Our final stop on the New Zealand Wine Trail was the Central Otago region, in the heart of the South Island. This region is the youngest in New Zealand and is not nearly as big as Marlborough, producing just ~4% of the country’s total wine; however it more than makes up for this with a focus on high quality pinot noir. 81% of wine produced in the region is Pinot Noir, the highest area concentration in the world.
Otago is surrounded by mountains on all sides, protecting it from wet/extreme weather you see on the coasts. Additionally, the climate is cool and has a lot of “diurnal” (same-day) temperature variation – good for grape growing. Finally, the soil is fortified with minerals (called “alluvials”) from thousands of years of glacial activity. All of these drive locals to call this region the “Fear of France.” Indeed, several Otago wines have beaten French competitors in global wine competitions, despite the region being several hundred years younger!
Otago is also unique in the fact that it is more spread out than Hawke’s Bay or Marlborough. The region actually spans several towns – starting in Wanaka, heading down the Clutha River (New Zealand’s longest) to Cromwell/Bannockburn, and then along the Kawarau River to Queenstown.
We Walleye are definitely fans of Red Wine, so we had a blast visiting Otago’s wineries. As you’ll hopefully see in these pictures, in addition to great Pinot the region is also surrounded by incredibly beautiful scenery.
Finally, Otago is home to perhaps the scariest road in New Zealand. Definitely the scariest we took our campervan through. This is a dirt road leading to/from the Chard Farm winery…they keep it gravel and narrow to maintain its historical integrity. White knuckles both ways on this one!
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