Ep 192: Hawke's Bay, NZ with Correspondent Simone Madden-Grey

You know Marlborough and its tasty Sauvignon Blanc and you may know New Zealand makes Pinot Noir too, but Bordeaux blends and Syrah? YES! Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's second largest wine district and it rocks. Simone, our Australia and New Zealand correspondent, tells us all about it in this fabulous podcast!

First we give a Hawke's Bay Overview

• It's the 2nd largest industry after Marlborough with about 10% of NZ total production
• It's New Zealand's leading producer of full-bodied reds: 88% of New Zealand's red production of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grapes in 2016. 
• The area makes rich, complex Chardonnays too
• Started in 1851, Hawke's Bay is one of New Zealand's oldest wine regions

• The area is on the east coast of the North Island in and around the cities of Napier and Hastings 
• The climate is maritime climate at coast and more continental as you move inland
• Hawke's Bay is one of the most versatile wine-producing regions in New Zealand -- with multiple mesoclimates, solis, slopes, etc.
• Sub-regions -- Coast, hillsides, alluvial plains (Gimblett Gravels),  river valleys, and continental areas

The grapes of the area:

• Reds: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir
• Whites: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and other aromatic whites 

 And finally, the wineries Simone shared in the podcast:

1. Clearview Estate*

2. Greywacke* 

3. Elephant Hill*

4. Craggy Range*

5. Stonecroft**

6. Vidal

7. Villa Maria*

8. Bilancia**

9. Trinity Hill**

*= available in the United States

**=limited in the United States

Get on these wines! They are spectacular!