectares, a more-than twentyfold increase. Reflecting this rapid expansion, the long lead-time for planting to come into production, and the focus in Central Otago on quality wines rather than bulk wines, actual wine production accounted for only 0.5% (376 tonnes) of the New Zealand total in 1996, increasing to 3.0% (11,868 tonnes) in 2019.