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New Zealand

Hawke's Bay

5 000 ha under vine

Soils
Gravel, silt and clay, the famed free-draining Gimblett Gravels among them
Climate
Warm, sunny and maritime — New Zealand's warmest major wine region

On the map

Hawke's Bay — 5 000 haMendoza — 150 000 haCentral Valley — 120 000 haNingxia — 40 000 haMarlborough — 29 000 haColumbia Valley — 25 000 haSonoma County — 24 000 haNapa Valley — 18 000 haPaso Robles — 16 000 haStellenbosch — 15 000 haWillamette Valley — 11 500 haBarossa Valley — 11 500 haMaipo Valley — 11 000 haSwartland — 10 000 haCanelones — 7 500 haMcLaren Vale — 7 000 haCasablanca Valley — 6 000 haMargaret River — 5 800 haNiagara Peninsula — 5 500 haClare Valley — 5 500 haCoonawarra — 5 700 haFinger Lakes — 4 000 haOkanagan Valley — 3 000 haHunter Valley — 2 500 haYarra Valley — 2 500 haTasmania — 2 000 haCentral Otago — 2 000 haConstantia — 450 haHawke's BayMendozaCentral ValleyNingxiaMarlboroughColumbia ValleySonoma CountyNapa ValleyPaso RoblesStellenboschWillamette ValleyBarossa ValleyMaipo ValleySwartlandCanelonesMcLaren ValeCasablanca ValleyMargaret RiverNiagara PeninsulaClare ValleyCoonawarraFinger LakesOkanagan ValleyHunter ValleyYarra ValleyTasmaniaCentral OtagoConstantia
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

New Zealand's second-largest wine region and its warmest of note, Hawke's Bay on the North Island's east coast is the country's home of serious red wine — the counterpoint to Marlborough's Sauvignon and Otago's Pinot. On the free-draining Gimblett Gravels, an old riverbed of stony soil, it ripens Bordeaux blends and a peppery, elegant Syrah.

It also makes some of the country's finest Chardonnay. Sunny, maritime and long-established by New Zealand standards, Hawke's Bay is where the country proves it can make structured, ageworthy reds as well as aromatic whites.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Hawke's Bay Red Red wine

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 0The Monastic Middle Ages — 0Exploration & the Fortified Age — 0Classifications & the Golden Age — 5Phylloxera & the World Crises — 5The Modern & New World Era — 75Antiquity0500150017001875195075
Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950