New Zealand Listener – August 24, 2019

40 LISTENER AUGUST 24 2019

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Grape expec tations

The New Zealand wine industry has come a

long way since the dark days when Englishmen

were prepared to try anything once.

by Michael Cooper

THIS LIFE

WINE

“It says here that if this wine is not to your taste, it can be used to

remove black mould, unwanted tattoos or to degrease your engine.”

During World War II, demand for

wine soared when US servicemen on

leave flooded into the country, but

quality took a back seat. In 1946, the

Royal Commission on Licensing was

scathing in its criticism: “The Depart-

ment of Agriculture states that ... a

considerable quantity of wine made

in New Zealand would be classified

as unfit for human consumption in

other wine-producing countries.”

G

eorge Mazuran, president of the

Viticultural Association – repre-

senting small-scale growers of

Croatian origin – became convinced

‘H

ow Much Water In Our Wine?”

pondered a Listener billboard,

displayed prominently outside

every dairy in the country in

March 1980. I was 27, having

recently finished a thesis titled

The Wine Lobby: Pressure Group

Politics and the New Zealand Wine Industry, and that

Listener cover story was the first article I wrote for a

national publication.

A few days later, a spokesman for the Wine Insti-

tute – now New Zealand Winegrowers – phoned.

“Have you thought about the little old lady who

enjoys her daily glass or two of sherry? How much

is it going to cost her if the winemakers aren’t

allowed to add water?”

The scandal surrounding the revelation that wine-

watering, although illegal, was very common in

New Zealand was about halfway through the 80-year

period since the Listener’s launch. Since then, the

industry has upgraded its standards, and its pro-

duction level and quality have soared. About five

million glasses of New Zealand wine are consumed

every day. Wine is now this country’s fifth most

valuable export, and the industry is aiming for $2

billion a year in foreign sales by 2020.

It hasn’t always been like that. In 1934, the Daily

Mail inquired in the UK whether there were any “New

Zealand or West Indian wines that could be offered

in this country?” Observed the paper generously:

“We Englishmen are prepared to try anything once.”