New Zealand wines

Winemaking and viticulture date back to New Zealand's colonial era. British Resident James Busby, a keen oenologist who also founded wine regions in Australia such as the Hunter Valley, produced wine on his land near Waitangi in 1836 for British soldiers stationed locally. In 1851, French Marist missionaries planted a vineyard in Hawke's Bay to produce communion wine. Now part of Mission Estate Winery, it is the oldest commercial vineyard in New Zealand. William Henry Beetham is credited with being the first to plant Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Syrah) grapes in New Zealand in 1881 at his Lansdowne Vineyard, Masterton. In 1895, the New Zealand Government Ministry of Agriculture invited expert consultant, viticulturist and oenologist Romeo Bragato to investigate the possibilities of winemaking. After tasting Beetham's Hermitage, he concluded that New Zealand and the Wairarapa in particular were "extremely suitable for viticulture." His French wife, Marie Zelie Hermance Frere Beetham, supported Beetham in his endeavours. Their partnership and innovation to continue winemaking helped form the basis of modern New Zealand viticultural practices.[9] Dalmatian immigrants who arrived in New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought with them knowledge of viticulture and planted vineyards in West and North Auckland. Typically, their vineyards produced table and spirit wine that suited the tastes of their communities.